As I’m writing this, the world is grappling with a pandemic, and many of us are facing some form of adversity, wondering what normal may look like in the future. If there’s anything 2020 has taught us, it’s that no one is immune to uncertainty and the upsets it can bring to our personal routines and habits.
I was diagnosed with a chronic pain condition in 2019, and what followed was the unplanned restructuring of my entire life. I know I’m not alone in this; things happen in our lives and send us searching for a new normal. A concept frequently taught to those of us living with chronic conditions is pacing. It’s a reminder to take things slowly and mindfully in order to keep ourselves from overexertion or a flare-up of symptoms. Our energy is finite and influenced by things outside our own control. More stress = less energy.
As my chronic condition has taught me—and the pandemic has taught all of us—sometimes we are all fragile in our own way, and pacing can be a helpful practice for all of us. Even our making is impacted by stress, and yet it’s in such times that we need our making the most. However, if you’re anything like me, it is in times of difficulty that seeing a project through to the end can feel the most daunting. Life’s complications can make the creative process feel overwhelming, but there is something particularly satisfying about a freshly finished project.
In the beginning of my own journey, I would push myself out of frustration, railing against my own body, only ever managing to make things worse: a project ruined through carelessness, pots of dye dropped or forgotten, or myself stuck in bed for days as the result of my own actions. Learning my limits has been an ever-changing road, and chronic pain has forced me to occasionally slow down. I learned to compromise and adapt. If I couldn’t bend and lift pots of water to wash or dye wool with, I carded. If I couldn’t card, I spun. If I couldn’t treadle, I tried to knit. On the days when I had to stay in bed and my hands couldn’t take the weight of a heavier project, I would work on something small. Some days, I am not able to craft for very long, but even so, I still find ways to do this work that I love.
The size of Madeline’s sweaters may be mere inches, but their charm is immeasurable.
No matter the reason, be it physical illness, emotional burnout, or even grief, the truth is that we don’t always have the energy or ability to tackle a large project. When spinning for a full-sized sweater isn’t an option, I’ve found it equally satisfying to work on a really small one. In fact, there have been studies showing that our brains react in the same way to completing a small task as they do for a large one.
This project is a spinner’s study in pacing and is designed to be completed in manageable increments as time, pain, and energy levels allow. I started making these miniature sweaters using leftover bits of sock yarn, but once I made one, I just couldn’t stop! Not only are they cute, they knit up quickly. Weighing in at around 0.07 ounces (2 grams) per sweater, they don’t take much fiber, yarn, or time.
As I’m writing this, the world is grappling with a pandemic, and many of us are facing some form of adversity, wondering what normal may look like in the future. If there’s anything 2020 has taught us, it’s that no one is immune to uncertainty and the upsets it can bring to our personal routines and habits.
I was diagnosed with a chronic pain condition in 2019, and what followed was the unplanned restructuring of my entire life. I know I’m not alone in this; things happen in our lives and send us searching for a new normal. A concept frequently taught to those of us living with chronic conditions is pacing. It’s a reminder to take things slowly and mindfully in order to keep ourselves from overexertion or a flare-up of symptoms. Our energy is finite and influenced by things outside our own control. More stress = less energy.
As my chronic condition has taught me—and the pandemic has taught all of us—sometimes we are all fragile in our own way, and pacing can be a helpful practice for all of us. Even our making is impacted by stress, and yet it’s in such times that we need our making the most. However, if you’re anything like me, it is in times of difficulty that seeing a project through to the end can feel the most daunting. Life’s complications can make the creative process feel overwhelming, but there is something particularly satisfying about a freshly finished project.
In the beginning of my own journey, I would push myself out of frustration, railing against my own body, only ever managing to make things worse: a project ruined through carelessness, pots of dye dropped or forgotten, or myself stuck in bed for days as the result of my own actions. Learning my limits has been an ever-changing road, and chronic pain has forced me to occasionally slow down. I learned to compromise and adapt. If I couldn’t bend and lift pots of water to wash or dye wool with, I carded. If I couldn’t card, I spun. If I couldn’t treadle, I tried to knit. On the days when I had to stay in bed and my hands couldn’t take the weight of a heavier project, I would work on something small. Some days, I am not able to craft for very long, but even so, I still find ways to do this work that I love.
The size of Madeline’s sweaters may be mere inches, but their charm is immeasurable.
No matter the reason, be it physical illness, emotional burnout, or even grief, the truth is that we don’t always have the energy or ability to tackle a large project. When spinning for a full-sized sweater isn’t an option, I’ve found it equally satisfying to work on a really small one. In fact, there have been studies showing that our brains react in the same way to completing a small task as they do for a large one.
This project is a spinner’s study in pacing and is designed to be completed in manageable increments as time, pain, and energy levels allow. I started making these miniature sweaters using leftover bits of sock yarn, but once I made one, I just couldn’t stop! Not only are they cute, they knit up quickly. Weighing in at around 0.07 ounces (2 grams) per sweater, they don’t take much fiber, yarn, or time.
