Doctor Who wrist warmers
After someone made this post, I decided that I really did want to figure out the pattern to those wrist warmers that Rose was wearing in the final episode of the season. Below the cut is the result of my efforts.
Taken with the self-timer as there was no one around to help me:
Front and back detail:
Pattern: My own, available here.
Yarn: Peru DK Luxury Alpaca (80% Merino, 20% Alpaca, 10% Silk), 2 50g balls, 200 yards
Needles: US 4 dpns (3.5mm), set of four OR long circ for the magic loop
Gauge: 3 inches=20 sts
Notes: It took a lot of swatches, a lot of graph paper, and a lot of counting stitches from various screen grabs to come up with the proper dimensions for this. That said, the final gauge came very tight overall and the diamonds appear a little smaller, but that was the only way I could get the twist cables on the sides to sit on my hand properly. Looking back at the pictures (which can be seen in the original post linked at the top of this one), her gloves are a much looser fit. The original gloves could possibly be knitted in a sport weight yarn rather than the DK, or even still with DK but on size US5/3.75mm, but I wanted something nice and snug.
The twist cables on the side are also not accurate - this was an honest oversight. I started knitting while the chart was still a work in progress, and when I *thought* I had it right, just continued knitting them as I had first written them down. I have adapted this on the pattern chart, mainly because with the proper spacing it makes for a perfect repeating pattern. If you want your twist cables to look like mine, then just ignore those columns on the chart and cross your cable every fourth row.
What I learned:
Cables: This was the first time I tried to write a pattern with cables. I learned that you must have a purl stitch on either side of the cable to make it stand out. On some level, I'm sure I knew this having knitted cables before, but now I will definitely remember it!
The Magic Loop: This pattern works well on dpns, but I wanted to try the magic loop too. I thought it would be better so that there weren't any gaps between the cables (these fall exactly on either side of the first needle which holds the diamond motif), and that it would be better for the knitting overall. It worked very well, but I found I knitted much more slowly. If this technique works for you, I wrote the pattern for this method as well.
Other thoughts: These were a LOT of fun! Once I understood how the diamond cable worked, I barely had to look at the chart. It was completely worth the time and effort to come up with the pattern because I'm thrilled with the result. If anyone tries this out and spots any errors or other issues, please let me know - my email address is at the bottom of the pattern.
Taken with the self-timer as there was no one around to help me:
Front and back detail:
Pattern: My own, available here.
Yarn: Peru DK Luxury Alpaca (80% Merino, 20% Alpaca, 10% Silk), 2 50g balls, 200 yards
Needles: US 4 dpns (3.5mm), set of four OR long circ for the magic loop
Gauge: 3 inches=20 sts
Notes: It took a lot of swatches, a lot of graph paper, and a lot of counting stitches from various screen grabs to come up with the proper dimensions for this. That said, the final gauge came very tight overall and the diamonds appear a little smaller, but that was the only way I could get the twist cables on the sides to sit on my hand properly. Looking back at the pictures (which can be seen in the original post linked at the top of this one), her gloves are a much looser fit. The original gloves could possibly be knitted in a sport weight yarn rather than the DK, or even still with DK but on size US5/3.75mm, but I wanted something nice and snug.
The twist cables on the side are also not accurate - this was an honest oversight. I started knitting while the chart was still a work in progress, and when I *thought* I had it right, just continued knitting them as I had first written them down. I have adapted this on the pattern chart, mainly because with the proper spacing it makes for a perfect repeating pattern. If you want your twist cables to look like mine, then just ignore those columns on the chart and cross your cable every fourth row.
What I learned:
Cables: This was the first time I tried to write a pattern with cables. I learned that you must have a purl stitch on either side of the cable to make it stand out. On some level, I'm sure I knew this having knitted cables before, but now I will definitely remember it!
The Magic Loop: This pattern works well on dpns, but I wanted to try the magic loop too. I thought it would be better so that there weren't any gaps between the cables (these fall exactly on either side of the first needle which holds the diamond motif), and that it would be better for the knitting overall. It worked very well, but I found I knitted much more slowly. If this technique works for you, I wrote the pattern for this method as well.
Other thoughts: These were a LOT of fun! Once I understood how the diamond cable worked, I barely had to look at the chart. It was completely worth the time and effort to come up with the pattern because I'm thrilled with the result. If anyone tries this out and spots any errors or other issues, please let me know - my email address is at the bottom of the pattern.