I know I’ve mentioned Ravelry before. I know quite a few of you are already there (and if you’re not on Ravelry and you knit or crochet, perhaps it’s worth a visit? Yes?). What you might not know is that Ravelry offers all kinds of interesting opportunities. Such as test knitting.

Why? What’s this here? Could this be…a mitten?

I’m a member of the Testing Pool on Ravelry. It’s an enthusiastic group of knitters and crocheters who are willing and able to test new patterns, looking for mistakes, or to create display samples. Most recently, I had the opportunity to test these lovely mittens for Emily:

In case you can’t tell, those are skyscrapers.

The pattern, called Skyline Mittens, calls for the most delicious merino you’ve ever felt, Malabrigo Worsted, in a deep purple and a bright and cheery yellow-orange. The subtle variations in the colors (particularly with the yellow) make for a really marvelous contrast. Can you tell I have some Malabrigo love? Sadly, the very qualities that make Malabrigo so wonderful for mittens make it difficult to use for larger items, like sweaters. Over time, the strands inside will felt together, creating a second layer that will help keep hands toasty. Now imagine that felting process as it happens on the outside of your next pullover. Tears and heartache, my friends. Tears and heartache.

Here’s a closeup of the guts of the mitten, so to speak. In a few short weeks of use, I pretty much guarantee this will be a lot more matted:

And here’s a closeup of the braided cast on and the first inch or so of the corrugated ribbing:

In case anyone’s curious, it only took me a week to make both mittens. Actually, technically I made two and a half of ‘em. The first attempt served as a gauge swatch. I was curious to see what it would look like on the recommended needles. Since I’m such a tight knitter, it really was no surprise that I had to go up a needle size. Now, it is possible to frog Malabrigo, but it must be done soon after making the object and done with care. The texture is not very smooth, so it tends to get sticky.

As usual, you can find more details on my Ravelry project page. Enjoy!

This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Craft Nonsense, Knittery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.