# Weavers: can you help ID this yarn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weavers-can-you-help-id-this-yarn/521642 "2009-12-17T15:23:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weavers-can-you-help-id-this-yarn/521642/1 "2009-12-17T15:23:57Z")
I know this is a long shot, but I thought I’d throw it out there. I have a 48" Schacht loom, and a lot of the equipment/supplies I have I have gotten from my mother and my aunt. Among this are several balls of very soft yarn, as thick as my pinkie, or even a little thicker. These are home-wound balls, and there are no labels to tell me what this stuff is. I know it’s not Aunt Lydia’s rug yarn – it’s much thicker and fluffier than that. Unfortunately, my aunt is dead, and my mother is…not remembering much these days. My daughter just wove a rug for her friend for Christmas out of it, and it is amazing. I would love to buy more, but my Google-fu is failing me. Any ideas, Doper weavers?? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weavers-can-you-help-id-this-yarn/521642/2 "2009-12-17T15:56:56Z")
I’ve seen some yarns that were nearly that big. Things like [Rowan Big Wool Tuft](http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/knitting/yarn/Rowan/BigWoolTuft.asp) or [Red Heart Light/Bright and Lofty](http://www.pagelinx.com/cgi-shopper/search.cgi/smileysyarns/ezshopper?user_id=2520-20091117&1_option=3&1=closeout_redheartbrightlofty&database=dbase1.exm&template=template1.htm&output_number=100). Can you get a picture? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weavers-can-you-help-id-this-yarn/521642/3 "2009-12-17T16:04:25Z")
Hold a lit match to a small piece - if it smells like burnt plastic and melts a bit, it’s acrylic or a similar artificial content. If it smells like burnt hair and has black ash, it’s some kind of animal-derived product. If it smells like paper or wood and has a lighter colored ash, then it’s plant-based (cotton, rayon, bamboo). ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weavers-can-you-help-id-this-yarn/521642/4 "2009-12-17T17:20:04Z")
I’ll try to get one tonight (I’m at work…sshh!). The first one you linked to seems close, but mine is _shinier_. I really don’t think it’s wool, either. It seems too soft for that. I probably need to look up that test where you set the thread on fire…and somehow that tells you what the fiber content is? And I’m a slow typer!! Thanks for the psychic leap! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weavers-can-you-help-id-this-yarn/521642/5 "2009-12-17T20:43:19Z")
Once you’ve figured out the fiber type, you may be able to plug what you know about the yarn into [Yarndex](http://www.yarndex.com/) and come up with some possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weavers-can-you-help-id-this-yarn/521642/6 "2009-12-18T05:48:38Z")
Well, I gave the job of setting fire to the yarn sample to my daughter’s boyfriend, seeing as he is studying fire science. It burned evenly, reminding you of a cigarette, although the smoke was pure woodsy, bonfire smelling. Unfortunately, he inhaled to sneeze, and burnt out all his nose hair. sigh. But I’m now positive it’s cotton. and have spent a lot of the afternoon browsing the internet. I must admit I’m very intrigued by the yarn made from corn and bamboo, but finding chunky, super bulky cotton yarn is not easy. I’ll try the Yarndex next. Thanks for the help!