Monday, October 15, 2012

braided

I used to knit quite a bit, many years ago, but until recently had completely abandoned it.  This time around I'm taking it up with an eye to making special pieces that really excite me, like this cozy braided cowl I've been working on.  Now I'm just waiting til it gets cold enough to wrap myself in a mohair and wool cocoon.

20 comments:

  1. it looks so comfy!! well done!!

    xx
    http://sundaesbest.blogspot.co.uk/

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  2. What a beautiful cowl, which pattern did you use?

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    1. Thank you, I made it up! It's basically three huge long rectangles, literally braided and then joined up.

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  3. Oh, that's really lovely! Are you planning to make some to sell? :-D

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    1. I'm just getting back into knitting so it's a little slow-going now, I'd have to really get my chops up to go into production, but I'm actually super tickled by the idea. Wonder if folks would be interested...

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  4. This is lovely. I would love to see how you joined it up. Gorgeous!

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  5. Can you comment with the yarn weight (worsted, bulky...) and needle size you used? I'd like to try to recreate this! You could put a pattern on Ravelry.com too!

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    1. Absolutely! I gave a detailed reply below, but wanted to reply to you directly as well to make sure you were alerted to the answer. I used Rowan Cocoon, which is bulky/chunky and 7.0 mm needles. I suppose I could put it on ravelry, I've just been away from knitting for so long I hardly feel like an active member of the community, ha! Would love to hear back from you if you make this!

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    2. I'm in the process of making it! Holding two worsted strands together on size US11 needles...on the second strand. Will have to block to make sure they are long enough to braid AND fit over the head. I started by casting on 32x3 for all the stitches and will probably use kitchener stitch to join. I'd be happy to help you put this on ravelry if you like!

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    3. That sounds great! I just joined the two ends using an invisible horizontal stich, but I'm sure yours will be even more invisible. I would love to see how it turns out when you're done! And if I do decide to get it up on ravelry I may take you up on your offer.

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    4. Here's the final product on my friend's blog...http://alexchristina.com/2013/02/knitted/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
      (it looks better on her)

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    5. It looks great! I am so glad you sent me the link, it's super exciting to see my cowl in action in some other part of the world. I'm so glad it worked out for you, and thanks again for keeping in touch!

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  6. Love this. Please share needle size, yarn weight...if you would please?

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    1. Absolutely! I gave a detailed reply below, but wanted to reply to you directly as well to make sure you were alerted to the answer. I used Rowan Cocoon, which is bulky/chunky and 7.0 mm needles. Would love to hear back from you if you make this!

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  7. For those of you who asked (and I'm glad you did!), I used Rowan Cocoon yarn:

    http://www.knitrowan.com/yarns/cocoon

    And I used the recommended 7.0 mm needles (I use circular always, but that's just preference, I did not knit this in the round). I used basically one skein per strip (I made them 32 stitches wide each), leaving a little bit left over at the end for sewing them together, so three skeins got me this lovely cozy voluminous look. And I literally just knit 3 long and wide strips in plain old stockinette, allowing the edges to naturally curl in, then braided them, and joined them up in pairs in the back.

    Let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer!

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  8. hi.
    this is neat!
    (came over from design sponge.)

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  9. can you tell me how many stitches you cast on? I'm not a very good knitter, but this is calling my name!!

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    1. I made each strip 32 stitches wide, but if you do a bit more or a bit less it won't matter much, just wanted them to be wide enough that it didn't feel like little ropes. Let me know if you give it a go!

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