Purple Days Test Knit

These were a pair of test knits I did simultaneously.  Well, it's a set right?  You can't make just part of a set!  And so, here we have the Purple Days Mitts and the Purple Days Cowl.

The Yarn

Unfortunately, another yarn that's been discontinued.  I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, since I was able to afford it, being on super-clearance, normally alpaca-silk-cashmere yarns being a little out of my price range.  Still, it was absolutely lovely to work with, and unfortunately won't be available soon :(  It's really soft and nice to work with.  The colors are lovely (and totally the reason I chose this yarn for this project, the whole Purple theme).  And no color bleeding when I wet-blocked (sometimes an issue with these handpainted yarns)

I used just over 0.5 skein (82 yds) for the mitts, and about 2.25 skeins (310 yds) for the cowl.  Altogether, I've got about a skein left, so enough to make a matching hat or headband :)

The Patterns

Since these were test knits, there were changes to be made, simply being still works in progress.  The mitts, for example, called for too many stitches at the given gauge.  One tester solved the problem by casting on 10 fewer stitches.  I went waaaaaay down on my needle size to get to a size that would fit my tiny hands.  This has been corrected/adjusted in the final pattern, but it was something I had to consider as I made them.  I liked the pattern very much.  The lace was a simple little repeat that helped break up the stockinette without taking all your concentration.  The mitts were also very quick to knit - one mitt in less than 3 hours!  I think I finished the pair in about 3 movies worth of time, give or take.

 

For the cowl, I wanted it a little bigger than the dimensions that a sportweight gauge would have yielded.  So, I held two strands together for this one.  It was also nice, in that it helped prevent color pooling.  The cowl is long and drapey, with enough room to be doubled up if I want it a little warmer (the picture on the left below).

 

Notes, Alterations, Etc.

For the cowl:

Sport weight was a bit light for this pattern to get the size cowl I like, so as I mentioned above, I held the yarn double and worked that way. Love how it came out.  That was really the only change I had with the cowl.

For the mitts:

• Used a smaller gauge (6 st to inch, not 3.5-4) and still cast on 40 stitches - my hands are just not that big…
• Worked 7 rows in each of the ribbing and stockinette stitch sections (I kept the lace pattern the same).  The smaller gauge meant shorter rows as well, so I needed to lengthen the mitts a little to keep them functional.
• Held aside 8 stitches for thumb, then picked up 8 more (16 stitches total, not 20) - like with the gauge, just needed to make it a little smaller to fit my hands

The mitts are raveled here.  The cowl is raveled here.