some knitting notes

I have had a couple of queries lately about knitting with recycled yarn. May I begin by saying that I cannot recommend this practice enough - you can get great yarn (cashmere, silk, angora, camel, merino, you name it) that no-one else is knitting with, knit an entire garment for under $10, keep garments out of landfill, recycle and get a completely unique knitted item.

There are several excellent resources on-line regarding re-/up-cycling yarn. I started with the tutorial over at Neauveau Fiber Arts and have written up some notes of my own. I also highly recommend the UnRavelers group on Ravelry for information, support, sharing and inspiration.









There are a few common concerns about knitting with recycled yarn, one of which is the kinkiness of it, that is, the kinks in the unravelled yarn. I have rarely found this to be a problem. Usually I just unravel from the garment straight onto my ball winder, perhaps winding it twice, keeping the tension pretty tight. And then knit with it and that's fine. On occasion I have found that the residual kinks have affected the knit-ability of the yarn (namely with the yarn that I used for my Sunrise Circle Jacket and the Columbia Beret). With that I did go to the trouble of winding it into a hank, soaking the hank for a while in warm water, then letting it dry. I'm the first to concede that this is laborious but I find rarely necessary.















And of course one of the major bonuses of knitting with recycled yarn is that you can often knit an entire garment piece - sleeve, even the back - all with one strand of yarn. Yes, that's right, many less ends to weave in!

rain is a-comin'

Oh yes!

Well actually, it's here in Seattle already. After a particularly dry summer when people's lawns turned brown and gardens actually needed to be watered, the rain for which Seattle is famous has started. I think that we are on day three of a forecast ten-day stretch. That's ok with me, I like the rain.

It's also a sign that it's going to get colder, soon, and my mind turns to ways to keep warm. After finishing Wallingford and being on the verge of completing my Sunrise Circle (it was blocking), I decided on a quick beret.

The Vital Statistics

Pattern: Columbia beret by Sarah Pope of Blue Garter (a free pattern - thank you Sarah).
Size: Just the one but it fits me fine.
Yarn: Recycled J Crew 100 per cent wool in a dark burgundy.
Needles: I used my Addi Turbo 4.5mm circular which is probably a bit small for this wool but ideal for making a firmer fabric for a hat.
Start to Finish: 11 October 2009 to 12 October 2009.
Comments: I didn't knit the ties on top but just crocheted a little cord of ten or so stitches and made that into a loop.

Verdict: Alas, this may be a little to scratchy to wear. I'll have to see whether it still bothers me against my forehead when the weather is really cold. My meret is very soft and comfortable to wear and I can see myself reaching for that first. I also don't think that I achieved quite enough structure with the yarn that I used. I'm wondering whether a bit of a spritz and a quick spin in the clothes dryer may help this along.










Apart from these misgivings (all to do with my yarn substitution) I like this pattern and I really like the way the eyelets swirl. It also knits up very quickly for instant gratification (it took two days but the actual knitting was all completed within 24 hours with an overnight sleep thrown in). If I had ready access to the available yarn I might consider trying it again but as it is, if I don't end up wearing this version, I think that I'll look for something else to knit with yarn that I already have.

meret

The vital statistics

Pattern: Meret, the mystery beret, by Woolly Wormhead, accessed through Ravelry.
Yarn: a heathered red lambswool recycled from a mens Old Navy vest.
Needles: 4mm for the brim, 4.5mm for the body of the beret.
Start to finish: 17 February 2009 to 25 February 2009.
Comments: I knit an inch in stocking stitch and then an inch in 2x2 rib and included four repeats in order to make it super slouchy.

Verdict: Super! This is really what I was looking for when I knit Fern Glade. I think that I may have gotten the gauge wrong on that project or the yarn just didn't suit it. This one came together really well. I love the shape and the size. I also found knitting this to be really inspiring - the whole time I was thinking that I could use the basic parameters and substitute lace patterns, even gauge if I felt really adventurous. The pattern calls for an Aran/10 ply weight yarn that knits at 18 stitches per 10cm but I guess that you could do some maths and work out how many stitches are required to get the same brim circumference in a lighter weight yarn. I also thought that you could create a diamond/leaf shape by shifting the alternating pattern repeat along by half a repeat. That's hard to explain - might have to knit one up to show!