Some knitter I was admiring mentioned that she liked to knit wrist warmers to match her sweaters. She used some of the leftover yarn so the warmers would match. I thought this was a wonderful idea! That is all it took for me to search for wrist warmer patterns.
The design is just a tube to fit the lower arm, so how difficult can it be? I wanted to knit colorwork, because I enjoy it. This type of accessory would be perfect for when I wear my Cobblestone cardigan. The sleeves are very wide which allows cool air to go right up my arm.
With quite a few projects unfinished at the present time, I really hate to begin something new, but Fair Isle pulls at me. There is great fun in combining colors and patterns to see how they turn out.
I began the wrist warmers by following a free pattern (Fair Isle Cuffs). It is written to knit flat (hmmmm?) but I wanted to knit around. My plan was to follow the designer’s chart to make things easy. Of course, things changed, as they usually do.
Yarn Colors Chosen
I decided to use many colors in this pattern – 12 to be exact! Most of the yarn is from Jamieson & Smith, but two skeins are Rauma wool and one is Tukuwool (the dark rust color). My only real plan was to mirror the colors on each end when knitting the corrugated rib.
I began with a cast on of 64 and used a size 2 US needle. I love my 9-inch circular needles and use them as often as I can. No DPNs are needed! Yay…! About halfway in, I reduced the stitches to 60 by doing a couple of k2tog’s on two rows. I wanted a 60 count because it is divisible by many numbers.
The pattern says to discount the first and last stitch if knitting in the round. For some reason pattern chart ended up not matching evenly for me, so I gave up following the chart provided and went rogue…! I have a lot of good books that contain charts and began using those.
With a final count of 60 stitches, I could knit any chart that contains a repeat number that divides evenly into 60, and there are a lot of them.
BOR and All Those Ends
Here is a look at the join, or beginning of round stitches. Once the massive amount of ends are woven in, this will look better. I’ll close any gaps. Washing and blocking will even it all out better too.
Anyone who does a lot of colorwork knitting must learn to love (or at least like) weaving in ends.
Making Wrist Warmer Number Two
My plans for knitting the second wrist warmer include using the same twelve yarn colors and matching the ribbing. Other than that, all I can say for sure is that the patterning will be different – at least in places.
Wrist-warmers are now done and washed. The pattern at the wider end (arm end) begins the same but then takes it’s own course. I enjoyed trying out different color combos and love that no DPNs are required.
Please Read On
I have a lot more to say about my knitting, so please keep reading!
I’m knitting a fun little hat with a motif of chickens! The stranded colorwork pattern is called the Solstice Glow Hat and is by knitwear designer “Bunnymuff”, who is Mona Zillah.
A link to the pattern page is at the bottom of this page.
The yarn I am using is Jamieson & Smith 2-ply Shetland wool combined with some Rauma. Mona (the designer) uses gorgeous Gathered Sheep Yarn. I would buy it in an instant if it was available in the US. If you are in the UK, check it out. But, the J&S is also very lovely, with some wonderful coloring.
Yarn: FC14, dark rainbow mix purple is the color I used for the chickens. I don’t leave my yarn in the sun, just used this sunny spot to show colors better.
This is my first hand-knit project for 2022. I did my cast-on January first. When I saw this cute hat pattern a while ago, I knew I had to make it one day for my daughter. Anyone who raises backyard chickens would just love it!
The pattern includes more than just chickens. Geese and pigs charts are included with this pattern. They could all be included on one hat – perfect for farmers..!
Finished Knitting
I’ve finished knitting the hat, but it’s not done. I still need to add the duplicate stitches on the chicken motif and weave in all those ends. Colorwork is such fun and all the yarn ends, from changing colors, are just part of it. Once it’s washed and blocked the puckers will come out and the hat will be smoother.
The chicken motif is meant to be enhanced with embroidery, called duplicate stitch.
The pattern designer explains how she used this technique to finish each of the animal motifs, so you are not left in the dark wondering where to begin. This Very Pink Knits video shows how to do duplicate stitch at about six minutes in.
Hat is Done… Duplicate Stitch, Washed and Dried
Altogether, the hat knitting was completed in nine days. It fits me fine, but might be a little big for my daughter.
Finished!
Final Words on the Solstice Glow Hat
After knitting the chicken chart section I went a bit off pattern and added some other colorwork patterns of my own. I found it difficult to follow the yarn color placement because my pattern printout is in black and white. The hat calls for a Main Color yarn and five contrast colors.
I chose to do my own thing for a few rows in the center. This is not anything against the pattern. I love Bunnymuff patterns and have already knit a few.
The Stellar Parallax Mitts were great fun (learned a new corrugated rib). The Keramos Cowl had some embroidery (a first for me). It seems I always learn something new when I knit one of her patterns.
More Patterns by Bunnymuff
This designer includes wonderful directions in her patterns. If you like this type of knitting be sure to check out Mona Zillah’s Ravelry Store where all her pattern designs are on display for sale.
