I’ve already done what I set out to do with this year’s knitting resolution – using up odd balls of yarn that had been hanging around the house for far too long – but I’m in the way of always having a small project on the go and so I’m still knitting from my small bags.
Seven of the twelve are gone now, and I may knit up the contents of another bag or two before the year is out.
Here’s project 8:
The Pattern
I remember being very taken with a pattern for an entrelac pattern in one of my mother’s magazines, years and years ago. And so when I spotted scarves and shawls using the technique, and knitters getting great results using yarns with long colour changes, on Ravelry I decided that I had to make one.
I downloaded a free pattern ….
Once you know how it’s done, entrelac knitting is simple and logical, but I’ve learned that you need to be very careful with the edge stitches and with how you pick up stitches.
It’s easy to do but not so easy to make the results look polished.
The Yarn
I spotted Lang Mille Colori in my local yarn shop, and I was smitten with the bright, jewel colours. They would be too much for a whole garment, but they would make a lovely scarf.
Now I’ve knitted with it I can say that I love the colour and the softness, but the thickness of the yarn is quite variable and the balance of the colours is a little off. Green was very dominant in one skein, purple was dominant in another.
I don’t regret buying it, but I wouldn’t but it again.
The Result
One scarf – five foot long by eight inches wide – from four balls!
I like it, but I’m not thrilled with it. I’ve already mentioned the balance of the colours, but when I look at the right-hand edge I can see a few places where I wish I’d been just a little more careful.
It’s not a scarf to examine too closely, but it will be a nice splash of colour for dog walks on dark winter nights.
Coming Soon
An Aran sweater for him (hopefully by Christmas!) and a colour-block sweater (easy knitting!) for me.
And – because I need a small portable project for nursing home visits – a simple scarf, using some Mini Mochi that I found in the bag with the Mille Colori ….
Fleur in her World 
Well I think it looks lovely. I’ve been making moss stitch cowls with chunky or Aran wool. You only have to alter the number of stitches and the needle size depending on which yarn you use and you keep knitting for approximately 60 cms and then sew the two ends together. I’m keen on putting two different weights of yarn together. A rather plain Aran colour can be lifted quite dramatically with a thin mohair/mohair effect wool, especially if the mohair is variegated. This makes the resulting cowl much softer to wear. Snoods, or everlasting scarves as my American friend calls them, can also be produced in the same way but I found that chunky wool does make them a bit heavy if you combine two yarns so I stick to Aran weight wool. You can spend a little time looking through old patterns for interesting rib patterns to knit them in – my favourite is one called ‘faggoting rib’ and it produces a lovely open effect plus, BONUS, it’s quick and easy to do!
However, with all your reading do you get time to look through pattern books? 🙂
It looks great, Jane – I think Entrelac is *so* clever! Well done!
Oh I so want to be able to knit this pattern, but I am not brave enough, perhaps I should be….. Love your knitting projects.