My latest crochet projects - a winter set, including a "matching" scarf, hat, and fingerless gloves - were very fun, easy, and quick to make.
These projects are made of LionBrand's new "Amazing" yarn in a variety of colors (including Wildflowers, Aurora, Mesa, Ruby, Arcadia, and Rain forest). Despite it's costliness ($6.99 per skein) and small quantities (1.75 ounce skeins), I love the look of this yarn. The colors are beautiful and it's hand-painted/dyed look is fun to work, because the colors are always changing. In some shades (like Wildflowers and Aurora) the colors in one skein rarely if ever repeat, so no two projects made with it should ever look exactly the same.
The yarn is very lightweight but still warm, as well as pretty soft, not itchy (despite consisting of 53% wool and 47% acrylic fibers). The one major downside of this yarn, in my opinion, is that it is quite frizzy, which can make it a bit difficult to undo the work if you happen to make a mistake and need to frog it. Also, due to it's high wool content, with repeated washings (the laundry instructions say it can be machine washed) I am afraid that without care, projects made with this yarn could end up becoming felted, which is a look I am not so fond of generally.
For my fingerless gloves (which I wanted because it's easier to manage a guide dog's harness and leash, as well as a camera, without finger covers), I followed the basic outline of THIS Wristers pattern. However, I had to make slight modifications to get the gloves to fit my long slender hands correctly. It was easy to modify though, because the pattern is simple. I also didn't do the texture work in front and back loops that the pattern uses. Instead I just did solid stitches with one long-single-crochet every three stitches on the first row whenever my yarn changed colors. I used this color change long-stitch throughout my hat and scarf as well, for more pattern/color variation.
For my hat, I used my usual simple hat pattern - working rounds in increasing stitches until the project is the correct size for the head, and then continuing to work rounds in the same number of stitches until the hat is the correct length for the head. I considered trying something new, but after looking through tons of patterns, I decided it would be easiest to just stick with my usual one. This hat pattern is ingrained in my memory from using it so many times before, and I know it is easy to ensure that it will fit me well.
For my scarf, I basically chose a width I wanted and worked rows from there. I did taper the ends of the scarf and round them off though, so they would look a little nicer, more finished, than just plain squarish ends, since I didn't want to add fringe. When I started my scarf I thought I wanted to make it wider than the previous scarves I've crocheted, so that is what I did. I also ended up having more yarn left over from my gloves and hat than I had expected to, so I thought making my scarf wider than average would be a good way to use up the extra yarn too. However, by the time I finished it, I realized why I prefer narrower scarves (they just fit my neck better). Luckily my scarf was the perfect width when I folded it in half (the long way). So, I just sewed the two sides of the scarf together. The yarn is so lightweight that the scarf is still not bulky being doubled up. To ensure that the sewing stitches don't show, when I blocked out my scarf afterwards, I arranged it so that the line of stitching is in the center of the back of the scarf. :-) Normally I would pick a length I want for a scarf too, but for this particular one I just kept working until I used up all of my yarn. It ended up being a bit longer than I normally make scarves, but it is perfect when wrapped once around my neck and both ends are brought back around to my front.
Each piece of my winter set was worked with a small size F crochet hook, using single crochets (and long single crochets), so the stitching is neat, tiny, and solid - perfect to keep out the winter chill. I really, really LOVE how these projects turned out, and I know they will get plenty of use when all the typical, miserable, winter weather soon arrives in my neck of the woods.
The yarn is very lightweight but still warm, as well as pretty soft, not itchy (despite consisting of 53% wool and 47% acrylic fibers). The one major downside of this yarn, in my opinion, is that it is quite frizzy, which can make it a bit difficult to undo the work if you happen to make a mistake and need to frog it. Also, due to it's high wool content, with repeated washings (the laundry instructions say it can be machine washed) I am afraid that without care, projects made with this yarn could end up becoming felted, which is a look I am not so fond of generally.
For my fingerless gloves (which I wanted because it's easier to manage a guide dog's harness and leash, as well as a camera, without finger covers), I followed the basic outline of THIS Wristers pattern. However, I had to make slight modifications to get the gloves to fit my long slender hands correctly. It was easy to modify though, because the pattern is simple. I also didn't do the texture work in front and back loops that the pattern uses. Instead I just did solid stitches with one long-single-crochet every three stitches on the first row whenever my yarn changed colors. I used this color change long-stitch throughout my hat and scarf as well, for more pattern/color variation.
For my hat, I used my usual simple hat pattern - working rounds in increasing stitches until the project is the correct size for the head, and then continuing to work rounds in the same number of stitches until the hat is the correct length for the head. I considered trying something new, but after looking through tons of patterns, I decided it would be easiest to just stick with my usual one. This hat pattern is ingrained in my memory from using it so many times before, and I know it is easy to ensure that it will fit me well.
For my scarf, I basically chose a width I wanted and worked rows from there. I did taper the ends of the scarf and round them off though, so they would look a little nicer, more finished, than just plain squarish ends, since I didn't want to add fringe. When I started my scarf I thought I wanted to make it wider than the previous scarves I've crocheted, so that is what I did. I also ended up having more yarn left over from my gloves and hat than I had expected to, so I thought making my scarf wider than average would be a good way to use up the extra yarn too. However, by the time I finished it, I realized why I prefer narrower scarves (they just fit my neck better). Luckily my scarf was the perfect width when I folded it in half (the long way). So, I just sewed the two sides of the scarf together. The yarn is so lightweight that the scarf is still not bulky being doubled up. To ensure that the sewing stitches don't show, when I blocked out my scarf afterwards, I arranged it so that the line of stitching is in the center of the back of the scarf. :-) Normally I would pick a length I want for a scarf too, but for this particular one I just kept working until I used up all of my yarn. It ended up being a bit longer than I normally make scarves, but it is perfect when wrapped once around my neck and both ends are brought back around to my front.
Each piece of my winter set was worked with a small size F crochet hook, using single crochets (and long single crochets), so the stitching is neat, tiny, and solid - perfect to keep out the winter chill. I really, really LOVE how these projects turned out, and I know they will get plenty of use when all the typical, miserable, winter weather soon arrives in my neck of the woods.
I think your project shouldn't felt, because it has synthetics in it. Nice alterations to use up all the yarn and make the set "yours."
ReplyDeleteNo, it won't totally felt (nicely - so it looks solid, no stitching visible) like the illustration in that link, but it will get fuzzier with use. Working with the yarn strand made it noticeably more frizzy than it already was when I bought it. So, I have no doubt that wearing and washing will effect it too.
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