Knitting Adventures: Gloves and Mittens

Hello everyone! I hope you all have or had some nice, cozy holidays. It is terrifying that the year is nearly over already. But well, times flies by as always.

A few days ago i finished my christmas present (yes, this year it is only one) and now i have some time left to sew a bag for it instead of wrapping paper.

But first i promised to write about the mittens i knitted from the lilac yarn, from which i also knitted a vest (here), a cowl and a hat (here). Amazingly i still have some grams left. And that is why i decided to not frog the hat, although i don´t really wear it.

The pattern was a vintage pattern called Ladies Mittens #5620 by Jack Frost. Here is the Ravelry link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ladies-mittens-5620 or if you don´t like Ravelry here is the link to the original site: https://freevintageknitting.com/mitten-patterns/jackfrost56/5620-ladies-mittens-pattern

The pattern calls for a worsted weight yarn. The mittens, and that is what i really enjoyed, are knitted flat with 3,5mm needles and then sewn together.
But there also appeared some mistakes in the pattern. For the second mitten i switched Row1 and Row2. This solves the issue with Row4 not matching. But the “cables” are still on the wrong side. So you have to purl the decrease row + add an 8th row afterwards so you are on the right side again.

All in all it is an easy knit and quite fast.

I also, for the first time ever, recorded my knitting, edited the video and uploaded it onto youtube. The quality ofthe video isn´t the best, but for a first time not the worst. If you want to watch it, please don´t forget to activate your subtitles.
Here is the link: https://youtu.be/Af6HmBjU54k?si=3gqcEYjSACjxlH1L

The christmas present i finished a few days ago are some gloves for my mother. I also found a vintage pattern i liked, and kind of followed that. The pattern i used had colourwork in it, but i hadn´t time for that (nor any yarn) so i made them plain and simple.
The pattern is Mens Argyle Gloves #615 by Nell Armstrong. Here is the Ravelry Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mens-argyle-gloves-615
And here is the original link: https://freevintageknitting.com/gloves-patterns/doreen96/615-mens-argyle-gloves-pattern

The pattern calls for a Sport weight yarn and 2,75 mm needles, but i decided to knit it with 3 mm needles (it worked as well).
The yarn is from Hobbii. The Black Friday Acrylgarn in Dark Navy. This is the first time i bought something from Hobbii and i´m quite impressed with the quality of it. I bought some other yarn as well, it is/was a christmas present from me to me, because i never get any yarn from my family for christmas. (Or anything else for my hobbies.) I filmed the unpacking from the package, if you like to watch it, here is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/BXt-DgZ5Bl0?si=druRgMp6IqDdVIcf

The gloves are also knit flat, which is quite an interesting construction, but i really enjoyed knitting it. As well as the mittens, those gloves are really fast to knit. And this time without any mistakes in the pattern. But i can´t promise that i knitted them without any mistakes. An advice from me, be careful with measuring the fingers, always from the same point or else they will be a bit different. I think while wearing them it won´t be too obvious.

Even while soaking them in some hot water (with some washing powder), the yarn didn´t loose any colour. Normally with darker colours like black and dark blue it can happen, But this time nothing was seen in the water.

Now i´m back to knitting a cardigan (also a vintage pattern) and a jumper for myself. But i don´t think i will finish them this year.

I wish you all happy holidays, a relaxing time and a loving family. And for those, who don´t have those things : You are not alone even if it seems like you are. There will be happier times some day…

Thank you for reading, till next time!

It´s a vest, It´s a vest, made from real….

(Sorry for the pun in the title, some might get it and some don´t…but it is constantly in my head)

This month i didn´t finish a lot (still haven´t started on Christmas Knitting…but this year it is only a pair of mittens). But i did draft (or started) some new patterns, which need to be tested. And i made a bag from two pairs of old jeans. Which came out quite nice.

But first my knitting project, which i started at the end of October and finished on November 8th. The pattern is called Sleeveless Pullover, i would call it a vest (well in german we call it “Pullunder”), by Jack Frost. It is a free vintage pattern from 1951. You can get it on Ravelry, or if you don´t like Ravelry you can also get it HERE.

The yarn was the same i mentioned in my last post (and probably will mention in my next post, because right now i´m knitting mittens with it). For that vest, the yarn was perfect, that´s why i´m sure this yarn is not really a DK weight but an Worsted weight yarn. As usually i didn´t make a gauge/yarn swatch, because i never do that and most times i´m lucky…(don´t be like me, swatches are important!).

