Knitting | Hello Yarn

A Handspun Dog Sweater

on February 7, 2022

Pippa needed a new sweater and I had just the yarn for her, spun during the 2021 Tour de Fleece. The fiber is “All Bark and No Bite” Corriedale, spun into 8 oz., 352 yards of Aran weight chain ply from the full width of the top for big chunks of color.

This is some serious Rainbow Brite action. The sweater is one that I devised for her when we first got her 13 years ago. I start with the neck, then do two sets of paired increases to the leg openings. I knit back and forth for the section between her front legs, then switch and knit back and forth across the back. I then join the two sections behind the front leg openings and resume knitting in the round. A single line of paired decreases nips in for the tummy. I put approx. 1/3 of the stitches on a holder to shorten the underside, then decrease until just the back half or so stitches are left, then put on the ribbing all around the opening and around the leg holes. Works great!

The chunky, springy yarn made for a very soft and squishy sweater. She’s toasty warm on those minus degree days, with her sweater and baby carrot shoes.

I don’t have a pattern for your dog, but there are lots out there! There’s a dog sweater generator on Ravelry that looks promising, and a special wiener dog sweater, also Ravelry, too!

7 Comments

Eternity Scarf

on December 4, 2013

I love these things. I’ve made a bunch. This is my favorite, though, and it’s because of this yarn. Oh, this yarn. Crispy, crunchy, hand-dyed a crazygood color. It has the kind of body I want in a cowl that has the job of keeping me warm. It stands up by itself!

Pattern: Michele Wang’s Eternity Scarf
Yarn: Jill Draper Makes Stuff Mini Empire in Straw into Gold colorway
Needle: 8US
Size: 58″ (measured in center section) x 9″

I made the large size on a larger needle than the pattern calls for (and if you were to do the same, you’d probably want to go bigger as I am a super loose knitter), as this is a heavier yarn. I had to cut the stockinette section short as I ran out of yarn. It’s still awesomely massive.

I mean, seriously, look at that yarn.

5 Comments

New Pattern- Pointy Pointy Mittens

on September 24, 2013

The fall issue of PLY Magazine has been released and I have a new handspun mitten pattern in it.

Triangles, zigzags, chevrons, BIG triangles, triangular stripes, triangles for your head!, and generally pointy designs. They’re everywhere! I want them all. I want them to be mittens. I want them to be handspun. So, when Jacey asked me to write a pattern around the use of color, triangles happened.

The mittens shown above are knit from handspun semi-solid Spunky Eclectic “Dijon” on Shetland and Hello Yarn “Gobbler” on Cheviot, but the world is your oyster as far as choosing colorways for these. The simple patterning will look great in subtle colors as well as super brights. I have been loving spinning 2 ply striping yarns lately and the pattern covers how I split and spin fiber for 2 matching striping yarns (1 for each mitten) from one 4 oz. bag of fiber.

I chose these particular fibers because I wanted a springy, squishy yarn. Shetland and Cheviot are crimpy and puffy yet strong- perfect for these mittens where I wanted the graphic patterning to be softened somewhat by both the color and the slight fuzziness of the fiber.

PATTERN INFO:
Size: Adult S (M, L, XL)

Actual Measurements: 8.5” (9”, 9.5”, 9.75” ) circumference and 10.25” (10.75”, 11”, 11.25”) long

To Fit: Choose a size that’s about an inch larger than your hand, measured around the widest part, not including the thumb. When in doubt, go larger. My 7.5” hand is equally at home in 8.5” and 9” mittens.

Gauge: 6.5 (6.25, 6, 5.75) stitches and 8 (7.75, 7.5, 7.25) rows per inch. Stitch gauge is more important than row. No one wants a tight mitten!

Needles: size 2 (3, 4, 5) US for mitten body, size 3 (4, 5, 6) US for thumb, if desired. Finished mitten size is determined by gauge/needle. I find that my knitting is tighter in very small circumferences, so I use a larger needle for my thumbs. If this is a problem for you, too, going up a needle size helps a lot.

Yarn: 120 (130, 140, 150) yards of each of 2 colors. I’d recommend spinning 2 oz./ 174 yards of each in case you need to do any yarn surgery to make the mittens match.

For now, the pattern is only available in PLY Magazine, so snap up an issue! It’s a great magazine.

EDIT:
I received my copy of the magazine today and discovered an illustrative photo on page 89 wasn’t the correct one. My instructions to spin from “the numbered end” make a lot more sense if you see this, instead-

4 Comments

Posts from the ‘Knitting’ category