Reduce, reuse, recycle, reyarn! Alpaca yarn can be so soft and fluffy! It can also look pilled right from the skein and when mixed with superwash wool, can lose some of its elasticity. Loss of elasticity was a major issue for me when I used a washable version of Berroco's Ultra Alpaca (Ultra Alpaca Fine) to make socks for my sister.
Really beautiful pattern, right?
I decided to try to make them for my sister, who is fond of navy blue. I thought bright green would be a nice contrast, so used Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Blueberry mix (navy) and Kaffir mix (yellow/green). I loved the contrast, and actually had a random guy sitting next to me on a plane comment on how much he liked the pattern and colors as I was working on this project during a flight.
Almost finished sock one and decided to try it on for size. That's when I discovered that this yarn didn't really have enough give and elasticity to be comfortable for socks.
So I reluctantly frogged the whole thing and then let the yarn sit for a bit while I was licking my wounds over having wasted so many hours.
That's when I saw (on Ravelry, of course) Lisa Hannes 'Emiliana' shawl, which uses mosaic slipped stitches in two contrasting colors. It was the perfect project for my reclaimed Ultra Alpaca Fine.
Here is Butterflies are Free transformed into Emiliana:
I purchased shawl pin from Etsy and gave it to my sister. The person who made this particular shawl pin has since closed her shop, but there are lots of other beautiful, reasonably priced shawl pins on Etsy.
***Slightly off-topic, but please indulge me for a minute while I lavish praise on Yvette Noel of Rose Hiver Designs. I have made several of her sock patterns, including Butterflies are Free and Water for the Elephants (separate blog post). They look extremely complicated, but are so well written and each step is described in minute detail. If you are looking for a fun, challenging project that will yield great results, Rose Hiver Designs patterns are fantastic.***
Here is Yvette Noel's 'Butterflies are Free' socks:
Really beautiful pattern, right?
I decided to try to make them for my sister, who is fond of navy blue. I thought bright green would be a nice contrast, so used Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Blueberry mix (navy) and Kaffir mix (yellow/green). I loved the contrast, and actually had a random guy sitting next to me on a plane comment on how much he liked the pattern and colors as I was working on this project during a flight.
Almost finished sock one and decided to try it on for size. That's when I discovered that this yarn didn't really have enough give and elasticity to be comfortable for socks.
So I reluctantly frogged the whole thing and then let the yarn sit for a bit while I was licking my wounds over having wasted so many hours.
That's when I saw (on Ravelry, of course) Lisa Hannes 'Emiliana' shawl, which uses mosaic slipped stitches in two contrasting colors. It was the perfect project for my reclaimed Ultra Alpaca Fine.
Here is Butterflies are Free transformed into Emiliana:
I purchased shawl pin from Etsy and gave it to my sister. The person who made this particular shawl pin has since closed her shop, but there are lots of other beautiful, reasonably priced shawl pins on Etsy.
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