Mad impulse buy (beautiful yarn!) - what do you think?

karmalady

I spin and always skein my yarn, then tie in a few places so that the yarn remains in the skein, do the gentle hand wash. Thwack hard on a chair outside while soaking wet, to relax the staples and twist in the yarn. I would do that as it may well not have been done. Then hang draped over a coat hanger to drip dry. You will get a better, more accurate knitting result. All you need is a co-operative person with hands stretched out to make the skeins

karmalady I do almost the same - spin and skein my yarn, tie in a few places, twist it and do the gentle hand wash, then I put the still twisted skein into one of those net bags meant for washing bras and give it a washing-machine spin. I untwist it, give it a "whip-shake" with the ties still on, and dry it hung over a towel-rail with a soup tin in the bottom loops as a weight to straighten the kinks.

karmalady

I spin and always skein my yarn, then tie in a few places so that the yarn remains in the skein, do the gentle hand wash. Thwack hard on a chair outside while soaking wet, to relax the staples and twist in the yarn. I would do that as it may well not have been done. Then hang draped over a coat hanger to drip dry. You will get a better, more accurate knitting result. All you need is a co-operative person with hands stretched out to make the skeins

Or an upturned small coffee table with nice legs to wrap around!
My siblings and I must have kept shrinking the gap, so mum turned to something more solid for making her skeins. The middle of a nest of three tables, which also later became great for supporting her muslin pillowcase when jam making! ??

FoghornLeghorn

I bought some similar to that. I knitted a little lamb with it.

That is so sweet! ?

I bought some similar to that. I knitted a little lamb with it.

Sorry - I was forgetting (or overlooking) the fact that you already have a pattern .

Thank you for taking the trouble, Doodledog - I think I’ll probably make the sleeveless one anyway - it’s something I’d wear quite a bit (will go nicely with my winter ‘uniform’ of navy or dark green jeggings) and it won’t matter if there’s any left over - it can go into a blanket (I have a large multicoloured one on the go) or a twiddle muff.

Witzend

Doodledog

Does the label tell you how many yards/metres the skeins have? That is a far better indicator of what you can make than the weight, as weight varies hugely depending on the composition of the yarn.

Yes, approx. 450 yards each - they are pretty hefty skeins. There were many of half the size on the stall. Yarn looks like fairly standard DK thickness.

I've had a quick look on Ravelry and depending on the size you might get a plain jumper out of 900 yards (up to a 36" chest if it's not too long), but you might be better off with a short-sleeved one, or a blanket/throw if you don't fancy a scarf. There's nothing worse than worrying that you are going to run out of yarn before finishing something.

Alternatively, if you can find a plain yarn that picks out one of the colours in yours, you could use that for rib cuffs and neckline to make the coloured yarn go further and take some of the stress out of it.

My grandmother was an avid knitter and made me many many beautiful things and every now and again I was given a striped top, very similar to the one above, which was an amalgamation of the left over wool from the previous ones - how I wish I had kept them.

Doodledog

Does the label tell you how many yards/metres the skeins have? That is a far better indicator of what you can make than the weight, as weight varies hugely depending on the composition of the yarn.

Yes, approx. 450 yards each - they are pretty hefty skeins. There were many of half the size on the stall. Yarn looks like fairly standard DK thickness.

Lovely colours and wool, I would have done the same. I just bought some lovely merino 4ply to knit socks in a really jazzy colours for myself

All you need is a co-operative person with hands stretched out to make the skeins
That was one of my jobs when I was a child when yarn always came in skeins.

dry flat after knitting is complete

I have a piece of thick insulation material left over from building work, covered it in old sheeting and pin out (block) the pieces on that.

Doodledog

Does the label tell you how many yards/metres the skeins have? That is a far better indicator of what you can make than the weight, as weight varies hugely depending on the composition of the yarn.

Yes, judging by length is better than by weight unless you are using the yarn specified in the pattern.

Great advice Karmalady
To be honest, if I'm knitting for others, I generally dont use yarns that need a lot of care, as non knitters expect fabrics to be easy wash etc.

I had some cashmere merino mix yarn drying outside in the shade, but I forgot about it and the sun reached some and bleached it to a lighter shade.
I was cross with myself.
But I'm going to use it as an ombre (we used to call it tie dye) style yarn for a hat and scarf.
So no real harm done.

Others may find my experience helpful to remind themselves NOT to leave some yarns in the sun!

dry flat after knitting is complete

I spin and always skein my yarn, then tie in a few places so that the yarn remains in the skein, do the gentle hand wash. Thwack hard on a chair outside while soaking wet, to relax the staples and twist in the yarn. I would do that as it may well not have been done. Then hang draped over a coat hanger to drip dry. You will get a better, more accurate knitting result. All you need is a co-operative person with hands stretched out to make the skeins

Yes that pattern is lovely, it would look well in hand dyed which is likely to also have been hand spun. The top does not need to be so long, it would look lovely in a shorter length with a longer length shirt underneath. Cowls do take up an awful lot of yarn, I think you would do well to alter the neck to a crew, easy to do as would be a gentle scoop neck

Beware when washing pure merino, it will felt if you look at it the wrong way. Lukwarm squeezing, lukewarm rinse. Roll in a towel and dry flat

Does the label tell you how many yards/metres the skeins have? That is a far better indicator of what you can make than the weight, as weight varies hugely depending on the composition of the yarn.

I agree with merlotgran, or a large 'pashmina' style scarf

An infinity scarf would look great in those colours.

Beautiful, what ply is it. I would look for a short sleeved or sleeveless cardigan, handy for looking a bit dressy or just to keep warm on a chilly day over a nice blouse or jumper.

I'm with DanniRae on that pattern. A cowl or 2 and give one away?

I love your wool but I am sorry I am not keen on the sleeveless jumper pattern - apart from anything else that neck would really drive me crazy!! I like the hat and scarf idea posted above

Good Luck

Esmay thank you, I hadn't heard of Drops until now but the patterns look very promising.

Now, browsing won't get DGD's jumper finished ?

it is beautiful indeed, I think I would make a scarf and hat.

Wow !
Beautiful wool .
l Iove the colours .
Have you looked at Drops design ?

Happy knitting !