#alpaca wool balls

[artemisiatridentata]

hey guys look at my horrific darning job

[moongothic]

Quick round-up of a few small projects; Scarf. It is a scarf. Used the remaining silk/wool yarn I had left from when our yarn store closed, the yarn was really thin so I ended up holding it double and yeah, got a really cute, comfy Halloween-y scarf. Very happy to have it. I do regret making the stripes as thick as I did, like they look cute but between that and me making the scarf a smidge too wide, I ended up having to cut the scarf shorter than I would've liked because I didn't have enough yarn to make it any longer- at least not with evenly sized stripes. Like had they been thinner I could've repeated the pattern a little longer, but oh well, it is what it is. With the scrap yarn I just made this ugly little neck warmer, and yeah, it'll keep my neck warm indoors.

And then, using the scrap yarns from the bleeding heart sweater, made a very Crimbus-y beanie. Sidenote but I did actually pre-wash the fucking red yarn before knitting this, because I did not want a repeat of the dye bleeding incident. But yeah, it's a beanie. Again, held the yarn double this time and I'm glad I did because oh, it made the beanie so soft. It is so comfy y'all, I can not wait for December so I can wear it. I still have more of that red yarn left though. No clue what I'm doing with it.

[botchallthethings]

I'm in a bit of a weird place where I want to be the person who comes to the defense of non-"soft" wools and is devoted to fibers seen as "scratchy" compared to merino and alpaca, and gently pushes back on modern expectations of how a textile should feel. I also really like working with my springy, interesting wool so far...all the way until I have to touch the finished product, and then I'm torn.

See, what I forget about myself is that I'm very sensitive to sensation/touch, and I forget that about myself because I wasn't quite so obvious about it as my brother (who wore the same athletic shirt and gym shorts to school for years). However, I too completely refuse to wear things that cause mild discomfort (wore the same pair of shoes to highschool for years, cut out the tags on clothing, got rid of anything remotely scratchy, wear my hair up because i hate how it feels against my neck and face, etc).

So it's actually completely to be expected that I'm drawn to alpaca and am wary of making scratchy yarn. But a little disappointing.

To deal with this, I've been focused on different types of touch sensitivity. I read a book that made the (unqualified claim) that the palms were the most sensitive part of the body (they're wrong, I think--wouldn't try to read braille with my palms, for example, if I had that ability, because fingers are a lot better at reading and distinguishing that kind of texture, but right about how they are texture-pressure sensitive), and it made me think about how different parts of the body are sensitive in different ways.

For me, next-to-skin matters in two main places: elbows and neck (and ears, I guess). Those are the skin areas most likely to be distracted by texture. When making mittens, the part most likely to be itchy would be the wrists, I think. So if I focus on making those parts with the softest stuff I have, I can use the less soft stuff for the less sensitive areas.

[viciousewe]

Spent 1h carefully removing the twist from a lopi single because ??? (Just kidding I know why it’s because I want the benifits of a Lopi yarn in 3 ply yarn)

[exculis]

i wanna crochet a mesh shirt one of these days but i need to find a fingering weight (or similar) cotton... maybe the thrift store will come thru for me.

[freshstitches]

Bear Claws was designed to celebrate the 10th birthday of the stacked stitch technique and the Fox Paws pattern. This engaging striped colorwork project features a large scale flame stitch motif. The pattern is relatively simple, using only a few rows of shaping in combination with color to create a distinct claw motif.

The wavy colorwork in Bear Claws is created using stacked increases and decreases. There are no loops on the wrong side and the wrap is very stretchy and drapey. The fabric is light and airy, not dense like stranded colorwork and mosaic knitting. If you're new to stacked stitches, check out my playlist on YouTube. You'll have an easier time with these stitches if you've tried increases, decreases and slipped stitches.

This pattern can be recolored in many ways, the coloring page available to anyone who wants to download it. You can use any number of colors you like, as long as they have good contrast. I recommend picking a Main Color that is not too bright or flashy in comparison to the others.

Written instructions are included in the pattern alongside a visual guide called a “stitch map.”  It's not the same as a traditional chart and is meant to be used with the written pattern. The rapidly fluctuating stitch count of the stacked stitches doesn’t fit nicely into a square grid. Instead, the map uses symbols and lines that bend and flow as the rows do, as they would in a crochet chart. The primary use of the stitch map is to show how each row relates to the last and to help you find mistakes and get back on track. 

Finished Size: 14 (23.75)˝ x 82 (82)˝ / [36 (60) x 208 (208) cm] rectangular scarf including fringe.

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed DK; 191 yards (175 meters) per 50 gram skein, 50% Merino Wool, 25% Alpaca, 25% Viscose.

