March 22, 2010
Woodsman gloves
Slowly but surely, I am starting to use my handspun yarns. When I started learning to spin, my main focus was on creating an even, balanced yarn, but I didn't think about knitting them into specific projects, should they have turned out in decent shape. The yarn was enough. One thing at a time.
Now, I find myself thinking about what project each spun yarn should be, and I try to spin the right yarn for the job. at the very least I aim for a specific weight of yarn.
My first project with handspun yarn is this pair of half-finger gloves for Brian. This Corriedale was the first wool willing to cooperate with my beginning spinning efforts. I spun two ounces on a spindle, it turned out well, and I decided it was suited to rustic half-finger gloves. I bought two more ounces of wool to complete the project, and having obtained my wheel in the interim, set out to spin the rest of the yarn on the wheel.
Would you expect a novice spinner's wheel-spun efforts to match her spindle spinning? ah, no. and it didn't. Though the spinning went much faster, the yarn ended up smaller and tighter than the yarn from the spindle. of course, I found this out after I had a glove and a half complete, with not enough of either the spindle or wheel-spun yarn for a full pair. As a solution, I used a half and half method - ripped both down to the cuffs, and used the finer yarn to re-knit the hands.
So, in the completed gloves, the ribbed cuffs are spindle-spun yarn, and the hands wheel-spun yarn. It made sense to increase stitches at top of the cuffs and proceed with the smaller-gauge yarn. The hard part was abandoning the one already-completed hand, ends woven in and everything. and if you've ever knit gloves, you know there are a lot of ends.
Now that they are complete, all those ends were worth it. Just in time for the weather to warm up! ah, well they will be ready for next fall..
Comments (7)
Smart move, to rip it up and use the thicker yarn for the cuffs, it looks really nice.
Posted by Frida Åberg | March 22, 2010 1:21 PM
Posted on March 22, 2010 13:21
very nice! they look snugly and warm.
Posted by Sara | March 22, 2010 1:32 PM
Posted on March 22, 2010 13:32
I love the way they came out. I imagine the ribbing is nice and toasty while the hands are light but warm. love that chocolate color.
Posted by yahaira | March 23, 2010 7:25 AM
Posted on March 23, 2010 07:25
These are beautiful! Clever solution to the two slightly-different weights. I bet they are so warm and toasty!
Posted by grumperina | March 23, 2010 9:37 AM
Posted on March 23, 2010 09:37
love, love, love them! they are so professional looking (that's how rob complements my knitting projects!)
Posted by mari | March 23, 2010 12:51 PM
Posted on March 23, 2010 12:51
Wow! Those look storebought (yarn and gloves).. seriously. Great job from START to FINISH! =)
Posted by yaiAnn | March 23, 2010 5:42 PM
Posted on March 23, 2010 17:42
These are spectacularly lovely! So EVEN all around! It seems to me that glove construction would call for a tighter gauge in the hands anyway.
Posted by Rainy Daisy | March 24, 2010 2:27 PM
Posted on March 24, 2010 14:27