Knitted Accessories: Speedy Selbu Mittens, Shik’is Headband, and Another Minted Hat

Time for a roundup of some accessories I have knitted over the past little while! My favorite things to knit *at the moment* are sweaters, hats, and cowls, but this time I expanded just a tiny bit and tried out a headband and some mittens along with my seemingly ever-present hat project. Let’s dive in!

Speedy Selbu Mittens

Designer: Skeindeer Knits

Yarn: Yates Farm Yarn from Yates Farm in Vermont, no longer available as I purchased it, but I think Wool on Wheels may be the next generation. 100% Shetland wool, worsted weight, although I think it knits more like an aran or bulky (but I’m a loose knitter).

Needles: US 10 and US 6

Gauge: I didn’t do one!

Size: 1; I would have been a size 2, maybe, but as a loose knitter, it seemed best to go down a size

Date knitted: March 19, 2022 to April 10, 2022; the second mitten only took me three days, from April 7 to April 10

The mittens before blocking

The mittens after blocking, and obviously in different lighting

Thoughts: I wasn’t sure how these would go, and I admit to having that completely illogical aversion to making two of something like socks or mittens even though I have done plenty of sleeves. I really wanted to try making mittens, though, and colorwork ones looked like lots of fun plus added warmth from the two strands of yarn used to make the design. 

The directions were nice and clear, and I didn’t have any problems except one. My loose knitting and refusal to make a swatch came back to bite me and turned mittens that were supposed to fit me into mittens clearly made for larger hands. 

They would probably fit many men’s hands. Unfortunately, there are no men in my family that love this style. They turned out beautifully, but I knew I wouldn’t wear them, so I donated them to a handmade goods charity auction in the hopes that they would find their perfect home there.

I’m glad I made them, even if they weren’t for me, and I hope to make more mittens in the future. It was also a good chance to use my beloved Yates Farm Yarn from way back when I started knitting the first time. I still love it, but I sometimes have a hard time pairing it to projects since I tend toward brighter colors now, and it’s not always the weight I need these days.

Shik’is Headband

Designer: Jennifer Berg

Yarn: The recommended yarn is light worsted, although it looks like the sample was a mix of DK and worsted. I used DK. My white was a mystery yarn that I think is DK wool superwash. The black is leftover Malabrigo sock held double (fingering + fingering = DK). The light blue/aqua is Berroco Ultra Wool DK, color #83163 from Coveted Yarn in Gloucester, MA.

Needles: US 5 for colorwork and US 4 for non-colorwork

Gauge: Still living on the edge over here and skipping the gauge swatch

Size: There’s only one size–8″ wide with a 20″ circumference

Date knitted: January 24, 2023 to February 24, 2023

Thoughts: This headband is a tube with a twist in it, just like some of Andrea Mowry’s cowls. I used several techniques from Andrea Mowry’s Moonwake Cowl pattern like the provisional cast-on, leaving my ends loose inside rather than weaving them in, and blocking before joining with the Kitchener stitch. After casting on, I knit a few rounds in the black yarn before beginning the colorwork. 

The green yarn is my provisional cast-on.

I also wish the first color chart instruction had been clearer. It tells you to knit chart one and work twice–does that mean twice after I have done the chart for the first time or twice total? I opted for twice total. 

This wasn’t a bad pattern, but I think those details could have made it even better. I’m really happy with how my headband turned out. It actually fits me! Haha. The yarn I used feels nice, the pattern didn’t take too long, and I love having a headband to wear when my hair is up or I’m going to be moving around a lot outside, and a hat is just too warm.

Minted

Designer: Drea Renee Knits/Andrea Mowry

Yarn: Leicester Longwool Yarn from Ashford Heights Farm that I bought at the New England Farm & Fiber Festival in Boston in 2023. They call their yarn Salt and Pepper Wool, and it’s a single ply, Lopi spun yarn with only 150 yards in the skein. I was sucked in by its luminous beauty, halo, and my curiosity to try a different breed’s wool. I was told this was a bulky weight, but to me it knits more like a worsted/aran weight.

Needles: US 3 and US 5

Gauge: Will you be surprised at this point if I say I didn’t swatch? I promise I do for sweaters!

Size: one size

Date knitted: Sometime in fall 2023 to maybe November 28 or 29, 2023. I finished knitting on Thanksgiving (November 23), but it took a few days to block it and let it dry.

Thoughts: Didn’t you just see this pattern on my blog? Yes! But at least this time it’s in different yarn. Haha. I was really determined to use this special yarn I had bought, and after trying it out in another pattern and not being happy with how it was looking, I switched to Minted. Thankfully, it worked. 

The fabric isn’t quite as stretchy as in my other versions, but it still fits pretty well and I’m so happy to have a cream-colored hat in my wardrobe that I made and that goes with everything. The yarn itself is not as soft as some yarns, but it’s not too scratchy, either. I find it comfortable to wear, and it was fun to knit because it’s so beautiful.