Pink Scarf - 5 colors and 3 repeats wide

Main Color: Peony, 3 balls

Outer Color: Zinnia, 2 balls

Inner Color 1: Pink Bliss, 1 ball

Inner Color 2: French Mustard, 1 ball

Stripe Color: Barbara, 1 ball

Brown Wrap - 7 colors and 5 repeats wide

Main Color: Ginger, 4 balls

Outer Color 1: French Mustard, 2 balls

Inner Color 1: Stone, 2 balls

Stripe Color 1: Zinnia, 1 ball

Outer Color 2: Duck Egg, 1 ball

Inner Color 2: Watery, 1 ball

Stripe Color 2: Canary, 1 ball

Needles: Size 6 (4mm) 32˝circular needles, or size needed to obtain gauge.

Gauge: 16 sts x 36 rows = 4 x 4” (10 x 10 cm) square in garter stitch.

Other Materials: Tapestry needle, stitch markers, pins, blocking wires, blocking surface.

Get the pattern on my website and on Ravelry.

From now until the end of October, take 20% off all patterns, pins, books and stickers when you use the code "FoxyBday" on Ravelry or on my website.

Video Resources:

Bear Claws Playlist

Weave in tails as you knit

General Stacked Stitch Resource Videos

Yarn for this project was provided by Rowan

[inaworldofhappy]

I spun my first ball of yarn and made my friend a toy for her baby.

BEHOLD

It's made of the wool from her own alpacas and it jingles!

[chaos-lioness]

ok this looks fun and there’s maybe enough crafting people here now? Steal something from my crafting space!

[kesbeacon]

I snagged four-five balls of fancy wool/silk/alpaca chunky yarn in a charity shop last year, and made myself some slipper socks. The problem was that they were that stupid fucking slipper sock concept where the sole is garter stitch knit in the round and sewn together under the foot? I didn't know better, having never made thick socks before, but now every time I see a garter stitch sole concept I'm judging the designer.

Garter stitch is basically zigzags, which causes two problems. One is that it stretches out making the sole immediately be misshapen the minute any strain or wear occurs. The other is that the bit of the stitches in contact with the ground wears down faster than the rest. I've had to extravagantly darn mine and they're not comfortable anymore.

So when I used the same yarn to make my partner a pair, I made them in a dead plain sock pattern except for the sole, which I purled. I've done this before, I don't think I posted the socks in question, but what it lets you do is use the purl bumps to structure a pre-emptive darning job without compromising the feel on the inside.

I know this yarn wears down easily if allowed to stick out (cough garter stitch sole), so I used a sturdy aran-weight 100% wool in cream to do up-and-down darning threads, and then a thinner wool/acrylic blend to go diagonally. I'll trim the loose ends down a bit when my partner's worn them more and they've felted together, but they're not troublesome even now.

If I'm doing colourwork socks, it's easy enough to hide the pre-emptive darning that I do on basically every sock I make these days in the floats, but without floats I don't actually like standing on purl bumps. Moving the purl bumps to the outside gives a nicer surface to stand on, and darning them means the nice yarn of the main sock is a little protected from the ground, with minimal outstanding bumps to wear away.

I should be able to make one more pair with this yarn...

[smirli]

The Making of the Howl Jacket (Tutorial)

Many People have been asking me about how I did my Howl (inspired) jacket, so here it goes:

(obligatory disclaimer that I am just some person and not a professional pattern maker or anything)

This is an overview of the parts I did. Note that I did no lining for the sleeves because I felt it would be overkill (and strand me on sleeve island forever).

So, let's get technical:

I used Drops Nepal (65% wool, 35% alpaca) and 5 mm needles.

pink (6 balls)

light blue (7 balls)

red (9 balls)

yellow (2 balls)

white (1 ball)

however I was a dumbass and only ordered 6 red balls so there is a colorshift on the backpanel of the lining.

The knitting:

All the pieces are rectangular and mostly in stockinette stitch. I had most trouble with the front panel which also changed the most after blocking, so I would recommend starting with them. Also block the pieces as you go and pay attention to the dimension you block them to.

Frontpanels (outer and lining):

Cast on 55 stitches.

For lining: work flat for 120 rows (or until desired length. Mine are 32 cm wide and 60 cm high)

For outer layer: work 1 stitch blue, 26 pink, 1 blue, 26 pink, 1 blue from seperate balls of yarn. Then work increases and decreases like I outlined here.

This will lead to you having odd stitches of blue and even stitches of pink. When you come to the tips of the pink diamonds, cross them over like you would with cables (1/1 left over right). On the tips of blue diamonds you can slip one, knit two together and slip the first stitch over to make 3 into 1 stitch.

Backpanels (outer and lining):

Cast on 100 stitches, work flat for 120 rows (or until desired length. mine are about 60 cm high and 65 cm wide)

Collar (outer and lining):

Cast on 109 stitches, work flat for 18 rows.

Sleeves:

Cast on 60 stitches, work flat in pink for 72 rows (about 35 cm), then work 3 rows in GARTERSTITCH in yellow (this will raise the yellow off the flat part) followed by 18 rows white.

You can either work the crochet border immediately (2 rows of single crochet) or after you sewed the sleeves together.

Congrats! You did all the parts!

The construction:

sew the front panels to the back panels. leave 20 cm on the backpanel and 10 cm of each front panel open for your neck to fit and attaching the collar. leave about 30 cm open to attach the sleeves. do this on the lining AND the external layer.

sew sleeves closed and attach to both lining and outer layer at the same time. attach collar on both layers seperately (outer and lining).

