Results tagged “Mohair” from Fabric.com Blog

This is a story about Kidsilk Haze. 

I have worked with a fair share of mohair in my day. (To me) it is the bad boy of yarn, I love it, oh I really do, but once you have it you start to question yourself. However, like a true bad boy you never regret your time and look back fondly. It is the fight you love, the challenge that keeps you coming back for more.

What I truly, madly, deeply love about mohair is the delicacy. It floats on air. It seems to be there yet not. It is fluffy and simple. The colors are so bright and vibrant yet because of the slightness of the yarn, the color can be just a hint or in your face; your choice. It is ridiculously soft. The softness blows me away each time I touch, yet I reach out again thinking that I was mistaken previously. Kidsilk Haze lends itself to lace in a way no other yarn can. It adds another layer to the lace, a layer of subtlety. The mohair diffuses the structure of the lace, giving it a softer appearance. Lace with its hair down, if you will. Kidsilk haze is an untamed beauty that you must muster your courage to ride. It is not wool, that you can knit with your eyes half on the TV. Mohair is like that famous Roman joke:

                An American couple sits down to their first Roman meal in the heart of the city itself. Their waiter comes and greets them. The couple excited tells him it is their first day and they want the real Roman experience. Their waiter smiles. The couple then proceeds to tell the waiter that they hope to catch a show after and ask him his favorite. The waiter smiles again and states "This is Rome, tonight you eat. Tomorrow you will see your show".

Now praise for Kidsilk Haze aside (and I could go all day), you must be prepared. Like the wild house alluded to above, you can't show up to ride without preparations. Tools are needed. 1) Stitch markers: not everyone will work. I used a size 11 needle with the LaLa scarf so my locking markers didn't fit my needles and I used small black rubber bands. The rubber kept them from sliding. The black stood out. Do not use jump rings or anything with a gap. The Kidsilk Haze will wiggle itself through and mess up your count. 2) Needles: mohair is no time for your fastest needles. You do not want to go fast, trust me. This baby is slick enough without those needles. Pair the Kidsilk Haze with your slowest, most trusty needles. 3) Keep calm and carry on. Not only a good rule to live by in WWII but also with this yarn. Mistakes will happen; you will get frustrated. But your project will turn out lovely. Mohair is tricky for everyone. But it will work out. Be patient and keep at it. You cannot sail big ships unless you go in deep waters.

My colloquial sayings article is at an end (man, I love those metaphors!) 

LaLa Scarf: pattern found in Greetings from Knit cafe

I truly hate to write reviews of this nature: the love/hate variety. If I love something, words flow from my fingers with a vengeance and the same can be said for hate. It is when I both love and dislike something that my mind gets muddled and I can't decide which way to go and which characteristics to give precedence to. Arranging your compliments and complaints in a certain order can sway a reader as much as your words. Let's go with stream of consciousness with this and see how we do.

First, I want to clear and air. Love/hate is a saying that easily comes to mind but I feel that my relationship with the LaLa Scarf is LOVE (note the capitals)/ Grrr. I love the finished product. I love the color combinations and possibilities. I love the delicate and small nature of the scarf and I love the look of mohair and the ruffle specifically in mohair. The Grrr comes in because I found this pattern frustrating and not all was due to the pattern but also to my own hang-ups. First, I was confused by the pattern in places. The eyelet row instructs you to do a double YO first and then each eyelet following you should wrap the yarn 3 times. I found this ambiguous. I did as instructed but the eyelets were too big, looked sloppy and floppy and not quite right. The following eyelet rows I just did the double YO all the way across and it looks MUCH better and appropriate. If this is correct, what does the wrap 3 times allude to? I also had a really tough time on the picot loops. I followed the instructions for about 4-5 picot loops but found that my loops looked like rats nests and proceeded to carefully and awkwardly frog back and try again. I went slower this time but with the same result. I decided to leave off the loops and bind-off with the light green yarn to add a whisper of color at the bottom of the ruffle. I used Rowan Kid Silk Haze in Garden and Jelly.

The finished scarf is deliciously soft, flowy and delicate. I can imagine wearing this with a light t-shirt, jeans and tall boots to add color to an outfit and to take it from casual to luxurious. LaLa would also brighten a holiday dress or keep your neck warm on a stroll to take in the holiday lights. This pattern could accommodate other lightweight yarns for a sleeker look should you have a friend who is less mohair and more cashmere. Or a combination there of. Due to my hang-ups with mohair (it is so thin that it floats on air and glides so quickly across your needle that control is difficult) I would knit the bulk of the scarf in cashmere or alpaca and the ruffle in mohair (the ruffle looks amazing in mohair). 

I am so excited to launch Fabric.com's first Knit-a-long. It is also my first. I have participated in several (though now that I think on it, not recently) but never, ever hosted. I offer this insight to beg mercy should anything go amiss. I have high hopes of success and butterflies in my stomach from excitement! So let's get started:

The winning pattern voted on by Fabric.com's customers on our Facebook page is...

The Wisp featured in the summer 2007 Knitty. I say good choice, my friends. This is one of my favorites; I have knit it just once before in a silk/mohair combo with some color variations that was just gorgeous. However, a few months ago I saw a friend who had knit her Wisp out of a cashmere blend and it was To-Die-For amazing. So that is the yarn I am going with this time. I have picked out some Rowan Cashsoft Aran (57% Extra Fine Merino, 33% Acrylic, 10% Cashmere) in Poppy (You can see it on the bottom right). This yarn is also, happily enough, on sale in the Yarn Blowout. However, if you are a traditionalist and prefer mohair, let me recommend Rowan Kid Classic, Nashua Kid Mohair, or Angora which gives a similar effect.

One of the numerous benefits of this pattern is that you really can use any weight yarn - making it a real stash buster. Simply choose a needle size appropriate to your yarn weight and follow the pattern. Just know that the big the yarn the bigger the finished object and vice versa.

Know the plan for the knit along is that I will post detailed project updates, including pictures on the blog once a week. I will also be posting more regularly on Facebook and Ravelry. Both venues will include any tips or tricks I think of along the way, answering any questions you have on the project as we go along and then photos of the finished project with a detailed debriefing in my Ravelry Notebook. I hope you will all join me in posting regularly on Facebook and Ravelry with photos and tidbits. I can't do this alone and I will need the inspiration. I have many projects coming up that might distract me from my goal--see above picture for sneak peak. Though you may be as excited to see these upcoming projects as I am neither you nor I can get them going until I finish my Wisp.

So if this were a race, I suppose I would be shooting the starting pistol but since this is just a blog I say we commence and let fly the needles!