To the casual observer, knitters must sometimes seem a bit simple. Who else could be so easily amused by something so utterly predictable as watching a stitch pattern take shape, or one colour following another in a handpainted skein? It’s impossible to explain the magic of seeing a stitch behave so differently in this single-ply silk rather than that cabled merino, or finding a pattern that makes the colours in your variegated yarn take their places in a delicate dance.
When making my Runaround mitts, I suspected that the slip-stitch rib I developed would probably be a lot of fun in a variegated yarn. It turned out even more fun than I expected, creating strongly defined columns that begged to go travelling. So I sent them twisting around my wrist, almost accidentally creating a perfect thumb gusset.
I’ve made the Wraparound mitts in three different yarns so far. Two of them – Easyknits Superbiffle* (what a fabulous name!) in Devil’s Breath and Handmaiden Casbah in Red Fox – created clear vertical colour lines against a finely flecked background. In Sweet Georgia’s Tough Love Sock in Tea Party, the predominant effect was rather of strong horizontal bands at the base giving way to more dispersed colours on the hand. My test knitters have found similarly varied, always gorgeous effects at play in their different yarns. Easily amused I may be, but I’m really looking forward to making the next pair and seeing what happens there!
The next pair? Oh yes. As with the Elfbaby hat, it seems you can’t make just one. It helps that they’re really fast to make, light on the yarn requirements (less than half a standard sock skein for all except plus size) and delightfully snug to wear. And you know… Christmas is coming.
Buy the pattern for €3.99 and get your gift list sorted!
Woolly thoughts (and fuzzy logic) 