I kind of want to start a little yarn sample book for myself for when I actually try single breed yarns like this, but I am not quite sure what format I want. At this point, I have at least tried Merino, Shetland, Gotland, and Leicester Longwool. :)

It feels good to get these projects to the blog! Sometimes it takes me awhile to photograph things and sometimes, like with these, I let them linger in the “to blog” line until the season is a bit more appropriate for them.

Thanks for reading and I hope, if you are a maker of things, that you have some fun projects lined up for the weekend!

Christmas Presents! McCall’s 3019 Pajama Pants and a DRK Minted Hat

Before January is gone, I want to share the couple of Christmas presents I made. I rarely put pressure on myself to sew or knit Christmas presents, but sometimes the right project presents itself, and it seems like a good idea to go for it.

I knew my husband was in need of some new pajama pants way back in the summer, so he picked out a fun dinosaur print cotton flannel at Field’s Fabrics in Kalamazoo when we were in Michigan last summer. 

I had hoped to make these for him before Christmas, but creative projects always take longer than you think they will, and there were several things in line before these pants. They were a great palate cleanser once I got my other projects finished. 

I used our tried and true McCall’s 3019 from the ’90’s, a pattern that my mom used for our family when I was growing up. 

She gave it to me after I started sewing, and it’s my husband’s favorite. The pants are loose and easy-fitting with an elastic waist and pockets. The pattern was already traced out in his size from the last time I made pajama pants for him, so when it came time to sew, this was a quicker-than-usual project. 

Front view

Back view, almost identical to the front view, but I’m sharing it because I’m thorough. 🙂

Right before I started sewing, I glanced at my fabric and had a moment where I thought, “Wait. Did I cut these out with the dinosaurs facing the wrong way?” I thought I had been so careful! Luckily, this print isn’t directional. The dinosaurs face in every direction. I had done it right after all. Thank goodness!

I decided to try serging all my cut fabric edges before sewing. I know that serging them together after sewing would be more durable, but I thought this would be nice and quick since nearly all my seams would be finished as soon as I sewed them. I was right–it was great! 

Inside front view; the one seam I did serge together was the lower crotch seam

Inside back view

A quick bit of sewing and they were nearly done. I find the waistband casing on the snug side for inserting the recommended elastic, so I skipped the line of topstitching you are directed to do at the top of the casing. 

I barely remembered to add a little tag at the back!

My husband was really happy with them. Good thing he was so patient! They made a great Christmas gift.

The other Christmas gift I made was another Drea Renee Knits Minted hat. 

It’s identical to the one I made myself. After making mine, I still had a ball plus a partial ball of my special Katia Concept Sky Paillettes yarn that I got in Webs’ sale area when I visited.

I like this pattern because it’s a quick knit that gives good impact for very little effort/cabling. 

Andrea’s patterns are some of my favorites because they are so clear and helpful. She always has YouTube videos available for any skills in the pattern that you may not have learned yet or need a refresher on. 

The yarn’s really pretty and I thought my mom would like it. It’s one of those blow yarns that has a sort of net tube structure, with fiber blown in, making it nicely fluffy. This one also has little paillettes attached, which is so pretty, and gives the yarn a subtle sparkle. 

Happily, my mom liked it, and it fit her great! She reminded me of how she was always trying to make us all match when I was little, something I was not a fan of growing up, but I guess I don’t really mind any more. ;) Twinsies!

And that’s it! I had the hat done before Thanksgiving and, while I cut it a little close on the pajama pants, I still got them done with a few days to spare. Hooray!

Knitting Season! Hats!

The air is cooling off and the leaves are starting to change colors–it’s fall! And that means knitting. Whether you are a year-round knitter or a seasonal one, fall is prime knitting time as we think about making cozy things for the cold weather that’s coming. I’ve been saving all my knitting projects from earlier in the year and last winter until now when they will be the most fun to think about and wear again.

Today, I thought I would share a number of hats I made last year. I love knitting hats, and last winter I went a bit crazy and kind of burned myself out on them. But…now that it’s getting cooler, I have to admit I’m thinking about making more. 🙂

Here are four hats that I made that you might like to try someday, too.

Harlow-Worsted

Designer: Andrea Mowry of Drea Renee Knits

Yarn: This calls for two worsted weight yarns. I used a 100% wool yarn from Bartlett Yarns in “Mint” as my main color and Lucky Tweed from Kelbourne Woolens, a 100% merino wool in “Golden“, for my contrast color. I bought these yarns at Mother of Purl in Freeport, Maine.

Needles: Metal needles, US 5 and US 6 circulars and double pointed. I used metal because the yarns were very grippy, “sticky” yarns, which is nice to offset with smooth needles.

Size: 2 (sized down one size since I always knit more loosely than Andrea, and I wasn’t going to bother to swatch)

Thoughts: I think my brioche is getting better. I chose this hat to practice a bit so I wouldn’t lose what I had learned. I even fixed a mistake when I started decreasing.

I love the colors of my yarn, but it was very grippy and hard on my hands and arms. Using metal needles rather than wooden helped somewhat, but maybe smoother yarns would make brioche easier. I skipped the rows between decreases since I didn’t want the hat to be super long, and my stitches got a bit mixed up on my final decreases, so I skipped to the end and tried to catch everything.

