Fiber Fool

One of the projects that Amanda graciously modeled for me in 90+ degree heat a few weeks ago was this one - Fit To Be Tied. Don’t let the smile on her face and the lack of sweat fool you - this was hot. It was knit from ArtYarn’s Cashemere Sock yarn.

The yarn was the inspiration for the design, coming in at the $36 mark for 50 gm or 160 yds. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time justifying $72 socks. But sometimes there is a yarn like this that crosses your path and you can’t not buy it, but you can’t justify more than one skein. Then what do you do with it?

After falling in love my Kate Shawl swatch that was just perfect to wear around the neck to chase away chills or over my head as a kerchief I decided that was a good use for special yarns. Worn that way the aren’t subject to high amounts of friction so they should last a long time and keep looking good. I didn’t necessarily wish to be stuck using the pattern I came up with to use only 160 yds of finger weight yarn. I wanted some flexibility as I see this pattern as working quite well with handspun yarns as well.

Knitting it sideways seemed the perfect answer. You can weigh your yarn, increase until you have used nearly half, then start the decreasing. Perfect! Or, if you have a specific mind in size you can just go until you get to half the total span you desire. There is also flexibility in the blocking. You can block it hard to eek out more width or length or you can just lay flat to dry!

I also wanted the pattern to be pretty easy, but not just plain garter stitch. So I opted to edge the kerchief in a small 4 row repeat garter stitch lace pattern. That simplified things greatly because the body of the pattern is also based on a 4 row repeat. While knowing how to make yarn overs and basic decreases is recommended, I think this project is within grasp of adventurous beginners. Experienced knitters will appreciate the ease of memorization. It could even be KIP appropriate if you’ve found the rhythm of the pattern first.

While the pattern specifies a gauge and size, it is totally flexible. I just recommend using a needle 2-3 sizes larger than recommended on the label so that the garter stitch fabric has some nice drape. I’m kind of anxious to see it in some finer fingering or even lace weight. But, alas I have other things that are cooking up right now so I’ll have to rely on you all. The pattern is FREE! For October anyway. It is part of My Sister Knits’ October 2010 newsletter which can be downloaded on their web site in the Community News section (there is an article I wrote in there as well on what impacts the softness of yarns to aid you in choosing yarns for chemo cap knitting). The Ravelry page has a direct link to the PDF as well.