And it was quite an easy and fast knit. The front and the back are the same except the neckline, which was a first for me because i never ever tried to knit a v-neck.
The funny thing with vintage patterns (or patterns in general actually), if i “find” a mistake, i´m never sure if it is a mistake in the pattern or i did something wrong. With this pattern, i think it was in the pattern. When you are in the front – casting off sts for shoulder shaping it says = 6 sts every other row 4 times. You start with 28 sts for the first side. Knit 2 together – 27 sts. Than dec 1 sts every 4 rows 10 times – 17. I only was able to cast off 6 sts 2 times and 5 sts one time. Weirdly enough i think in the back there were enough sts.
I also tried to make the neck band three times (Instruction: taking up 57 -1 -57 sts), i couldn´t manage it, there were too many sts in my opinion,in the end i managed it with about 45/47 sts ( i was so frustrated, i didn´t write it down.)

This is the back…it looks amazing. The pattern is not a cable pattern just a variation of purl and knit stitches!

And this is the finished vest from the front.

It is cozy and it fits very nicely!
As i mentioned in my last blog post, i wasn´t (and i´m still not) really sure about the hat i knitted. I probably won´t wear it , but i don´t want to frog it as well…which is a stupid situation. I´m now knitting some easy mittens (also a vintage pattern) and then i won´t have much left of the yarn for anything else. Which is quite a nice feeling to have finally knit up (nearly) everything of that huge ball of yarn.

Did you ever have had a project where you weren´t really sure, if you should frog it or leave it?
Thanks for reading and have a nice beginning of the last month of the year (oh god)!
(The upcycle bag will get its own blog post…)

Knitting Adventures: Lady’s Jumper by The Argus

For a long time i wanted to try my hand at some vintage knitting patterns. I´m telling you, there are soo many amazing patterns out there…and i want to make them all. But when reading blogs or watching vlogs from knitters who “specialise” in vintage knitwear, i always got the impression, that old patterns are hard(er) to understand than modern ones and that most time the wool used (even if the gauge is given) is not comparable to the wool we have today, (which is true) and that influents the fit. So for my first pattern i was looking for something very simple.

And i found the Lady´s Jumper by The Argus on Ravelry. I had some wool in the stash, which seemed to fit. (“Seemed” because i got gauge, but the jumper still ended up a bit different then it should. And i think it is mostly because of the yarn..). I used Wollbutt “Asta” from Buttinette (a german online store), which i got very “budget-friendly” during Sale. 100g have 250 meters and i used about 3,6 balls of yarn. I have to admit, the colour isn´t exactly my favourite colour, but it is not bad either. It is 100% Acrylic, but very soft and very good to knit with. I had no problems except the first ball had two knots in it and another ball had also one knot. It is unfortunate, but sometimes inenvitable.
I used straight needles 3,5 mm and 4mm.

I started on January 31, 2023 and finished it on June 7,2023. Mostly because that pattern (mostly knit and purl) was nice at the beginning, but the more i knitted the more boring it became.

There is no ribbing or something (because actually everything is ribbing), but you start with the smaller needles and once you are at the waist, you change to the larger needles for some inches, than go back to the smaller ones. The only “alteration” i made was to lengthen the body (because i know that i have a long torso ), but it is still a little bit on the shorter side. The Back piece is the same as the Front piece and there are also two sleeves.

Looking very…ah…flattering.

The sleeves have a very flat ending at the shoulder, because the pattern says you should add some shoulder pads. Well, my sleeve cap fits perfectly, there is absolutely no place for shoulder pads in there. For my taste the armhole is a bit narrow, but i can raise my arms without any problems, so i´m fine with it.

After finishing all pieces i sewed them together and crocheted one round around the neckhole. Again pattern says twice, but that was a bit too close to my neck. I crocheted two buttonholes (one on each side) and added some buttons. Pattern says two on each side, but i didn´t (i actually don´t know why).

Stretched out (aka worn) it looks really good.

The jumper still ends a bit above my hips, but that is no problem, i just wear it with my high waist trousers and skirts..
It fits perfectly a.k.a very snug. All in all it was an experiment, and if i can say so myself, a successful one as well.

I can´t wait to knit another vintage pattern…

Did you ever knitted a vintage pattern? How was your experience with it? Yay or Nay?
Well, thank you for reading. Till next time!