It’s a little blocky because of all that, but it’s ok. I like it overall and I’m happy to see my brioche skills slowly improving even though they are still far from perfect.

Minted

Designer: Andrea Mowry of Drea Renee Knits

Yarn: The pattern calls for sport weight to be held together with light fingering. I used Concept by Katia Sky “Pailettes”. This yarn is a worsted weight, and is a blown tube yarn construction, made up of 32% cotton, 30% wool, 26% polyamide, and 12% alpaca. The color is “Pale Aqua”. I got this yarn in the warehouse clearance section of Webs in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Needles: US 3 and US 5 wooden circular and double pointed needles. I sized down in needle sizes because I always knit more loosely than Andrea, and I didn’t want to knit a swatch for a hat.

Size: one size

Thoughts: I chose this pattern and yarn because I wanted to make a pattern with simple cables and try a blown tube construction yarn for a fuzzy look that wouldn’t involve having to buy two types of yarn. Blown tube yarns are made by blowing fibers into a small, loosely knitted tube rather than spinning the fibers into yarn.

This was a fun and easy pattern that is great if you want to dip your toe into cabling or enjoy some easy cables. The yarn was nice to use and created a beautiful hat. I like that it has little pailettes that glitter in the light.

One thing I tried based on a recommendation from a friend was doing a slip slip knit (SSK) decrease by slipping as to knit, slipping as to purl, and knitting together through the back loop for a smoother look rather than slipping both stitches as to knit. It worked well, and looks nice!

Overall, I’m very happy with the hat and would make this pattern again.

Pine Forest Hat

Designer: Eugenia of evvash (originally bought on Etsy; now found on Ravelry)

Yarn: The pattern calls for DROPS Nepal which is worsted/aran weight. I used Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok worsted, which is 100% fine highland wool. My colors are “Thermal Spring” (light blue), “Highland Fleece” (cream), and “Golden Meadow” (yellow/green).

Needles: US 4 circular needles

Size: large

Thoughts: I chose this pattern because I loved the tree motif and the colors, which I saw as blue, green, and white on the sample, although they are actually gray, green, and beige. My refusal to swatch for hats was a problem as my hat turned out somewhat large. I tried to correct this as I went, but that didn’t work, so I will either get used to a larger hat or frog this (rip it out) in the future.

This pattern does not hold your hand over much. The size large increase round just tells you to increase evenly 21 stitches, which works out to increasing every 4.71 stitches. Obviously that’s impossible, so I alternated increasing after four stitches and after five stitches. You also need to pay attention and cut your yarn when you finish working a color at rows 8 and 22.

I love how the finished hat looks as far as the colorwork motif. Mine is clearly larger than intended, but that’s the risk you take when you don’t swatch. I’m willing to chance it with hats.

Lighthouse Beanie

This hat is reversible!

Designer: Veronika Lindberg of Kutovakika; this pattern comes from her book Knit This! 21 Gorgeous Everyday Knit Patterns

Yarn: This was a stash buster! All yarn came from my stash. The light blue/aqua was Berroco Ultra Wool DK (100% superwash wool) held with Blue Sky Alpacas Brushed Siri (67% baby suri alpaca, 22% merino wool, 11% bamboo). The black was Malabrigo sock yarn and Cascade Heritage sock yarn held with DROPS brushed alpaca silk. The cream yarn was mystery yarn given to me by a friend (I’m pretty sure it’s superwash wool) and DROPS brushed alpaca silk. The only “new” yarn was the Blue Sky Alpacas yarn, but I thrifted that, and I don’t think it’s available any more. Everything else was leftovers from other projects.

Needles: US 16 wooden circular needles

Size: one size

Thoughts: I knew I was pushing my luck on gauge with this, but my hope was to use up scraps and create a really warm hat. Despite the many hats I have made, sometimes I still need one that fits a specific purpose, and I wanted one that would truly keep my ears warm when it’s really windy, like when I go on winter beach walks.

The construction/shape of this hat is a long tube, closed at both ends.

Illustration from the Lighthouse Beanie pattern

You double it up by pushing one end into the other once it is finished. This also makes the hat reversible since you are always seeing the outside of the tube.

I started knitting and found that my gauge was way off, so I frogged the hat. Why the word “frog”? Because when you unravel it, you rip it, rip it, and that sounds like ribbit, ribbit, the sound a frog makes. 🙂 After frogging, I started again, using Andrea Mowry’s video tutorial for a provisional cast on onto a knitting needle with a crochet hook at the beginning, and casting on fewer stitches. And I think it worked!

I didn’t bother to weave in too many ends when I finished. Mostly, I just pulled them to the inside/wrong side of the tube and trimmed them a bit, knotting a few together where I joined new yarn (Because I can’t stand the thought of not securing the yarn, even though you’re just supposed to leave it–I can’t do it!).

The hat, in progress

One end of the hat is shaped with decreases and one end is just cinched shut.

