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You are here: Home / All blog posts / An embarrassingly large amount of yarn
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January 6, 2011 by Tien Chiu

An embarrassingly large amount of yarn

Work stuff has kept me too busy to do anything requiring brains, but I had some leftover time on my hands, so I decided to inventory my stash.  After some hemming and hawing, I decided to put it into an online database at http://creator.zoho.com.  I could just as easily have put it into an Excel spreadsheet, but I liked the look of the data entry form in Zoho, and with an online database you can access it from any computer.  And Zoho exports to Excel in any case.

Here’s a screenshot of the data entry form I cooked up in Zoho (took about 15 minutes):

Screen shot of yarn entry form.  Click to load full size version, then click to zoom in.
Screen shot of yarn entry form. Click to load full size version, then click to zoom in.

And here’s a screenshot of the view I built to show all yarns.  I have another view set up to show me only all animal yarns, and another to show me all cellulose yarns (the distinction is important to me since I dye most of my yarns).  Here is the neatly-organized All Yarns page, screenshot anyway:

Screen shot of "All Yarns" view.  Click to load full size version, then click to zoom in.
Screen shot of "All Yarns" view. Click to load full size version, then click to zoom in.

Contrast this with a view from an Excel spreadsheet:

Screenshot of same data in Excel
Screenshot of same data in Excel

For ad hoc filtering, Excel is much easier than Zoho Creator.   However, it doesn’t present the information as neatly.  I’m hoping to find an option that allows me the simple filtering of Excel, the neat presentation of Zoho Creator, and which is online/accessible anywhere.

Anyway, after inventorying all of my yarn, I totaled up the amounts.  Egad!  I have 171 pounds of yarn – 97 lbs of animal fibers (51 lbs of which is silk, 14 lbs cashmere), 63 lbs of cellulosic (cotton, rayon, linen, etc.), and a few pounds of synthetic yarns, mostly monofilament nylon for woven shibori.  That is more than my weight in yarn, and far more than I need.  I am seriously considering whether to reduce the stash again, or whether just to suspend yarn purchases until I make a dent in it.

Meanwhile, the diversified plain weave sample with the 3000 ypp chenille is woven, wet-finished, and dyed:

diversified plain weave sample woven with 3000 ypp rayon chenille as heavy weft, scrunch-dyed in flame colors
diversified plain weave sample woven with 3000 ypp rayon chenille as heavy weft, scrunch-dyed in flame colors

It is beautiful and very supple, I think too supple for a jacket, which needs to have more body.  So I am flummoxed once again.  I am having lunch with the couturier who helped me with my wedding dress this weekend, and I think I will ask  her advice on what to do.

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Filed Under: All blog posts, textiles, weaving Tagged With: bathrobe, diversified plain weave

Previous post: Qiviut!
Next post: Constraints

Comments

  1. Laura says

    January 6, 2011 at 11:20 am

    Depends on the jacket. And a fusible interlining can always add more body to a fluid fabric. I’m sure the couturier will have lots of idea. The fabric looks great (and I already know how it feels. ) 🙂

    Cheers,
    Laura

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