Hot Off the Needles

A new batch of Curly Purly Soakers is finished!

Curly Purlys in a Row

Left to Right:
Lion Wool-Midnight Blue, Lion Wool-Winter White, Lion Wool-Cadet Blue, Cascade 220-Summer Sky, Cascade 220-Lime Heather

It's hard to beat this pattern--cute, quick to knit and fits well. My favorite way to knit them is to omit the short-row shaping and add 1/2" to the length. My friend was excited when I delivered them to her on Wednesday night.

A few weeks ago she expressed an interest in learning to knit, so I decided to look for a soaker pattern that would be well suited to a brand new knitter. Curly Purly might be considered beginner friendly to some, if you leave out the short rows, but it requires three different sizes of circular needles and a set of double pointed needles. That's a lot of money to invest in needles to start with, especially if you're not sure knitting is something you will even enjoy.

I found a pattern I thought would be better for a beginner and decided to test knit it.

1932 Ribbed Soaker

Pattern: 1932 Ribbed Soaker Pattern
Yarn: Cascade 220-Sage Heather
Needles: US 5 straight (and DPNs optional)

The design is simple: knit a long strip of 2x2 ribbing and sew along the sides leaving an opening for the legs.


Omitting the eyelet row and I-cord would make this soaker even easier for a beginner.


It is completely optional, as are the leg cuffs. I picked up the stitches for the cuffs after the body was sewn together and knit them in the round on DPNs. However, the stitches could be picked up and knit flat before seaming if you prefer.


The only drawback to this soaker is that it seems to take forever to knit. A new knitter might lose interest before it's finished. I almost did, but I kept slogging along until I reached the end...perhaps a simple baby bib is a better project to learn on.

Let's Go Yarnin'

This weekend was packed full of activities. It included a wedding rehearsal and dinner on Thursday night for John's nephew, late night fishing off the 1st Street Pier in Palacios on Friday, a bridal shower on Saturday morning for a couple from church, visiting with John's sister and family (from Massachusetts) on Saturday afternoon and then the wedding and reception that night.

The wedding was in Conroe which is on the north side of Houston--the same side of town as my favorite yarn shop, Twisted Yarns. Since it's about 1 1/2 hours from our house...and we were going to be in the area anyway...we should stop in for yarn, don't you think? Our schedule was tight, but I promised John I could get in and out quickly as all I really needed was some Cascade 220.

It's time to knit soakers in the next bigger size for my friend's baby and I was on a mission to find yarn in specific colors. She had already bought these pretty colors of Lion Wool at Hobby Lobby.

Midnight Blue, Cadet Blue, Winter White

But she really wanted something in baby blue and lime green, so I said I'd check TY to see what they had. I found what she wanted plus a couple of other colors I liked. If these don't work for her, I'll keep them myself.

Cascade 220
Paradise Beach, Summer Sky, Lime Heather

Brown Sheep Lanaloft
Orange Confection

I wish I'd had more time to browse at TY. All I could manage though, was a quick glance around while John paid for the yarn. Right away my eye caught sight of two Morning Surf Scarves on display. I have plans to make this scarf and now that I've seen it in person, I'm anxious to get started. (If you're interested in this pattern, but don't want to register to get it, you can print it from here or find it in the Summer 2008 issue of Spin Off.)

I also saw and tried on the store model of Circle Vest (Ravelry link). I had a copy of the pattern in my purse and a whole wall of Noro Silk Garden right in front of me, but no time to make a smart selection on a color. I decided to wait until my next visit, which I have a feeling will be coming up sooner than later. Until then, I have soakers to knit.

Pattern: Curly Purly Soaker
Yarn: Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool
Color: 126 Nature's Brown
Needles: 16" Circular Size US 3, 5, & 7 and US 3 DPNs
Size: Small
Notes: No short rows. Added 1/2" to length.

Curly Purly Soakers

I knit two more soakers for my friend at church.

I read on one of the Ravelry groups that it's good to have 5-6 soakers in each size. The addition of these two bring the total I've knit to five in the newborn size. I gave them to my friend last week and she was thrilled.

It turns out I finished just in time too. On Monday, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing just over eight pounds. I probably better get started on some larger sizes.

The Curly Purly Soaker Pattern

16" circulars US 3, 5 & 7 and US 3 DPNs

Patons Classic Wool Merino in Denim Marl

Nature Spun Worsted Weight in Salmon

and

Lion Wool in Midnight Blue

Knitted Wool Soakers

A friend from church is expecting a baby this summer and is planning to use cloth diapers, so I finally have an excuse to knit soakers. Aren't they cute?


Carissa was kind enough to give me a few tips on knitting soakers and recommended I start with this pattern:

The Curly Purly Soaker

Yarn: Nature Spun Worsted Weight
Color: Eucalyptus
Needles: US 3, 5 & 7 16" Circulars, US 3 DPNs
Size: Newborn

What I like about this soaker is the way a series of ribbing extends well into the body. This should insure a snug fit that won't shift around and will look neat under clothing. And if the the rise is too high, just fold down the top like you would the ribbed brim of a hat. This soaker may end up being my favorite, especially if it functions as well as I think it will, but I wanted to try out some other patterns too.

Booty Extreme Soaker

Yarn: Nature Spun Worsted Weight
Color: Eucalyptus and Silver Sage
Needles: US 3 & 6 16" Circulars and US 6 DPNs
Size: Newborn

I think this design is better suited for wearing outside of clothing, like a pair of shorts. What attracted me to this pattern is the garter stitch seat. The idea is to provide a thicker fabric in the area where it is needed most. I think it's super cute! It's wider than the previous soaker and the one below, but the leg openings are more to the front, so I think the extra width will end up being in the back. This is probably a good thing since cloth diapers tend to be bulky there.

Little Turtle Knits Hybrid Rib

Yarn: Lion Wool
Color: Midnight Blue
Needles: US 5 & 7 16" Circulars and Size G Crochet Hook
Size: Newborn

I love the unique design features of this one: the ribbed crotch and the leg gussets. However, I might lengthen the rise next time and add a few more short rows. A big plus with this pattern is that it is written for two weights of yarn: worsted and dk. So just about any yarn you have in your stash will work. The crochet hook is needed to single crochet an edge around the leg opening. I'm not a crocheter, but I didn't find this hard to do.

I'll be knitting more soakers in the future but for today, this is the end.