I finished this toward the end of winter/beginning of spring, and while it seemed like it would be good, it needs proper testing this winter. I also wasn’t sure if I liked the sort of random stripes, so I’ll see how I feel about that this year, too. It would be very interesting to compare this pattern to Musselburgh by Ysolda Teague, which is a similar construction, but is achieved slightly differently, I think.

Bonus Inspiration

If you, like me, love knitting hats, here are a few others I have thought about knitting, just in case you *need* more ideas. I always like new ideas even though I already have about a million!

*Catherdral Grove by Faye Kennington–worsted weight, stranded colorwork, three colors

*Cardamom Coffee by Caitlin Hunter of Boyland Knitworks–fingering weight, stranded colorwork, three colors

*Kasiloff by Caitlin Hunter of Boyland Knitworks–worsted weight, stranded colorwork, three colors

*Chunky Walnut by Katrin Schubert–bulky weight, textured with knits and purls, one color; I’d like to take another crack at this

*Beeswax Hat by Amy van de Laar of Baroque Purls–DK weight, one by one cables, super cool texture, one color

*And for something fun and whimsical, you could try My Dear Lamb by Midori Hirose–aran weight hood that will make the wearer look like a lamb! One color.

Knitting: Moonwake Cowl in Berroco Vintage

Time for another knitting post! Here are the main details:

Pattern: Moonwake Cowl

Designer: Drea Renee Knits/Andrea Mowry

Yarn: Berroco Vintage

details: worsted weight; machine washable blend of 52% acrylic, 40% wool, and 8% nylon; colors are midnight blue (#5185), sky blue (#5170), goldenrod (#5127), and pale pink (#5110)

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By putting a black and white filter over my picture, I can make sure I have a good range of tones–basically a bunch of different grays–that will help my colors stand out from one another.

Needle size: US 7, 16″ circular wooden interchangeable needles from Lykke

And now for the chatty details:

Today I want to share the Moonwake Cowl pattern that I knitted up in Berroco Vintage yarn. So far, stranded colorwork is my favorite type of knitting. I absolutely love it. You get to use different colors while creating what is essentially a print as you make your fabric/item, and it’s interesting to see the design emerging little by little as you follow the chart.

The structure of this cowl is a tube that is twisted into a Moebius strip, so it always sort of has that twist that you might see in a long cowl that has been doubled up, but without the bulk. The tube construction means that you are always seeing the outside when you wear it, and you really don’t have to do much (or any) weaving in of yarn ends, because they’re hidden inside the cowl. Since I had never made a cowl like this, and I liked the colorwork pattern, I wanted to give it a try.

I got my yarn this summer while in Michigan at Yarn on Front in Dowagiac, MI. I basically copied the colors in the pattern sample. I looked around the shop at different options for awhile before settling on Vintage. I’m finding that I choose Berroco yarns often for projects these days. They have a decent variety of yarn types of good quality at a fairly reasonable price. They don’t have every color in the rainbow, but they have a pretty good range of colors and, in this case, the exact colors that I wanted. I can get a little snobby about only using natural fibers, but I have to admit that this is a nice-feeling yarn that was great to knit with. So, I’m trying to be just a little more open-minded on that front.

I held my pink as my dominant color when I was knitting with it, and generally just tried to keep my lightest color dominant on any given row. If you’re wondering what in the world I am talking about, it’s this: when you are working with two colors of yarn, the position you hold each color in determines if it stands out or recedes, so I held my pink (or other lighter colors) in the position that would make them stand out more than my darker colors. It’s pretty cool how that works.

I didn’t bother with a gauge swatch before beginning since this isn’t a really fitted garment. The pattern starts with a provisional cast on, which Andrea has a YouTube video tutorial for. Then you knit in a tube until a specified length, twist one end 180 degrees, and join the two ends with the Kitchener stitch (she has a video for that, too). I tend to knit loosely, so I ended up not needing to repeat the colorwork chart more than twice to get the length I needed. Unfortunately, I didn’t measure my work and find that out until I was half way through the third repeat of the chart, so I had to rip back a bit, but I’m glad I did, because the length specified by the pattern is just right.

my cowl, in progress

I didn’t enjoy knitting this quite as much as I expected to, but I don’t think that had anything to do with the pattern, which is excellent. I had other projects I wanted to get to, and I think my excitement for them took away from my enjoyment of this project. One thing that was great, though, was that my husband got me a Cocoknits Maker’s Board at Pintuck & Purl’s Maker’s Day sale, and this was the first project I used it on. The Maker’s Board is really just some metal sheets inside washable kraft fabric, so it’s a simple design, but it’s really helpful for holding colorwork charts and keeping your place in them. It comes with several small, very strong magnets. I eventually also bought the magnetic ruler and gauge set to use to keep my place on wider charts and asked for the metal-backed row counter for Christmas, but for this project, I didn’t have those, and putting the two small rectangular magnets that came with the board together helped me keep my place since this chart isn’t all that wide. Prior to this, I kept my charts in a plastic sleeve and kept my place with washi tape and a row counter, just in case my pattern shifted inside the sleeve. That worked, but this works a bit better and it’s also such a pleasure to have nice tools. I’m very thankful for the gift.

