Toast

My latest finished knit. I actually finished them a few weeks back, but am only just getting round to showing you.

These have been a long time coming. I started them last year and were my first tentative steps into knitting with DPNs. They were the ideal project, in my mind, to practise knitting in the round on DPN's. It's a quick, easy and simple project so you don't have to think about the pattern at all. The pattern calls for aran weight yarn, and so should be easier to practise with than a thin sock yarn.

I found it incredibly difficult to do that first round after casting on, but was being surprisingly patient and simply put it all down to a learning experience. So I found myself quite happy to cast on, knit a few rounds, take it off the needles, rip it back and start again. When I did finally finish them, I discovered that during the learning curve my tension had become better by the second and so was a snugger fit, plus the ladders that can occur where the needles join on each corner were less noticeable. I had also, for some reason, done different casting on and off for each, so they ended up basically being completely different.

By this point, I'd had enough, so I put them in a basket and forgot about them for a few months.

I picked them back up again towards the end of February and decided to rip them both back and start again from scratch. I had a couple of false starts whilst I got back into the swing of it, but this time I paid more attention to my cast on and off and managed to produce a pair of arm warmers.

And here's the finished article, Toast.

I realised too, with delight that I had produced them at exactly the right time too. Coming up towards Spring, when it starts to get a little milder, I had started wearing lighter clothing, perhaps 3/4 length sleeves, but still needed occasional extra coverage on my lower arms.


Photo curtesy of BellaBee


Details
Pattern: Toast by Leslie Friend (Ravelry)
Needles: 4.5mm DPNs
Yarn: Patons Colour Works Aran (50g)
Shade: 00083
Bought: Dunelm Mill
Price: £3.75
Total yarn used: 44g

I'm not going to split hairs and work out an exact cost, as the leftover yarn is not good for much. I lost a little yarn as I wanted to start the second arm warmer on the same section of colour and so get them to match through the colour changes up the length of the arm warmer. I knitted the second to the same length as the first and had a little yarn left over at the end too. I used the long tail cast on and Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn cast off.

They are ideal, and I wore them solidly for a couple of weeks. They are currently laid to one side while we have the warmer weather, but I can see myself getting a lot of use out of these. And will be making more pairs as presents in the future.



Peace Out x