Chunky Knit Cabled Sweater

Lately, I've been having so much fun knitting by hand. It's been a real grounder for me, and something to look forward to no matter how my day is going. It feels good to consistently and constantly be making something with my hands. Unlike when I was in school, my day-to-day isn't consumed with being creative, and that was a pretty major hole in my world for a while. Now that I am making the time to make things, I'm wondering what I even did with my time before this! I even brought my knitting the the movie theater last weekend, and it was delightful to fill my time with productivity! Okay, okay, I'm a knitting nerd!

Well, I got my Knitpick's order -- the first one anyway! ;) It included some skeins of Tuff Puff, their new single-ply super-bulky wool yarn. And everything about it, starting with the name, is wonderful fun! Mostly I love the speed in which I can knit this sweater, and the size of the cable in front.

It is also great fun to wear! This is a new length and fit for me, and I am still trying to figure out the best way to wear it. I generally gravitate toward more waist-defining styles, but I love the big boxiness of this, and I feel like it will be great with fitted skirts and dresses.

I made this on Thanksgiving night, during the Packer game (womp womp), and if I hadn't had to rip back a bit, I probably would've finished by the end of the game. See?? SO QUICK. And so nice that I made it twice! I'll show you the other version this week! I told you I've been productive! :)

DIY Chunky Knit Cowl Tutorial

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you're having a happy holiday with your family! This is the warmest November I can ever remember having, and it is so totally bizarre to not have snow right now. Granted, I am spending the holiday in Milwaukee, and there is probably some semblance of snow at home in northern Minnesota. But here, there is still green grass (what?!) and it is raining right now. I miss gently falling snow and frosty breath! I'd love a little more cold weather right now. More excuses to weather fluffy wool? Yes, please.

And speaking of fluffy wool, here is a project to keep your hands busy! Every year growing up, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, my mom would invite our cabin guests and neighbors to join us making hand-dipped beeswax candles in our kitchen. I love the tradition of making something with your hands on a day driven by rampant consumerism. So maybe, make something tomorrow!

These instructions are for one cowl, measuring 30" in circumference and 10" in height. I used three skeins of Knitpicks' Bare Gloss Roving, which is blend of merino wool and Tussah silk. (YUM.) I had a little left over, so you could probably make your cowl slightly taller, depending on your tension. You're also going to need size 50 (25 mm) circular knitting needles -- I got mine from Amazon. 

Your first step is going to be splitting the roving and spinning it. Depending on the roving you use, you might need to split it differently. I was working with 100 gram skeins, so I divided it into 25 gram pieces. I used around 50 yards of the final spun yarn, so use that as a general rule of thumb when selecting your roving or yarn.

First, divide the skein in two.

Divide once more, carefully splitting the fibers evenly. Your cowl will have a slight thick-and-thin appearance regardless, but it's easier to work with consistent size yarn.

You'll have these four hanks for each skein. You'll need to do this for all three skeins of roving.

Next, set a light twist in the roving. Start with one hank, and spin it with your hand, or by rolling the roving against your leg. This gives it a nice twist for strength, and prevents the fibers from clinging freely to everything.

As you spin, begin to wrap your new yarn around your hand to contain it, and to prevent it from loosing its twist.

You'll soon need to join separate hanks. Take the two tapered ends and overlap them, twisting them together so they latch on to each other. Because this is such a light twist, it is not a very strong join, so you'll have to use caution when you are knitting the yarn, otherwise they will disconnect.

Keep on spinning until you have your little ball of yarn. Now you're ready to begin!

Using the long-tail method, cast on 32 stitches and join in the round.

I prefer to use the magic loop method to knit in the round, but if your cable isn't long enough, you can simply knit in a continuous circle.

When you knit your first few stitches, carry your loose end with your working yarn to weave in the end.

Continue to knit in stockinette for 13 rounds.

It's so much fun to watch this cowl grow, because it happens so quickly!