As for the finished cowl, I really like it. It is comfortable and warm, and I love that no matter how you wear it, the right side is always out. That is the saddest part of wearing the couple of other colorwork cowls I have–they always flip over so the inside shows instead of the patterned outside. I love that this solves that problem. Andrea Mowry has another cowl with this same construction called the Velvet Mirror Cowl that I wouldn’t mind trying one day. I think it’s a really smart design.

The Mookwake Cowl took me from the beginning of September to the beginning of December to finish, but most people could fly right through this. I tend to have a few sewing and knitting projects going at a time, and usually only knit for a little while each evening, so things take me awhile.

Final estimation: great pattern, great yarn, great tools (the Maker’s Board). Item needed: I should have focused more on enjoying this pattern while I was in the midst of it. I’m definitely enjoying the finished cowl now.

Knitting: The Weekender Light Sweater in Shetland Wool

Hello, everyone! I hope you had a nice time over the holidays. I took a break from my day-to-day activities as much as possible, hung out with my family, ate lots of good food, and got in some nice walks, ice skating, and puzzle time! Now it’s back to it! I managed to get lots of good (and sorely needed) blog pictures with the help of my husband, so I can share some projects with you. And what better to share now that it’s fully winter than some knitting–and a sweater, no less?

Here are the details:

Pattern: The Weekender Light by Drea Renee Knits/Andrea Mowry

Size: 4

Yarn: Jamieson & Smith 2-Ply Jumper Weight (fingering weight) in shade 095, Medium Pink

Needles: metal circular needles in sizes US 0, 1, 2, 3

Timeframe: April 14, 2022 (swatching!) to November 11, 2022

Process

With my penchant for bright colorwork, this sweater pattern was a surprising choice for me…but it was directly influenced by the Wool & Honey sweater I made. That sweater, also a Drea Renee Knits (DRK) pattern, also knit in Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight, has to be my most worn sweater to date. There is something magical in that weird, boxy shape and slim sleeves with the cool texture on the yoke, knit up in this beautiful woolen-spun yarn. It’s lightweight and the perfect year-round sweater. In fact, I love it so much, I got nervous I was going to wear it out. I didn’t want to knit it again–it took me a long time and I wanted to make something a little bit different.

Enter, The Weekender Light sweater. In knitting it, I could use more of the Jamieson & Smith 2-Ply yarn, which I had fallen in love with. And this time I would try out one of their yarn cones rather than ordering balls of yarn, for added savings. I trusted in my desire for another sweater I could wear constantly to carry me through all the miles of stockinette stitch in fingering weight yarn that this pattern required.

Now that I knew I loved this yarn, I got smart and ordered a shade card (yarn color sample card) along with my cone of yarn. That way I could see the different colors in person and wouldn’t have to guess on future projects since it’s pretty likely I will order from J & S again. And then I threw a few balls of shade FC22, Bright Pink Mix, into my cart, in the hopes that it would coordinate with the cone of yarn I had ordered, since originally, I had planned to make all my ribbing a darker pink, (see this tutorial for how to do that at the neckline). Unfortunately, I didn’t love them together when they came, so I saved the Bright Pink Mix yarn for another project and decided to dive into a single-color knit.

I tend to knit much more loosely than Andrea Mowry, so I ended up getting gauge on US 1 needles, rather than the suggested US 4’s. I knit a lot of DRK patterns, and this is typical for me. Actually, it’s not just DRK patterns. I usually have to size down with my needles to get gauge. I was between sizes, and since I know my tendency to knit loosely, I chose the smaller of the two, a size 4. I started out using a US 0 on the ribbing and a US 1 for the body. I didn’t enjoy the cast on, but it definitely looks nice. I also knit the ribbing pretty tightly, so that wasn’t the most fun, either, but that was all on me. After that, everything was going well!

Split hem detail

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You actually knit the body inside out so the knitting is on the inside and the reverse stockinette/purl side is on the outside.

Then things took a little turn when we went on a road trip last summer.

I was a little way into knitting the body of the sweater when we started driving. Now, I love a good road trip…once we’re on the trip. Leading up to it, I always stress. Did I remember everything? Clothes? Food? Medicine? What if we get in an accident? What if one of us gets tired? And on and on. I’m actually better than I used to be, but regardless, I always get a bit spun up about things before we go. Well, it seems that I took that nervous energy with me on the trip, even though I felt fine once we were on the road, and suddenly, I was knitting too tightly. I had managed to get in a few inches as we drove (which took awhile). All I had to do was look at it to realize that my knitting had tightened up.

I put the sweater in time out.

Then I went to the yarn store with my Mom, got yarn for two new projects, ordered some needles and stitch markers, and started on something totally different. That sweater stayed in time out until we got home.

Once home, I could finally face up to the fact that I had to rip out my knitting and go up a needle size.