Knitting Adventures: Heel-Less Spiral Socks (Navy) by Australian Comforts Fund

I have heard of Heel-less Socks for a long long time, but was always quite unsure how they are able to fit without a heel. I was curious, so i searched for a pattern (there are many different available for free). I choose the ones by the Australian Comforts Fund. Here you can find a transcript: https://www.knitting-and.com/crafts-and-needlework/knitting/patterns/socks/spiral/

You need some Sport weight yarn and a 3.75 mm dpn needle. I used Woll Butt Lea, 50% Acrylic, 50% Rayon, 144 meters / 50 grams and a 2.5mm needle, because with a 3.75 those socks wouldn´t fit me at all.
I also made them about 10 cm shorter than in the instructions. Maybe that was a mistake. Because now, they are reaching just the thickest part of me leg and slide after a few hours of wear (but it could also be the rayon in the wool). But you never know, if you don´t try.
There is a standard ribbing at the beginning and i repeated the pattern 18 times, which are 126 rows.
For the round toe i always knitted 1 instead of 2 plain rows in between. They toe fits nicely.

After knitting the first sock (which took me quite some time, although you knit with a Sports weight yarn) it took me forever to start and finish the second one. I mean, i´m surprised that a sock without a heel ‘kinda’ works…it is a weird feeling, at least for me.

BUT it is the most boring sock to knit in the whole wide world!!!

As for many, the heel is the part of a sock i usually don´t like (nearly fear) and it takes me quite some time to start. But after this sock, i just enjoy to knit heels.

All in all, it is a sock i usually don´t wear that often. I think, last time i wore them as bed socks for winter. But well, at least i tried a new to me pattern and i can say never again.

You hardly can see anything with this yarn, but it is always a 4 stitch pattern.

Here you can see the pattern better. I´m sure there are some mistakes, but i couldn´t care less.

Short blog post this time, but still thank you for reading! Till next time.

Knitting Adventures: Kaleidoscope by Patons & Baldwins

This is my second pair of socks for my “Year of the Sock”- Challenge. Well, it is not really a challenge, but a fun way to reduce my sock yarn + leftovers.

I started them on February 1st and got them finished a few days too late, on March 3rd. Sometimes you just have not enough time.

I can´t really remember how i found this pattern. Probably through clicking through Ravelry or while browsing this website: https://freevintageknitting.com/

The pattern is in a booklet with lots of beautiful sock patterns from Patons & Baldwins. The booklet is called Beehive Book No. 113, Socks. If you can´t or don´t want to use Ravelry here is the direct link to the archive.org website: https://archive.org/details/Patons_113_Socks_by_Beehive/mode/2up

I´m sure i will knit some other patterns from this booklet.

Which yarn did i use?
For the main colour, i used Lammy Yarns Running Solids in off-white (the number is 301). 100 gram have about 420 meters. I used about half a ball for the pair. For the contrast i didn´t use sock yarn or fingering yarn. I used Schachenmayr nomotta Micro Color in Multi-color (this yarn is discontinued). 50 grams are about 144 meters, which makes it sport weight yarn. I used less than a ball of it. Although both yarns have different weights, it worked out great!

I used a different needle size as was given. The pattern says you should use 2.25 mm dpn needles, i used 2 mm dpn needles.

The beginning of the sock was already unusual, at least for me. For knitting you use 4 needles instead of 5. So the instep stitches are on 2 needles and the heel stitches are on one. It was unfamiliar for my hands at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly.

You cast on 76 stitches, which is a lot for my small feet. At least with modern patterns. The sock leg is also quite long ( i knitted the shorter version with 8 inches). I don´t know what was really the reason the smaller needles or the thicker contrast yarn, but at first i thought this socks will be huge and won´t fit me, but in the end they fit perfectly, even the heel is amazingly fitted.

The colour blocking effect is achieved with plain an simple slip-stitches…which is really genius! There is a heel mentioned in the booklet, which i haven´t tried out yet, called the Aladdin-Heel. It is a kind of replacement heel you knit, and once the heel is worn through you can cut(?) it away and have a second one beneath.

Another weird technique, which i have never encountered in my sock making journey is, that you knit the instep and the sole separately and then join both together when you start with the toe. In the end you have a sock with side seams. I´m already wearing my socks and i can´t feel anything pressing or pinching.

You finish the sock with a grafted toe, which is often called the Kitchener Stitch(?). I learned this technique two pairs of socks ago and it is soo fascinating. I needed some practise but the results are great and seamless.

Here is the nearly finished first sock. Heel and toe is finished, but the “side seams” are wide open…

One sock…

Two makes a pair…

I love the white with the multi-coloured. But next time i will choose black (or any other dark colour) over white, because i´m just wearing them for two days now (with house-shoes) and they are getting dirty really quick. Still one of my favourite makes!

What is your favourite sock pattern?

Thank you for reading, till next time. At the moment i have to babysit a little kitten and i´m only able to do something productive when she is asleep. Sadly, my cat doesn´t like her, so we have to keep them separated.