This chicken motif hat will be sent to my daughter in New Hampshire. She is building a coop and hopes to begin raising backyard chickens sometime this year. I think she will love it!
I came across this Facebook group while browsing Ravelry. It was created to support the George Waterston Memorial Centre and Museum in Fair Isle. When accepted to the group, a Kep pattern (traditional “hat” of the region) is offered for sale, and the profit goes toward supporting this museum.
Links to FB Page and Museum
Here are two links to the museum page and the Facebook page. Knitters of this style Kep share their photos and knowledge and support other like minded knitters who have joined the group.
The Facebook Group Must apply to join, which means answering a few short questions.
Keep reading about my experience knitting this pattern.
Love Fair Isle Knitting?
Yes, I do! I joined the group and ordered the pattern, which is sold in GBP (Great Britain Pounds) and was around $14 for me here in the US. After about a week or so I received the pattern PDF in my e-mail and began knitting right away.
(If you think that is expensive, it’s more of a donation with a pattern to go along with it. Also, the basic pattern will give you the opportunity to make many variations of this hat. OR… don’t buy it.)
Doing crown decreases
Trying it on
Review of the Kep Pattern and Instructions – you must buy the pattern from the group.
The pattern is not listed here, but you can buy it when joining the Facebook group – link above. I am not a fan of using Facebook, but do so for my business and groups like this.
It did take a little while (about a week) to receive the pattern, so just be patient. The group is run by volunteers and I’m sure they have other things going on in their lives! It arrives as a PDF which is downloaded and then printed out. I don’t have a color printer, which is unfortunate because sample keps are shown on the front page in full color.
A bit of history about the tradition of knitting a fisherman’s kep is included, as well as suggested yarn colors to use for a traditional look. As I rummaged through my wool, I found similar colors in my Jamieson & Smith and Rauma yarn. I figured for my first kep I would try to follow tradition, and the pattern, as closely as possible. Rauma is not from the region, but is a similar wool.
Fair Isle stitch pattern pages are attached in a variety of sizes which can be used to create colorwork designs of my own choosing. I followed the suggested cast-on number and used a size 1.5 US needle. I’m hoping it won’t end up too small, but decided on this size after looking at my Katie’s Kep notes.
The pattern instructions are basic, with cast-on number, placing the plain knit and purl rows, turning instructions (the brim will fold up and be doubled), and when to change needle size. There are detailed instructions for decreasing at the crown (which I would change next time). But all of the patterning is left up to the knitter, which makes for some interesting keps! Having a Fair Isle pattern book is useful at this point although some pattern suggestions are included.
The Hat is On Hold
I had planned to write about how I made the tassel for this hat. The tassel is added after the hat is washed and blocked so I have a ways to go at this point. One kep knitter created an ocean / fishing themed kep and put little fish hanging off the top in place of traditional tassels! I thought that was so clever.
I had planned to write about how I made the tassel for this hat, but I’ve decided to put this hat on hold after finishing the knit. There are lots of ends to weave in, and I’m not liking the fit. I should have gone up a needle size and made the hat shorter. I don’t like the big bunch of fabric on top of my head, and I don’t like the puckering of the crown.
I did have fun playing with the colorwork, and I’m happy with the colors, just not the hat’s fit in general.
This new sweater pattern is from the Lopi 40 book which I bought along with some Lettlopi yarn recently. I want a light blue sweater with white accents and Farfuglar is the pattern I chose. It means “migrating birds”. The sweater shown in the book uses my same choice of colors (air blue and white) as I chose, but in the opposite way. The yoke can also have more colors in another version.
Lopi 40 is full of Icelandic designs knit with Lopi wool and apparently it is one of the newer books.
This Farfuglar pattern, and other patterns in the book, can also be purchased separately. (This link goes to Ravelry.)
Book CoverPattern page
The Farfuglar Learning Curve
I purchased bunches of the Lettlopi yarn variety which is aran weight. The first pattern I chose was one by Jennifer Steingass. After beginning the sleeve twice, and not being happy, I gave up and moved on. That is when I chose this pattern from the Lopi book: Farfuglar, or “Migrating Birds”.
I knit a flat gauge swatch which matches the required gauge for the sweater. I know that garments knit in the round should have swatches knit in the round, but oh well, I didn’t do that.
The pullover is knit bottom up. I have begun knitting one of the sleeves and really like the way this yarn looks and feels. The pattern uses the same two colors I chose, white and “Air blue”, but the sample sweater is mainly white with blue accents whereas mine will be the opposite. The colorwork chart is in five colors because there are two ways to knit this sweater. As I knit the chart I will convert it to two colors in my head.
The patterns in Lopi 40 are Icelandic and measurements are given as centimeters. Needle sizes are also mentioned in mm except at the beginning of the pattern where they give the US size also.
Increases and Decreases
After the sleeve ribbing is finished, we are told to increase around evenly to end up with correct stitches for the colorwork. I had to go from 42 stitches to 50. I don’t know why, but this was hard to figure out. I will have to do something similar at the neckband except it will be decreases! Oh Boy….