I ripped my last few inches out, put in a lifeline just in case I reverted back to my original tension, and went on with the body, using US 2’s. On I went, seemingly forever. To be fair, I don’t knit a lot in a day. I sometimes put in a little time at night in front of the TV, but often that’s it. I also usually pair a longer or more complicated project like a sweater, with a faster or easier project like a hat or cowl. So, little by little this grew until I got to the sleeves. I went up a needle size to a US 3 for those. On Andrea’s recommendation, I usually go up a needle size for sleeves to keep my gauge consistent.

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Detail of the sleeve join

At the end of October, I got a fairly mild case of COVID. After sleeping for a few days, I started to feel better, but was still confined to my room, so as not to get my family members sick. At that point, something lit a fire under me, and I decided to knit as much as I could and finish this thing! I watched a lot of TV on my laptop, and knit sitting down, standing up, in between organizing my sewing patterns, after stretching out my arms, etc., etc. Shortly after leaving quarantine, I finished my second sleeve! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Then it was on to blocking. This yarn really transforms with blocking. And I especially noticed that with the yarn on the cone. The cone yarn from J & S was “in oil” meaning it has some spinning oil on it. I never felt, noticed, or smelled any real difference from knitting with the balls, except that maybe the yarn looked less fluffy. During blocking the water was a little cloudy, so I rinsed a few times until it was clear, but other than that, it was the same as blocking yarn from the balls. The yarn on the sweater went from looking like it was knit from a rough string (it didn’t feel rough, just looked a bit rustic, I guess), to fluffing out and looking soft and beautiful. I use store brand CVS baby shampoo as my “wool wash” so it came out smelling of wool and baby shampoo, a lovely combination.

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So how does wearing this compare to the Wool & Honey? I don’t think it’s equivalent, to be honest. I like this sweater, and I have gotten a lot of compliments on it, but I don’t love it as much. It has the same kind of boxy fit, although I think mine is slightly smaller at the bottom, probably due to my early gauge issues and knitting the ribbing fairly tightly. I like the round neck of the Wool & Honey better as well as the yoke construction. This sweater has the same nice light weight, and I like it with close-fitting pants. It’s also a color I wear a lot, so I’m really glad I made it, but I need to wear it more to see if it will become the staple that my Wool & Honey has.

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I also own the original Weekender pattern, which is knit in a worsted weight, but I need to wear this one more to see if I would make that version or not. Now that I can compare aspects of both the Weekender Light and the Wool & Honey in the same yarn, I wonder if I would be happier with something like the DRK Everyday Sweater which has a construction more like the Wool & Honey. Who knows?

The great thing is that I am starting to get a bit of a hand knit sweater wardrobe, which I love. I remember when that happened with my sewing, and how great it was. I love wearing something I have made nearly every day.

label by Kylie and the Machine

Even though every single sweater feels like it takes forever, I like knitting them alongside the hats and cowls, which are my other favorite things to knit. I just need to stretch and strengthen my arms a bit so that I can knit more and longer without injuring myself. The pitfalls of crafting are real, people…but so are the rewards!

Sock Knitting: Drea Renee Knits Sparks Socks and DRK Everyday Socks

I like the idea of being able to make an entire outfit. Do I want to make all of my own clothes? Not really. But do I want to be able to make all the types of clothes I might wear on a given day? Yes!

I have ventured into most areas of clothes making. Socks are one area I don’t visit a lot. I made a few pairs back in my first knitting phase, and I have sewn socks, but since picking knitting back up, I have more or less avoided socks. Rather than making one thing, I would have to make a pair. I wasn’t too sure I wanted to or that I would have the will to make both socks.

After I got a few sweaters under my belt, though, I realized that if I can knit two sleeves, I can definitely knit two socks. They are typically even smaller than sleeves! I was also inspired by my Mom, who is one of my knitting buddies, and who has gotten really good at socks. I needed to give this a try.

Drea Renee Knits Sparks Socks

Last year my Mom and I decided to knit the Drea Renee Knits Sparks socks pattern at the same time.

This is a stranded colorwork sock pattern with two colors. We’re both big fans of Drea Renee Knits patterns, and stranded colorwork is my favorite type of knitting so far. I had some Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn from when I first discovered their yarn (and speckled, hand-dyed yarn in general) that I wanted to use. There was a white mini skein with speckles of green, blue, pink, and purple in it that I used at the top of my socks, and a larger white skein with pink, purple, and black speckles that I used for the rest of the sock. That skein was actually reclaimed from a cowl that I frogged (ripped out). I can’t find the colorway name of the mini skein, but the larger skein was called “Cheeky”. I paired these with some Cascade Heritage yarn (colorway: “Real Black“) from Wool & Co. because I love that high contrast. All yarn was superwash wool combined with nylon for strength. The Hedgehog Fibres Yarn originally came from Pintuck & Purl.

Making the socks was fun, and I learned a lot. The design is cool and interesting, and the heels and toes look pretty. I really like all the tips and support designer Andrea Mowry puts into her patterns because there are a lot of things to know in knitting, and those tips and YouTube videos make it easy to learn as you go, no matter your level.

