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Do you ever find yourself with a single magical skein of yarn and no clue what to do with it?
In my case, I was gifted an absolutely glorious skein of handspun yarn from my college roommate, Kiley. She spun 100% Shetland wool from the sheep at the Staten Island Zoo. (How cool is that?!)
It was so rustic and charming I knew I had to find something perfect to do it justice. With about 175 yards, I had a limited amount to work with- and therefore limited options. An obvious answer was a cowl, but not only do I rarely remember to actually wear any of the cowls I make, this just didn't seem right for it. I also didn't think that a hat would showcase the depth and texture of the yarn well.
My inspiration came out of need. My office is freezing. The building is 60 years old and of the 4 separate heating systems the only one that consistently works is the one in the far back storage area. And of course I can't plug in a space heater at the outlet closest to my desk because it will overload the old electrical outlet.
Great.
I have a pair of fingerless gloves from a stack a client made for my whole team. And they are lovely and filled with kindness, but they are also bulky, furry, and blue. And while I don't mind looking like I'm a fur trapper on Sesame Street, they don't often go with my outfit.
This yarn would be perfect for a nice and warm pair of fingerless gloves. I knew the homespun texture of the yarn would give them a really rustic feel, something you might find on a small orphan as they picked pockets in Victorian London. I couldn't wait for them to be finished.
There were ABSOLUTELY what I wanted. They are warm and soft and have made me want to go pickpockets, but I'm such a goody two-shoes that I've really only just checked my boyfriend's suit pockets.
Yes, I bought a tweed vest just for this photoshoot.
There was about a 2 week span from when I made the wristlets to when I was able to sit down and write up the pattern. I'd only made notes on the first half of the pattern, so I decided to make a separate pair to confirm the pattern.
I didn't have enough of the homespun to make a second pair, and figured that most people wouldn't have any so I opted for a commercially available for my second pair. I found a partially used skein I had in my stash of Lion Brand's Wool-Ease in Blush Heather.
And I was absolutely delighted with how they came out.
They are the Cottagecore cousins to the homespun street urchins.
In the original pattern I had stuck with a simple single crochet because I felt any stitch design might have gotten lost in the variegated texture and it allowed me to focus more on shaping to fit the hand. I was worried that it might make the design "boring", but I think instead it focuses on showcasing the yarn and all its personality. Which is ideal when I have just one special skein I want to show off.
I was originally planned on just making the second pair for practice and giving them away to a friend. Now I think I want to make a bunch of pairs in all different types of yarns and having the warmest and most stylish hands in town.
And check out Kiley's Instagram for all her magical wool creations!
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