My first adventure - Epic Arm Warmers

When I first learned to knit, I scoffed at the idea of making a scarf. 'No' I thought. 'I shall be making something much for useful than a mere scarf. I shall be making some mittens.' 


The back story

And so I set out and made some incredibly basic, fingerless mittens. Really, they were nothing more than a very short scarf, woven together at the seam with a convenient hole for a thumb. But needless to say, I was convinced of my own genius at the mere sight of them.

My sister encouraged this wonderful delusion, asking me to make her a pair, too. Only, her's should be much longer and with much smaller wool, thank you very much. So change those mittens to arm warmers. A pattern would be nice, too, but no pressure. And thus I had received my very first knitting order.

When I had finally acquired some wool and knitting needles, I set out on my first knitting adventure. As I had no idea about patterns, I just browsed a few different looking stitches online, until one struck me as appropriately advanced looking, yet surprisingly easy to make. I eventually settled on one called the six stitch rib, which I found on the Knit-a-square website. To top it off, I also decided to throw in a bit of seed stitch (or is it moss stitch?), to make it even fancier.

I was now ready to try my luck at unsupervised knitting. It took me quite a while, initially, as I always seemed to end up with extra stitches. I eventually figured out that I was purling clockwise, instead of anti-clockwise. I'm not sure why that happened, but maybe my genius brain figured that a purl stitch is the complete opposite of a knit stitch, so the yarn must be wrapped differently, too. Not! If you are new to knitting and keep getting more and more stitches, make sure you're not using some fancy yarn wrapping technique of your own, because that's likely to give you unwanted yarn over increases.

The making-of experience

Arm warmers in the making. 

My sister and I have quite thin arms, so, using myself as a measuring tape, I only cast on 30 stitches, using 5mm needles. Fortunately, with the stitch patterns I chose, I didn't need to worry about too much measuring accuracy. The ribbing gives the arm warmers a nice amount of stretch, meaning you won't need to do any shaping or obsessive measuring. The seed/moss stitch doesn't serve much of a purpose, other than that it gives the arm warmers a nice decorative edge, which will truly impress people. I sure was impressed with myself, when I did it. 

My nanna recommends using circular knitting needles for all projects, regardless of whether the rounds will be joined or not. I tend to agree with her, because it allows you to keep your project safe when you put it down, without the need for those little needle end caps. Also, apparently, the circular needles tend to distribute the weight of the project more evenly, which will make a difference when you're starting to knit big, heavy items. 

As this was my first knitting project, I did not yet know of the wonders of knitting in the round, so these arm warmers were knitted flat and had to be woven together at the end. I don't think I will be making them like that again, but it was certainly a very easy project for a beginner knitter. 

I learned a few important lessons during this project. Once I figured out my yarn wrapping problem, I didn't really have any great issues with maintaining the stitch pattern and keeping track of where I was. However, once it was time to weave everything together, I learned the hardest lesson yet:

Do not, under any circumstances, make a knot and cut the tail. It doesn't work. Ever. 

There, I said it. In retrospect, I really don't think people make that clear enough. Sure, they tell you to leave about 6 cm when cutting the yarn, but I didn't really see the point of this and no one spelled it out for me. Now I know: Knots made out of wool will slip through and your entire life's work will start to unravel. Also, the knots will make your edges much tighter than you want them to be. So just don't do it.

In the end, what was cut, was cut, and only time will tell how long these arm warmers will last. For now, I believe they look rather fine, but when they do start to unravel, I shall make a better and much improved pair for my sister. 

The final result. Despite the many mistakes along the way, they still ended up looking pretty wicked. :)

What you will need:

• Yarn of your choice and appropriate needles (straight or circular)
• Blunt sowing needle for weaving in ends

I chose an inexpensive dark blue wool and 5mm needles


The pattern:

K - Knit
P - Purl


Gauge with my yarn and needle size was 17 stitches x 24 rows = 10 x 10 cm sq/ 4 x 4 inches sq.
This will fit  small arms


Cast on 30 stitches in your preferred method (or multiples of 6 to adjust size)

Start the six stitch rib:

Row 1: [K3, P3] repeat [] until end of row
Row 2: [K1, P1] repeat [] until end of row

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until desired length is achieved, leaving enough room for a moss stitch edge

Start moss stitch:

Row 1: [K1, P1] repeat [] until end of row
Row 2: [P1, K1] repeat [] until end of row

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until the pattern starts to show and desired length is achieved.

Cast off in your preferred method, leaving a tail long enough to 'sow' seam together and weave in at the end.

Use tail to sow seams together, leaving a hole where the thumb should go. Weave in ends. Enjoy. :)