2020 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

I love that shape but have no idea if it has a specific name I think I would just play with it in a mirror - be different characters from films, wearing it in tons of totally-different ways - how would Dame Maggie in Downton Abbey wear it? How would the housemaid wear it? What about Batman? Can you channel John Wayne wearing it?  

MrsCD

https://www.anniedesigncrochet.com/2019/04/29/flora-shawl-one-skein-free-crochet-pattern/
This is the pattern, if the link works.
I used 4 ply wool and 4mm hook, but maybe should have gone with a larger hook or finer yarn! 
I think I will have a play around... watch out for John Wayne lookalike coming down the street! 😂

CapricornLass

How talented you all are!  I'm not really much use at crochet, though not for want of trying.  The most complicated thing Ive done was a beanie hat for my son.

skogar

Hello Laura,

I did try knitting socks once but I am afraid I gave up. I am a very slow knitter and have not got much experience. I tried knitting some socks in a drops category E wool (I think it's equivalent to super chunky) the idea being to learn the techniques required and it would be quicker than knitting in 4 ply as I am very, very slow.

Initially it went ok but then I couldn't get it to work at all. After reknitting the section several times and it looking exactly the same my MIL looked at it and realised that there was a mistake in the pattern. She suggested a work round (she doesn't knit on dpns or knit socks). I'm sure it would have worked in terms of a wearable sock but i wasn't happy with how it looked and gave up. i should really try again. I still have the original wool and still think trying something in very thick wool would make sense to learn the techniques. Do you have any suggestions for a pattern that would work with this wool please? Short socks would be better as they would be quicker and then I should have enough wool. I do have some sock yarn as well but due to the first failed attempt have never used it.

Laura_Elsewhere

@skogar - I haven't ever worked with Cat-E or super-chunky but I shall investigate, and find you a way to knit socks! If you can knit a 'knit' stitch then I can get you to knit a sock, and I've no particular plans to go away or anything for the rest of this year os it doesn't matter if it takes a while  
I'll get back to you...  ooh, what size needles did you have? And were they DPNs or circ? 

skogar

Hi Laura, c

I have some circulars and some dpns, however I haven't worked out how to knit small things on circulars (I can't magic loop). I can remember the few smaller sizes of dpns that I have but will need to have a rummage and see what I can find for the chunkier ones. The annoying thing was it was going ok till I got to the bit where I couldn't get the pattern to work.

Laura_Elsewhere

Well, I can't use circs at all So I use DPNs all the time - in terms of making each stitch, it makes no difference. It is easier to explain how to do something when you can refer to "knit all but three of the stitches on the second needle", etc... 
I expect you'll want quite hefty size of needles for the super-chunky yarn, though. 

skogar

Hi Laura,

Well I have had a quick rummage but have failed to find the missing sock I started it is quite a number of years ago so not sure how quickly it will turn up. I suspect the thick dpns will be with it. So far I have found the following dpns 2.50, 3.25mm, 3.75mm, 4.0mm. I think that will be all I have except for the ones I used for the thick sock.

The good news is that in looking for them I found a ball of yarn that I had failed to find for so long I had decided that I must have originally bought 3 balls not 4. I bought it for a project intended to be knitted in a different wool but it dodn't look right so it got repurposed for a baby blanket. Very pleased the missing ball has been found as the shape will now be as intended.

Bit random here on the wool front. I have drops eskimo (E) which is what I think the original sock was knitted in, drops andes (E), sock yarn is drops fabel (self striping in blue and brown colours are 912 and 914). I have almost no double knit at the moment but have found some sirdar country style wool blend DK which is 40% nylon, 30% wool and 30% acrylic. Do you think that is likely to work or is it likely to be impractical due to the mix? I can always get some more dpns if needed. I'm trying to ue the existing wool stash (although not big it is nice wool and I should use it). If you think something else would be better I could always get something. Trying to avoid too much temptation....

Laura_Elsewhere

@skogar - the Sirdar Country Style is fine for socks, I've used it myself Hurrah! 

I used this pattern with 3.75mm DPNs some years ago, and it worked fine (edit to add: but I would handwash i, even though the label says you can machine-wash - it just goes very very fuzzy otherwise, very quickly, and you can't see the stripes!) 
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/0-865-twinkle-toes

I did the striped ones (Sock 2), and the one next to it with the stranded colourwork top, but you could simply make the entire socks in just one colour while you get the hang of it. Or maybe just do the ribbed ankle-cuff and the heel and the toe in a different colour, which I always think looks fun  

But you have the right yarn and the right needles, so that's off to a good start!  

skogar

Hi Laura, 

Many thanks, that looks great and should be quicker to knit than using 4 ply. I'm pleased I can use the existing wool as I really like the colour. It's the smokey green colour. I got it intending to make this little cat blanket,

https://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/patterns-and-books/sirdar-7828-cat-blankets-in-country-style-dk-leaflet-download

really to try and learn how to do colour work, but then decided that if I did make it the cat probably wouldn't sit on it and it was a bit too expensive just to make a cat blanket, then didn't have a suitable alternative project to use the wool. The picture is the 2nd image which shows the colour and the 1 ball I have for the 2nd colour is cream (so looks like the picture) rather than the pale grey suggested in the pattern. If I did manage the socks OK in one colour I could possibly give it a go with one of the patterns with some colour work using the cream wool as well. If I just did it round the cuff it wouldn't be a complicated bit of the sock to do at the same time. Also the 3.75mm needles are my nicest ones.