In making these particular socks, I made a few…mistakes? Accidental design choices? I don’t know. I’m a loose knitter, so I sized down to some tiny needles (US 1 and US 0), but nevertheless, my socks came out a little too large…definitely too large to wear out and about every day. No matter. They could be sleep socks. I usually wear socks when I go to bed and then, as my feet warm up, I kick them off. Their looseness made them perfect for this.

These are much looser than they look here

The other thing I did was accidentally reverse the colors on the second sock. It’s hard to remember what I was thinking because it looks like I redrew the color chart like I usually do so that I wouldn’t get mixed up, but somewhere along the line, I spaced out, and they are opposites. When I realized what I had done, I had to laugh. There are definitely socks out there that are made this way on purpose, and they look cool, but this was 100% a mistake on my part. Haha.

Hm…Something seems different between these two

Sock opposites!

Since they are superwash and already too big, I have thrown them in the washer and laid them out to dry, and they have done great. I think they may have even accidentally gone through the dryer once or twice. They are pretty pilly at this point, but that’s easy to fix. They’re holding up great.

DRK Everyday Socks

My second pair of socks were the DRK Everyday Socks.

I used these as a sort of slow-and-steady, easy project since a lot of the pattern is knit 2, purl 2 ribbing. They were the project I brought along when I was listening to a speaker or knitting in front of the TV or in the car, and I worked on them slowly little by little over several months.

Come to think of it, I have done a lot of knit 2, purl 2 ribbing over the last year across three different projects and I discovered a few things.

1. I like doing this kind of repetitive ribbing best when knitting Continental rather than English style.

2. I also find it a lot more fun if I am using an interesting (rather than a plain) yarn.

Two of my three ribbing-filled projects have used a plain yarn, but these socks were more fun because I was using this great speckled sock yarn (colorway: “Pixie on a Bender“) from Birch Dyeworks for most of it. For the rest, I used a mini skein that I had which was also from Birch Dyeworks (colorway: “Mom’s Hot Pants“). The speckled skein, which is a white and pink base filled with pink, green, black, purple, yellow, blue, and even the occasional trace of orange was a gift from Maggie at Pintuck & Purl. Back when I used to work there we made plans to knit socks together so I could learn two-at-a-time Magic Loop*, where you knit two socks at once. Well…we didn’t get beyond about an inch and a half and the two-at-a-time technique never cemented itself in my brain. Even though those socks never materialized, I got to keep the yarn, and have always wanted to put it to good use. And those speckles really kept it fun.

My knitting was tighter on these socks, which I was happy about, so they are only slightly loose, and work great as everyday socks in general. I have worn them a few times, and I’m not sure yet if I like them as much as store-bought socks or not. When I first put them on, I can feel the texture of the sock under the front part of my foot, and I don’t love it. As I go along, I stop noticing it, but the jury is still out on whether or not I love handmade socks for everyday wear. I do love them on cold days with slippers, though!

This pattern was fun, I learned some interesting new things, and while I like the look of the Afterthought Heel in the Sparks socks better, both were great to knit. I like being able to have contrasting toes, heels, and cuffs, and both patterns allow for that in different ways.

It was also interesting to see what a dramatic difference blocking made in the look of the finished socks. Even though they are not at all necessary, I bought some Bryspun sock blockers by Bryson from Pintuck & Purl before finishing these. You can get a sense of how the socks looked before blocking in this picture of them soaking.

The socks look longer and skinnier before blocking. I soak them in lukewarm water with a small amount of store brand baby shampoo before rinsing and drying them.

Now they look more like socks!

After knitting both of these, I feel like I have a good handle on using Magic Loop to knit one sock at a time. *If you haven’t heard of it, Magic Loop is a technique wherein you use a long circular knitting needle to knit smaller-circumference things in the round rather than using double pointed needles (DPNs). I’m fine with double pointed needles, but I am really glad I learned to knit this way too. I never really thought I would like it better than using DPNs, but I think I may be starting to.

Now that my DRK Everyday Socks are done, I’m trying to finish up a cowl I started in a class I took as well as a sweater. After that? Probably some Speedy Selbu mittens…just time time for Spring! Haha.

Winter Knitting: Wool and Honey Sweater in Jamieson and Smith 2 Ply Jumper Weight

If you are reading this post, then it means I have actually succeeded!  Last week, I had some family things to take care of that took the time I would normally be blogging, and this week our computer sort of…exploded?  There were no pieces of metal or plastic flying through the air, but there was a loud bang and lots of sparks.  Thanks to my in-laws, I have a laptop I can use to get everything sorted and out on the blog, although for awhile there, I couldn’t upload pictures or get WordPress to save my post. However, it seems I have finally prevailed (with help from my husband and the internet)! In the grand scheme of things, this is minor, but it feels like an accomplishment nonetheless.  While I’m not bad at technology, it’s far from my first love.  What I really love is fibers I can sew and knit.  Today’s project is of the knitting variety–I made a Wool & Honey sweater!

My Wool and Honey sweater in Jamieson and Smith 2 ply Jumper Weight yarn

The Wool & Honey sweater is a pattern from Drea Renee Knits (Andrea Mowry).  The first time I saw someone wearing this sweater, I thought it was really cool, but had a very strange shape.  The shoulders and sleeves are fitted, while the body is wide and boxy.  There’s a really cool honeycomb pattern that sits on top of the stitches at the neck, chest, and upper arms.

