I started the first pair of mittens with Mora yarn from The Wooly West. It is a super fine gauged yarn -- my gauge is 9st/inch two-end knitting on US3 needles. It still has a bit of lanolin (which I love) but is a little rough on your hands as you knit, so I was worried about how the finished mitten would feel. Well, after a 15 minute warm water soak, the blocked and finished mitten is lovely. The yarn and stitches have relaxed and allowed the yarn to bloom. I am really happy with them. My only complaint about these mittens (now named the "Sweetheart Mittens") has nothing to do with the yarn. Eric, whom I am making these mittens for, has very large hands and at this gauge, the second mitten seems to be taking forever. Here's where I am (I apologize for the crazy background; you can click the images for better detail...):
The other z twist yarn I have been working with is Black Water Abbey Worsted weight. The colors are fabulous, it's very nice to knit with and has a gauge of 6 st/inch two-end knitting on US 7 needles. I have knit two mittens so far with this yarn. The first I knit on US 6 needles and I really felt the finished product was too firm (6.5 st/inch). The second mitten was knit on US 7s and I am happier with this gauge (6 st/inch).
My conclusion (for what it's worth...): The Mora yarn has a softer feel in the finished product, but is rougher on your hands to knit with (and is 9 st /inch!).
So what next? I am going to finish the Sweetheart Mittens in Mora and then start another pair of adult mittens using an S-twist yarn. For now, I am going to abandon the Black Water Abbey mittens.
2 comments:
Thank you very much for updating us with your findings with the Z-plied yarns.
I kept watching since I was very interested how you liked the Black Water Abbey yarn and also the Mora.
I really like the look of both your mitten projects.
Thanks again.
Well said.
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