Crafty Knitting
There was a craft show in the lobby of the building where I’m working in Wilmington Delaware this past week, and there were four folks selling handknit items.
I was glad to see so much representation.
My Favorite
My favorite vendor was a woman selling felted roll-brim hats. Directly above the roll-brim, she had knit in novelty yarns, which looked like a fluffy band around the hat. They looked very smart, and the vendor had a very nice sense of color. She told me she had to use a coin-operated washing machine to felt her hats, and she still only charged $33 for a hat.
She also told me she preferred using Patons Classic Merino
I had never seen this yarn before, and it seems quite inexpensive for 223 yards, and obviously perfect for felting.
Does anyone know how this stuff knits up in an unfelted way?
Current Knitting
Made the amount of progress I had hoped for on the Alpaca Herd Jacket.
This is the best picture I’ve been able to take of this garment so far. Since I finished the body of the sweater a little earlier than expected (last night), I picked up the secret crochet project and did some work on that. Friend Kathy has sent me the materials I need to submit a design to Interweave Crochet magazine
The Patons yarn is actually rather nice to knit with, though, in truth it doesn’t wear well at all. It IS an excellent felting yarn though, very soft, and really cheap. They also have some really cool colors.
It’s one of my favorite yarns. Very “homey”, in that it’s not glitzy, but quite reliable. Lots and lots of colors. Good for community knitting when you really want to send wool! I can say with confidence that lots of Afghani children are wearing it these days.
I have knit lots of seaman hats, socks, scarves, and mittens from patons. No recipient has complained.
I can’t imagine felting with a coin operated washer. She must love her craft.
I’ve never used that Patons yarn, but I’ve heard good things about it.
Patons is one of my favorite felting yarns… but in all honesty I have not knit anything with it that wasn’t felted.
Paton’s is a nice basic wool, not the softest in the world but sturdy. You can find it at AC Moore now and it often goes on sale there. Does felt nicely.
Hey, did you see Kathy mentioned in the editor’s introduction to the new Interweave Crochet?
I am sad she has no patterns in it, though.
Sweater is looking good.
Paton’s Classic yarn is my all time favorite yarn to felt. It felts well, doesn’t get really “HAIRY” and felts fast. Plus it is less expensive. Smiley’s sells it for $3.99/ball
I’ve heard too many complaints about excessively pilly Patons Classic Merino to consider using it for a major garment. However, at 7 stitches per inch for a colorwork bag, it holds up nicely. Too bad I don’t want to knit worsted weight sweaters at 7 stitches to the inch…
Patons Classic Merino is fabulous for felting. I’ve only done a few scarves with it otherwise. And those have worn well. I’d do some heavy duty swatch abuse before knitting a whole sweater out of it.
I have heard that Patons Merino pills, but I have knit a lot of hats and scarves with it and they wear great. I am currently (its been on hold for a while but I am trying to get it going again) making a must-have cardigan out of it. If you have an ACMoore near you they often have it on sale, and sometimes they do those “Moonlight Madness” sales (from 6-9) when everything is 25% off- I usually stock up then.
I am making a cardigan out of PCM for the spouse. knits well. have not seen any pills yet. but, like angel, it’s been on hold for a while.
(must..start..working..on..it..again..)
normal price: $5. moonlight madness sale: $3.74.
The Patons wool is very bouncy and sproingy. However, it’s 100 grams (3.3 ounces) and not 5 ounces as Amazon suggests. It is often available at Jo-Ann’s for $4.99, but even at $5.99, it’s not a bad deal.
Wow, a Saturday post!
The sweater/jacket is looking good. When I enlarged the picture, I could see both sides better.
Can’t wait to see your crocheted surprise. Hope Interweave accepts your design (even if it means that you won’t be selling it on TKV). Will it be in the Spring IC?
I have only felted with it but I love it for felting!
Patons Classic Merino is my go-to yarn. It’s cheap, it has great yardage, and I love the color palette. Plus it’s nice that I can pick it up at my local Michael’s. I’ve made two sweaters out of it, and both have held up well so far, although I knit it tighter than most, at 5.5-5.75 spi. It’s also my friend’s favorite yarn for boot socks, though those do wear through pretty quickly. I just knit him more 🙂
I am beyond drooling over your jacket..into a ladylike slobber. Joe, it is truly stunning.
I am very new to knitting and I really like this yarn. 100% wool and for the price it is not a bad yarn. It fits my budget for now. I knit and crocheted a scarf with this yarn.
It’s really hard (for me at least) to price my hand knits.
At least where I am, I’ve gotten the best success when I figure in cost for materials with a markup and not include any amount for the time involved. Obviously, this means that the quickest knits turn out to be the best in terms of margin.
Granted, if I wanted to knit just Jayne hats, I could probably sell them for 50-80 bucks a piece. But I would feel like I was robbing people.