So you want to have a skein of yarn...Part 5

How to train, get to know, and have a good relationship with AND be able to predict what your yarn will act like and do for the rest of it's life in just a few hours!

Four words: Swatch, wash, and dry. Cast on [x] stitches, knit/crochet/weave/slash whatever it is you do until your work is [y] inches long. Write down the [x] inch and [y] inch measurements. Keep this. Don't let anyone throw it away. Name it. Walk it. Feed it. Give it to your yarn as a pet, I don't care. Just keep the scrap of paper. Wash it (the swatch, not the paper. Duh!), even if the tag says not to: it's a swatch! Oh, and when I say wash, I mean wash. None of that wishy-washy, namby-pamby hand wash stuff, no, I mean full-on modern, spin cycle, add the soap and you are DONE wash in a washing machine. Then dry it. Dry it on light, or low, normal cycle if it's by itself, higher if it's with friends. Take it out and measure it. Wow that is{'nt} different!