Had to decrease at the neckline from 100 to 84 stitches evenly around. This strained my brain, but I did it.
Learning New Things
Two new (to me) types of decreases are also mentioned: KRPR (right leaning) and SKP (left leaning) – both links go to pages at the New Stitch a Day site where videos show the process.
I’m not a super experienced sweater knitter, but I have finished a few. Most have been top-down knits, but this is a bottom up. The underarm stitches need to be grafted together when finishing, which I’ve never done, that I recall. The pattern doesn’t say how to accomplish this, but I found this page at Laura Chau that explains Grafting Underarm Stitches. It uses the Kitchener Stitch, which I have done.
Joining Sleeves to Body – Notes for the Inexperienced (Me)
I’ve only knit one other sweater bottom up which means the sleeves and body must be joined. It’s not difficult, but for me, drawing out a diagram while reading the directions was helpful. I got a better picture for how this would happen. I also placed a pink marker on the front section so I would know front from back.
I’ll keep this for future reference and noted needle sizes and other hints to the paper.
Notes I made: After finishing the second sleeve, leave stitches on the needle (I used a 9-inch circular). When beginning to join, I used the longer (body needle) to knit off the sleeve needle. When I got around to the second sleeve, I put those stitches from the holder yarn onto a smaller (size 4) needle and then knit off of it. Once that happens, the whole sweater is now combined into one piece.
Needle lengths: Begin knitting the whole yoke with a 40 inch (The pattern says 32, but I found the longer needle to be easier). Changed to 32 inch farther up, and ended up with 16 inch for the neck.
Four places are on holder yarn and stitch holders for the underarms. Those will be grafted together using the Kitchener Stitch when I’m done knitting.
Joining sleeves to body and beginning yoke
Now I have begun the colorwork yoke. Some of the yarn carries are quite long, so knowing how to catch floats is definitely necessary for this design. I was very excited to see the birds emerge!
The birds!Knitting the colorwork yokeReady to bind off
Yarn Used For Size L
Blue Yarn total used: 8 skeins – nearly every bit of 8, so 9 is better just in case
White Yarn total used: less than 2 skeins
October 29th and the Sweater is Finished! See My Photo Shoot Below
At this point I was still trying to decide if that high front neckline would be okay. Without any type of short rows, the front and back of this one are exactly the same. This makes the front neckband ride on my neck. I would probably have a shirt on underneath, so I decided I could live with the neck as it is. Also, I didn’t want to risk ruining things since I am not experienced at changing knitwear designs!
The hat photos were taken in “winter” when the temps dropped to the low 40’s here in Florida. I went out to feed the birds bundled up in my woolies! (Triple-patterned watchcap, mittens, Woolfolk cowl) All other photos were taken before I washed the sweater.
I will be writing a separate blog post about how I finished off this sweater.
Learning About Lopi Wool
The sheep who provide this wool live in the harsh Iceland landscape. If their wool can keep them safe and warm during winters spent outdoors, certainly the wool in your Icelandic sweater will do the same. The yarn comes in lots of pretty colors (if you can find them in stock!) as well as natural colors such as white, gray, tan, brown and black. It comes as heathered, solids, and tweeds in various weights, including unspun yarn. The yarn is a combination of insulating and water repellant, not to mention very warm indeed! If you are not a knitter, the sweaters can be purchased already knit up.
After knitting with the Lettlopi, I found there were quite a few knots to deal with. More than most yarn I knit with, but maybe that is just the nature of the yarn.
I don’t yet have a sweater or other garment to try on so I can’t comment on the scratchiness of this yarn. Some people think it is exceptionally scratchy, but many people say the wool softens over time and gets better and better.
As is unfortunately true these days, finding yarn can be challenging, and especially in the popular color ways.
The Lettlopi (aran) and Alafosslopi (bulky) yarn in my stash has come directly to me from Iceland and is from the Istex company. It was ordered from The Icelandic Store where they still have quite a few colors in stock. The low price of the skeins, compared to prices in the US for the same yarn, made it worth paying the high shipping rates.
My order of Alafosslopi arrived in four days..!!… and came with a little candy surprise. I have already knit up a swatch and plan to knit the Carbeth Cardigan by Kate Davies, but that plan could change.
A little candy surprise in with my Alafosslopi yarn delivery!
For instance, many places in the US have Alafosslopi for around $10 a skein, or close to that price. When ordering from Iceland, each skein is $5.99, which is a big difference, and especially if you need many skeins to knit a sweater. The Lettlopi costs about $5.75 in the US compared to $2.99 each in Iceland.
Webs yarn offers big discounts if large amounts are bought, and the cost can be less in the end, but many of the colors are out of stock at the time of this writing.
I’m knitting a beautiful cardigan pattern by Camilla Vad. The Magnolia Chunky Cardigan is knit top-down with lace and bobbles on the body and sleeves. On this page I cover some issues…
New England's Narrow Road 