[PAYWALL]
Spinning Notes
I did everything I could to make this project easy for myself, including using a bright and cheerful ready-to-spin braid of Merino top instead of working from fleece I prepared myself. This fiber is from Three Waters Farm in the colorway Playful.
I broke up the braid for spinning in two ways: First, I split half of the fiber lengthwise into about 16 strips, to keep the color repeats for a self-striping yarn. Next, I pulled apart the other half into chunks by color and spun it into solid-colored yarns for colorwork. In each case, I took the time to predraft the fiber, which gave me a chance to get familiar with the wool and its staple length and made the spinning process less work for my hands. And for my solid colors, predrafting made it easier for me to remove any of the staple lengths with two different colors on them and thus avoid muddying the color of my finished yarn.
Aiming for a three-ply yarn in the laceweight to light fingering-weight range, I spun the fiber with a worsted-style, short-forward draft at a fairly fast speed on my Electric Eel Wheel Nano. This wheel has been an instrumental tool for me on days when I really want to spin but treadling is a bit too much for me, and this e-spinner has become my go-to wheel for sock-weight spins. I find it works best for finer spinning with its small size and bobbins suitable for holding about an ounce of fiber. Also, instead of spinning all of my singles at once, I chain-plied after each color, resulting in a number of three-ply, fingering-weight mini skeins. For the self-striping yarn, I spun the strips of fiber one after the other, but I took breaks between each one and plied the larger skein when I was feeling up to it, maintaining the color repeat from the original braid.
I finished my yarns with a warm-water soak, gently squeezed out the water, and finished with a quick snap before hanging them to dry to set the twist.
Colorful hand-dyed fiber from Three Waters Farm makes beginning the spinning for the miniature sweaters easy—no fiber processing!
Resources
Three Waters Farm, threewatersfarm.com
Materials
Fiber 4 oz Three Waters Farm Merino top in Playful.
Yarn Chain ply; 15 yd; 2,729 ypp; 25 wpi; laceweight.
Needles Size 1 (2.25 mm) (see Notes). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
Notions Marker (m); stitch holders (see Notes); tapestry needle.
Gauge 44 sts and 58 rnds = 4" in St st.
Finished Size 1½" body width, 3½" from cuff to cuff, 2" tall.
Visit spinoffmagazine.com/spin-off-abbreviations for terms you don’t know.
Notes
- This mini sweater is worked in the round from the top down. The pattern is written for two colors (main color [MC] and contrasting color [CC]), but one color may be used throughout.
- Use the needles that you prefer for working a small circumference in the round: double-pointed, two circulars, or one long circular for Magic Loop.
- Safety pins or waste yarn work well as stitch holders for this project.
Make a palm-sized sweater this spring’s take-along spinning and knitting project.
Yoke
With MC, CO 14 sts. Place marker (pm) and join in the rnd.
Rnds 1–3 *K1, p1; rep from * to end.
Rnd 4 *K1f&b, k1, [k1f&b] 2 times, k2, k1f&b; rep from * once more—22 sts.
Rnd 5 Knit.
Rnd 6 *K1f&b, k3, [k1f&b] 2 times, k4, k1f&b; rep from * once more—30 sts.
Rnd 7 Knit.
Join CC.
Rnd 8 With CC, *k1f&b, k5, [k1f&b] 2 times, k6, k1f&b; rep from * once more—38 sts.
Rnd 9 *K1 with CC, k1 with MC; rep from * to end.
Rnd 10 With CC, *k1f&b, k7, [k1f&b] 2 times, k8, k1f&b; rep from * once more—46 sts.
Change to MC.
Rnd 11 Knit.
Rnd 12 *K1f&b, k9, [k1f&b] 2 times, k10, k1f&b; rep from * once more—54 sts.
Rnd 13 Knit.
Rnd 14 With CC, *k1f&b, k11, [k1f&b] 2 times, k12, k1f&b; rep from * once more—62 sts.
Rnd 15 *K1 with CC, k1 with MC; rep from * to end.
Rnd 16 *Place 15 sts on holder, k16 with CC; rep from * to end—32 sts rem for body.
Break CC.
Body
Rnds 1–11 With MC, knit.
Rnds 12–14 *K1, p1; rep from * to end.
BO all sts in patt.
Sleeves
Return 15 held sts to needle and, with RS facing, rejoin CC. Pm and join in the rnd.
Rnd 1 K15, pick up and knit 1 st at underarm—16 sts total.
Rnds 2–11 Knit.
Rnds 12–14 *K1, p1; rep from * to end.
BO all sts in patt.
Finishing
Weave in ends. Block if desired.
Madeline Keller-King is an avid fiber artist and natural dyer living in the woods of northwestern Montana. You can find her work and adorable canine assistants on Instagram @woolywitchofthewest.