After 13 rounds, bind off all stitches knitwise.

Weave in the loose end with your fingers.

Steam if desired. Because it is all jersey (stockinette) the edges will curl slightly while wearing. If you wish to steam it in between wears, it will help to keep it full and flat.

Here's an abbreviated pattern for you:

CO 32 sts

Connect in the round

K13 rds

BO all sts knit wise

Weave in ends

I would love to see photos if you make this for yourself! Feel free to email me or tag me on Instagram (@addie__marie). I'm also selling this HERE, if you are interested!

Super Chunky Knit Roving Hat

More chunks for ya! I had just the perfect amount of roving to make this hat and top it off with the fluffiest pom pom I've ever created. Pom poms? Are always in style.

I was hugely uncertain if this was going to work out, because I've never made up a hat pattern before. I needn't have worried, because it ended up being real simple! I started over once, because I had too many stitches on my first try, but once I got that nailed down, it was a breeze. Seriously, knitting on this scale is SO rewarding: I finished this in just a couple hours, frogging included. Once I get more roving delivered, I'll make a tutorial for this (as well as the cowl). Because it is so quick to make, it would make a great down-to-the-wire Christmas gift!

Sometimes I feel like I have the shortest crafting attention span. Do you ever get this? For example, in February this year, I decided I was going to get WAY into metal stamping. I ordered letter stamps, bought a steel jewelers block, metal blanks, leather and snaps for bracelets, and a hole punch/rivet setter tool. Within two weeks, I'd already moved on, and I've honestly done nothing with it since.

This isn't a great habit to get into, particularly because of the above investment (I always justify these as "investments"), but I allow myself to do this more than I'd like to admit. I have three unfinished sweaters I started on my knitting machine. I have a coat in process, pattern complete but only basted together. I am STILL finishing a sweater for my niece that I started in September (just have to seam it and weave in the ends). I have a despicable amount of fabric and yarn I bought with specific plans in mind and just haven't "gotten around to it" yet. I've been promising to make my brother a sweater for three years (even have the yarn!). Guys. This is NOT okay. I know sometimes, especially with a full time job, there just isn't the time to do everything you want to do, but--I need some discipline. How do you do it? Do you only ever have one WIP at a time? (I am SO envious of you, if so!) Do you plan your projects out by season and then stick to it? WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS?! Give me your wisdom!

But to tie this train of thought in, I really love when I have a project in mind and the supplies already are living in my stash. Like this hat, and the cowl I made. And I also love when a project takes only a couple hours to complete, simultaneously satisfying my need to create and my need for instant gratification. While I take an enormous amount of satisfaction in a long-term project, there is something delightful about taking something from imagination to completion in less than an afternoon.

Please give me your project organization secrets! Clearly I need HALP. (And accountability.)

Also! This hat is available for sale HERE!

Chunky Knit Roving Cowl

Oh HEY. It's mid-November, we have no snow, and I'm dreaming of a day chilly enough when I can appropriately wear heavy wool accessories. It hasn't happened yet. 

But a girl can pretend, right? With this white fluff, how could you not? I am pretty obsessed with knitting things in this ridiculously large gauge. My needles (size 50) are hilariously big for my hands, my cat keeps trying to eat the long fibers from the roving, and these projects get HEAVY after a while. But how fun is this outcome?

To make this, I used Knitpicks' peruvian wool roving, and my aforementioned size 50 circular knitting needles, which I got from Amazon. I split the roving into 25 gram pieces and lightly twisted it for strength. It is so fun to watch this fabric grow! I plan to make more, so I'll probably put a tutorial together on the next go.

And speaking of KnitPicks... heads up, their big sale starts tomorrow morning! Every year I buy a huge bunch of yarn in their sale, but I think this year I'll buy a huge bunch of roving -- diversifying the stash. ;) This is exactly my kind of holiday shopping!

Also! This cowl - or one made precisely for you! - is available HERE! Let me know if you are interested in something custom!