The very second I saw Knit Picks' new yarn Big Cozy I knew I had to design with it. There's just something about a super bulky yarn that gets my heart a-racing.
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| Big Cozy nom nom! |
Many, many years ago, when I first started knitting, I purchased the largest needles I'd ever seen at the first knitting fair I'd ever been to. They're 20 mm needles (US size 36)1, and now I finally have the perfect yarn for them.
Big Cozy is a super bulky weight yarn, with the gauge given as 2.5 sts to 1". On my needles, I'm getting it a bit bigger, and that's all part of the fun. It's a wonderfully soft combination of 55% superfine alpaca and 45% Peruvian highland wool, for which I'm imagining a luxurious, over-the-top, cape/bolero.
I'm sure you can imagine, though, that knitting with needles and yarn this big is something of a challenge. You have to learn new ways of manipulating the yarn and wielding these unwieldy things. So imagine my surprise when, quite literally, the day after I got my hand on some Big Cozy, Mari Chiba posted this guide of tips to knitting with super big needles! Serendipity! If you're thinking of knitting with this beautifully monstrous stuff, I'd suggest you give her brief post a read.
You'll be seeing more from me and this huge yarn. I'm hoping to take you through this design process from its first steps through to its last.
For some odd reason, it's all about the super big and pretty small yarns for me (I tend toward sock weight. Who knows why?)
How about you? Do you prefer a particular weight of yarn?
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1 As these needles are really unusually large, I thought I better do my research and see if people can ever get a hold of ones this big. Indeed you can, and right from Knit Picks' own website!
2 comments:
Definitely more toward the sock end of yarn weights for me. The bulky stuff always just seems so, well, bulky. And trying to wield the giant needles? Oy. But perhaps I'll check out that blog post you linked to next time I find myself knitting something on the bulkier end of things.
If it's lightweight I know I'll wear it more, but if first learned to knit on big needles and bulky yarn, so it's like comfort food to me. After doing delicate, fiddly knitting, I love to just do a chunky hat or something.
I was thinking of knitting bulky afghan squares just to have a usable project on hand for those moments.
When I first got Twinkle's Big City Knits I wanted to knit something that called for monstrous needles no hobby store near me carried. I didn't automatically order everything online back then, so my husband got two plungers from a dollar store and honed down needle tip ends for me to use. They were the perfect size, but I got a serious crick in my neck wielding them :)
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