Another yarn from my Mystery Yarn Unboxing was the King Cole Tinsel yarn. At first glance I couldn't think of an easy way to use this yarn, it screams holidays and glam nights out, but its now just after Easter....
Lightweight neck accessories are definitely a 'thing' with me right now. Ditching winter coats and jackets I'm now looking for a lighter version of my snuggly warm cowl, shawls and scarves as I leave the house.
Yarn Info
King Cole Tinsel
Weight: Chunky
Suggested Needle/Hook Size: 6mm
Colour: 3470 Circus
50g / 70m
75% Polyester, 25% Lurex
Price: £3.29
Yes this really is tinsel in a ball!
After a brief experiment with a crochet hook I quickly realised that it will be next to impossible to crochet with this yarn, particularly with the black thread base.
I knew that I wanted to try for a small infinity scarf, with an open weave pattern. Something simple and lightweight that showed off the glitz of the yarn without demanding attention on the actual stitches themselves.
First a quick experiment with plain knit and purl stitches. It's much easier to see where the stitches are on the needles. The yarn feels a little odd at first, a tiny thin centre with the fluffy tinsel 'spines' takes a while to get used to. It's not a spikey as I was expecting at first. While not baby soft when it has become fabric its actually a pleasant feeling against your skin.
That went well so now onto my open work infinity scarf/cowl....
I'm using a very simple knitted band with longer drop stitches between to give a longer length to the scarf while staying within the limits of a single ball of yarn. If you struggle to see the dropped stitches holding the piece up to a white light or window will show through making it easier to see what's what. I advise counting after the dropped stitch section to make sure there aren't any extra stitches.
It's very difficult to capture the truly sparkly nature of this yarn in a photo. In fact when my daughter came in and saw me knitting it up "OMG that's amazing!". Not a standard reaction from a teen at all. Her next question was "Can you make me some scrunchies in that?"
Well not right now I can't as I've just used up the entire ball of yarn making a cowl.... but maybe I can get some more to make you some hair accessories.
What I Used
1 ball of King Cole Tinsel yarn, 50g
8mm needles
Wool needle/crochet hook to sew in the ends.
Size
Circumference: 32"/ 81.5cm
Depth: 7"/ 18.5cm
Abbreviations
k knit
k1 with 3 wraps insert right needle as if to knit, wind the yarn around the right needle 3
times before working the knit st, pulling all three wraps through the stitch
drop wraps drop/unravel all extra 2 wraps from the previous row
st(s) stitch(es)
Pattern Instructions
Cast on 20 sts
Rows 1 - 4: k all Row 5: *k1 with 3 wraps; repeat from * to end Row 6: k1, drop wraps; repeat * to end
Repeat rows 1 - 6 until you run out of yarn ending with a row 4.
Cast off and sew the ends together to create a cowl, or if using more than 1 ball of yarn an infinity scarf.
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