Category Archives: Yarn

Ton of Wool Cormo wool sample

Disclaimer: Ton of Wool sent me a free sample of yarn. Their only request was that I provide feedback directly to them. I’ve decided to write about the yarn on my blog because it’s the kind of yarn that I can see myself using on a future project.

Tonofwool Cormo sample

Ton of Wool – an Australian social enterprise founded in 2011 that is bringing Tasmanian Cormo wool to yarn lovers – sent me a 27 gram sample of their 10 ply Aran weight 100% Cormo wool to try out. Continue reading

When fingerless mittens go wrong

Sticking with my current obsession with stripes and double pointed needles, I decided to work up some fingerless mittens. I didn’t put much planning in and unfortunately I paid the price.

I looked for a pattern online with roughly the same type of yarn and used their stitch counts and general approach but I didn’t check the hand size they were aiming for and I didn’t knit a gauge swatch (oops).

My  own wrist is very thin and I have a long palm and hands. I tried the first mitten on as I was making it. I could see that it wasn’t looking quite right and I made a few adjustment because I was keen on the stripes and trying out the yarn. When the first mitten was done it floated around on my hand!  I tried it on a friend’s hand and she also found it awkwardly proportioned. Oh dear. Perhaps I could shrink and felt them, I thought, so I made the second one anyway.

A pair of hand knit mittens before felting
The pair of freshly knit mittens
A pair of hand knit mittens after felting attempt
The pair of mittens after attempted felting.

I’ve never felted anything before so after some googling for instructions I gave it a try and, while it might not appear so from the photos above, the mittens have shrunk a touch so they’re not as large as they were but they are still roomy. The wrist area above the ribbing is still too wide. The shape of the mitten between the wrist and the thumb does not follow the shape of a human hand.  The thumb hole feels slightly tight and awkward.  And they don’t even look felted! Continue reading

Colour play for knitted socks

I’ve become attached to my sock knitting needles after making my first three pairs of socks and an armful of mittens. My fourth and fifth socks have involved colour play rather than relying on self-striping yarns.

Novita Nostalgia socks

Digging in to my yarn stash from Finland, this pair were made with Novita Nostalgia and Novita 7 Veljestä yarn. They have a longer cuff which is folded down in this photo:

Hand knit socks from Novita yarns Continue reading