Finish off the edges by doing two rows of single crochet.

Weave in all your ends and DONE!

Some detail photos for you:

[chic-a-gigot]

La Mode illustrée, no. 38, 17 septembre 1865, Paris. Toilettes de Melles Rabouin, 67, r. Nve. des Pts. Champs. Ville de Paris / Bibliothèque Forney

Description de toilettes:

Jupe en popeline unie, nuance vert anglais, garnie d'un volant tuyauté, bordé d'un galon oriental et surmonté de quatre galons semblables. Robe pareille à cette jupe, garnie avec six galons un peu plus larges que les précédents, relevée sur la jupe par un porte-jupe dont le patron a paru dans le no. 24. Paletot pareil à la robe, bordé d'un galon, et retenu par une large ceinture en ruban assorti aux galons.

Petite fille de huit ans. Robe et paletot en alpaga blanc, ornés d'une broderie branche dé corail exécutée en laine rouge.

Toilette de bal d'automme. Robe de dessous en taffetas mauve. Robe de dessus en mousseline blanche, brodée avec un gros bouillonné traversé par un ruban mauve. Un bouillonné pareil, mais étroit, forme tunique par devant et remonte garni, d'une dentelle étroite sur chaque couture des lés. Une dentelle plus large garnit, en guise de volant, ce bouillonné étroit et retombe jusqu'au gros bouillonné. Corsage décolleté à longues basques arrondies, entièrement bouillonné en long et garni d'un bouillonné étroit et de deux dentelles. Un chou de ruban mauve est placé à chaque échancrure des basques. Manches courtes. Couronne en marguerites blanches.

—

Skirt in plain poplin, English green shade, trimmed with a piped ruffle, edged with an oriental braid and topped with four similar braids. Dress similar to this skirt, trimmed with six braids a little wider than the previous ones, raised on the skirt by a skirt holder whose pattern appeared in issue no. 24. Overcoat similar to the dress, bordered with a braid, and held in place by a wide ribbon belt matching the braids.

Dress for an eight-year-old girl. White alpaca dress and overcoat, decorated with coral branch embroidery in red wool.

Fall ball gown. Underdress in purple taffeta. White muslin outer dress, embroidered with a large swirl crossed by a mauve ribbon. A similar bubble wrap, but narrow, tunic-shaped at the front and trimmed with narrow lace on each seam of the strips. A wider lace garnishes, as a ruffle, this narrow bubble and falls down to the large bubble. Low-cut bodice with long rounded basques, entirely bubbled along the length and trimmed with a narrow bubble and two laces. A piece of purple ribbon is placed at each notch of the basques. Short sleeves. White daisy wreath.

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

🧶

[image description: a ball of red yarn]

What are some fiber textures you enjoy?

animal fiber! not have favorite wool yet( hard be aware of what am feel with body to tell what each breed feel like and how different). am enjoying how leicester longwool shiny and luster though! love process of raw fleece to yarn because really truly connect with source and every step. other than sheep, also honorable mention to mohair and alpaca and angora and mulberry silk and yak

[drama-glob]

Cutscenes #42: A Common Thread

Wasabi makes a new friend.

The physicist started to hum to himself as he made it to the end of the rack where all the needles and hooks were hung on the wall. While scanning over them, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly at how big some of them were with one hook he swore looked like it could be used as a harpoon while another set could have been used to joust with.

Alright! Time to get the supplies I actually need, Wasabi thought to himself as he finally started to browse the yarn selection. He started up the first aisle, which contained primarily thinner yarn used to make socks. Hmmm, I think I need something with a bit more weight, he remarked internally as he walked along, unable to resist picking up a few yarn balls as he went to see how soft they were with the baby alpaca wool being exceptionally silky. Aside from the variety of option this store had, Wasabi also appreciated that each brand/type was sorted by color as well, making the shelves appear to have a rainbow-like waterfall of string occur over and over again.

Here is the link on AO3:

[affreca]

I finished the singles on my work spin, so brought them home to make plying balls (not pictured is the 8th one, that accidently got left at work) and then ply. This was a CVM/alpaca blend roving that I bought from Cabled Fiber and Yarn in Port Angeles, WA while I was on an awesome road trip through the Pacific Northwest.

I took the chance to swap out my work spindle and travel spindle, so the work spin will be on my purple nebula spindle. The fiber is 100 grams of CVM/alpaca roving I bought from Natural Twist at PlyAway. Purple and green, I am predictable.

I've got another 100 grams in the stash of this colorway, and 100 grams of a grey green wool/alpaca from Natural twist that I spun up on my spindle a while ago (also, mostly on work calls), so time to start thinking of a pattern that would use all three yarns.

[incorrect-fe-engage-quotes]

Diamant: Uh, what you got there?

Amber: It's a smoothie.

Jade: I think he meant the gigantic wool ball.

Amber: Oh. This is Marvin, he's an alpaca. I just bought him.