Fiddly Bits and Tiddlywinks

Scrap Bangles

2009-03-04T20:08:00.006-05:00

Samples from the Phat Fiber box are often under 20 yards, and finding something to do with them other than swatch can be difficult. After some thought, I whipped up some bangle bracelets. If you're trying to figure out what to make, I might suggest them!

Scrap Bangles

Bangle bracelets don't usually work for me, because getting the rigid bands over my fat little hands can be a pain. That's where these bangles come in handy! Made of soft wool, they stretch over your hands easily. When fulled, they hold their shape well, but will still squish and not impede your daily tasks. Plus, they take just scraps of yarn, work up fast, and couldn't be simpler! Each one takes around 6 yards of yarn.

Cable scraps :

This one is very subtle when fulled, as this example has been. If you don't full yours, it should show a more defined design. It was worked on size 6 needles using a heavy worsted weight wool, but you could easily scale it up or down using different weights and needles sizes. It uses a provisional cast on, but you can substitute if you'd rather.

CO 5 stitches
R1 : k
R2 : p
R3 : k
R4 : p
R5 : This row is a "slip two stitches to the front" cable, but I did it all on the needles this way : knit the first stitch, and slip it as usual. Skip the next two stitches and knit the third stitch, leaving it on the needle in place. Go back and knit the skipped stitches, and slip the third (because you already knit it, remember?) when you reach it. Knit the last stitch normally.

Got it?

R6 : p

Repeat all six rows over and over until you have the desired length. If you used provisional cast on, graft the ends together. If not, BO and seam.

Wavy bangle :

This one is a little tricky when it comes to seaming - you have to watch which way your wave is going when you get toward the end so that you have a continuous wave and not a random hump at the seam. You can try to invisibly seam this one, but I just bound off and sewed the ends together. This is another one knit on size 6 needles with heavy worsted wool yarn.

This pattern involves short rows, but I promise, they're very simple. The notation "w/t" is just wrap and turn. Directions for wrapping and turning are easy to find if you're unfamiliar thanks to Google.

CO 5
R1 : k
R2 : p

First segment, waving one way :

R3 : k3, w/t
R4 : p
R5 : k3, w/t
R6 : p
R7 : k3, w/t
R8 : p
R9 : k5

That's the first segment. Now, the other way :

R10 : p3, w/t
R11 : k
R12 : p3, w/t
R13 : k
R14 : p3, w/t
R15 : k
R16 : p5

Repeat the first segment, then the second, until you're at the length you want and the correct place in the wave. BO and seam as desired.

Easy, right? You might have noticed in previous posts there are two other bangles pictured, but you really don't need a pattern for them. The flat one is worsted with size 3 needles, just CO 70, R1: k, R2 :p, R3 :k, BO, full, and seam. The round one worsted, size 4 needles, CO 5, R1 : k, R2 : p, continue to desired length, BO, seam. Crazy simple.

I hope you like them!

Sneaky Pig Yarns

2009-03-04T19:54:00.004-05:00

The sample from Sneaky Pig Yarns was this - 20 yards of 100% wool, heavy worsted, as you can see on the card. It also came with that little stitch marker, which was nice. The yarn was self striping - no soft color blends here! It worked up very nicely. The color breaks were clean and the colors well chosen.

The packaging of this sample was good, too. I feel like this is an easy detail to overlook, but having such a clear card with the yarn was very nice to see. The stitch marker was a nice touch, the yarn color went with the theme, and the whole package was neatly tucked in a bag so it didn't catch stray fiber from other samples - and let me tell you, this was a big thing, since one of the samples was stuck to a lot of the other ones that weren't in bags.

I had enough yarn to make another Heart!

And some more Scrap Bangles.

I liked working with this yarn very much. I liked how even and regular the stripes were, which you can see easily from both bangles.

Sneaky Pig Yarns has an etsy site just for yarn, and one for other projects. I'm very pleased with my sample! Thank you, Sneaky Pig.

Aurora Fiber Arts

2009-03-04T19:23:00.003-05:00

Let's review some yarn!

The sample from Aurora Fiber Arts was a quarter ounce of Merino wool worsted weight wool in various shades of pink that she called Antique Rose. It's well named, I think. I liked this yarn very much. The yardage was something like 20 yards, which was enough to swatch up and test...

...or enough for a Heart!

The Heart pattern calls for felting, but you can still see that the yarn has good stitch definition and works up very neatly. There was no splitting or awkward color pooling. It felt great in the hand and on the needles - all around, a great yarn.

At the end, I still had enough to work up some Scrap Bangles. I felted one of them, and did a better job of it this time. I can say that if you're going for it, this yarn felts really well. As you can see, the other one was not felted in the least and it worked up nicely as well.

Aurora Fiber Arts has a website and an etsy store, which is looking a bit light at the time of this writing. I liked this yarn very much, so I'm watching them for the next store update!

Wild Hare Fiber Studio

2009-03-04T18:51:00.002-05:00

The sample of Wild Hare fiber I have is called "Embers". It's a black wool with nylon firestar and Tibetan rayon sari thrums.

Honestly, all I saw was the black wool and firestar. I'm sure the sari thrums were there, but they were a subtle player in the batt.

The sample was small but there was enough given to get a feel of the blend. The amount of firestar is very well chosen. It is so easy to over do the sparkle, but Wild Hare did a good job with their blend. The base wool isn't crazy soft, but it was easy to work with and was not itchy or rough.

I spun the sample up on a drop spindle, and ended with 10 yards of a light fingering / laceweight yarn.

The Wild Hare Fiber Studio has an etsy store. It is well stocked with yarn, fiber, and various knitted items.

Abstract Fiber Review

2009-03-04T18:19:00.007-05:00

The first sample I'll endeavor to review from the February Phat Fiber sample box is this :

This is a .5 oz. sample from Abstract Fiber; BFL superwash dyed in an "Autumn" colorway.

The thing I noticed right away was the color - it's beautiful. I am normally not a fan of yellows and purples in the same colorway, but the reds and oranges balance it all out very well.

BFL is some of the softest wool out there, and this is no exception. It was very nice to pet right out of the box.

The size of the sample is good, too. There was plenty there to show off the color choices and quality of the fibers, and it was a joy to spin up. It was a little fuzzy, but no more than is typical.

I spun the skein up in an hour or so on a drop spindle. I spun right off the hank, no pre-drafting, without splitting the sample. The colors didn't muddy with the spinning, and the end product is 23 yards, double plied.

I liked the sample very much, and can give it a ringing endorsement.

Abstract Fiber has an etsy store, which at the time of this writing is well stocked. It's also worth mentioning there was also a bookmark from this company in my sample box, with a shiny tassel and a pattern for a neck wrap printed on the back. Very nice touch!