Wool and Honey sweater front view

Wool and Honey sweater back view

I initially wrote the design off as something with interesting details that wasn’t quite for me.  But somehow, as often happens, the design got into my head.  Then I accidentally made a sweater with a similar shape in the fall…and I liked it!

I bought the paper pattern at Pintuck & Purl and decided that I would join in their Winter Sweater Make-Along on Zoom. 

After researching yarn, I decided to go with Jamieson & Smith 2 ply Jumper Weight, which was both less expensive, even after having it shipped from the UK, and less prone to breakage than the recommended yarn.

Once I got all my supplies, I knit up a few “swift swatches in the round” and realized that I was, as usual, knitting very loosely. 

My swatch from the right side after blocking

Here is the back of my swatch after blocking–it looks messy, but it helps you swatch quickly in the round.

I recalculated my gauge so that I could knit at the gauge that I got, and found that I would need to make the smallest size, rather than the size I would normally fit into, which would have been the medium or large.  I really had to make it work since I was already using very tiny US size 0 and 1 knitting needles.  Here is where I have to give a huge shoutout to Meaghan over at the Drea Renee Knits (DRK) team.  While I could knit the XS to get a bust size that would work for me, it looked like the arms would be too tight.  I e-mailed the DRK pattern help address and explained my problem.  Meaghan took time to talk through all the details with me, help me with my math, explain that Andrea Mowry drafted these sleeves so they would fit well with anywhere from -2″ up to +3″ of ease, AND she offered to check over all my math once I made my calcuations since her formula was slightly different than the one I had first used.  She really went above and beyond, and I am so grateful.  It made a huge difference in my confidence and in the finished sweater to have someone that knowledgeable to talk things over with.  And as it turned out, the XS was going to be fine with the gauge I got, sleeves and all.

Knitting this pattern was fascinating.  I had no idea how the honeycombs would be formed.  They are really ingenious. I love that they look like they are randomly scattered over the surface of the sweater and that they grow in size as they go from the neck down toward the waist. 

This is my second DRK pattern, and I am a convert.  Any special techniques I might not understand are explained in the pattern or on Andrea’s YouTube channel.  Knowing I could e-mail someone for pattern help is really the icing on the cake.  This pattern was challenging, but not too hard thanks to the help provided, and it was interesting.  The only part I didn’t love was how long it takes to knit a sweater with fingering weight yarn on tiny needles.  Needless to say, the Winter Sweater Make-Along finished long before I was done with my own sweater, but it gave me the push I needed to get started, and it was fun to connect with other knitters over Zoom.  Just as I really began to think I would never finish, I got going on my sleeves.  Even making them a little bit longer, by the time I got to the sleeves, the end really was imminent (even if it didn’t always feel like it).  I began this in mid-October and finished in early to mid-February.

I absolutely love this sweater.  In the first two weeks after I finished it, I wore it almost every day.  My family started to laugh at me, I wore it so much.  It’s warmer than I expected for the weight of the yarn, but not bulky or too warm.  

Here are my takeaways from this project: 

• I am a total fan of DRK patterns.  They are interesting, fun, and there is great support to help you through the parts you don’t understand.  I have since signed up for her newsletter, which I’m really enjoying.  I even got my mom hooked as we’re knitting Andrea’s Sparks socks pattern together over Zoom. 
• I love this Jamieson & Smith 2 ply Jumper Weight yarn.  It’s beautiful in color and texture and great to knit with.  It blooms nicely with blocking and it has given me a whole new appreciation for the Shetland yarn I have in my stash from my first knitting phase years ago.  This yarn comes from Shetland sheep which are an old and very cool breed.  I love its rustic look.  It’s softer than you would expect, and while it blooms when blocked, it doesn’t jump right to getting felted.  I would definitely knit more projects with this yarn. 
• That being said, I don’t love how long it took to knit a sweater out of fingering weight yarn.  I know four months isn’t forever, but it often felt like it took forever to complete even a single round of stitches.  I absolutely love the lightness and drape of the sweater, so I understand why people love fingering weight sweaters.  I won’t say I’ll never knit one again, but I definitely need a break. 

And the boxy body plus close-fitting arm style?  I love it!  I don’t like how it looks with every pair of pants I own, but with closer-fitting bottoms, I do like it, and it’s a dream to wear.  The stretchy sleeves and forgiving fit of the body are also great for weight fluctuations, making this a sweater that should last a long time. 

I’m so glad I tried this.  While sewing is my biggest love, I have done less of it than I would have expected over the last year, moving at a slow-but-steady pace, while I have done more knitting than I would have expected.  Knitting is easy to pick up and put down, and I have two new knitting buddies in my mom, who has come back to knitting after a long absence, and one of my kids, who is really getting into it. 

I love, love, love being able to make my own clothes.  Knitting gives me one more tool in that box. 

If I could add any other tool?  Shoe-making!  Maybe one day.  🙂