Gaiter (#5) - You Must Knit This!

I am determined to kick off a viral knit of this pattern because:

• it is so bloomin' cool and effective
  
• the pattern is dead simple to remember and easy to knit
  
• as one of the world's slowest knitters, I am delighted to advise that it only took me 2 hours to complete one of these. It would probably take a normal speed knitter 1-1.5 hours.

So it is an IDEAL thing to knit if you happen to be a few gifts short of your quota for the end of this month and have approx 80-100yards of bulky wool in your stash that you can use with 10mm or 12mm needles. Really, go back and dig out that Autumn 07 Knit.1 again.

In fact, my colleagues are now petitioning me to knit them en masse for them - apparently, they will even supply the yarn. Tempting though that is, I have pointed out which newsagent sells Knit.1 and offered knitting lessons instead.

Personally, I think that the photograph of this pattern in the Autumn 2007, Knit.1, Back to the Future feature sells the pattern a bit short, as the lighting is very moody and it is knitted up in black. This means that you cannot see the pattern, nor its effect. A real shame, as the pattern looks great and gives the Gaiter both structure and texture, adding to its interest when worn.

Version 1: 3.5 skeins of blue Mirasol Sulka, yarn used double on 12mm needles. Commute knit. Knitted 7 repeats, otherwise completed as per the pattern. Birthday present for my sister in colour that she requested. I plan to pick up buttons for it tomorrow. Really pleased with how soft this yarn is and how well it shows off the pattern. Will try to snap a photo of her wearing it at some point in the coming week.

Version 2: 125gms, 68yds of plum Handmaiden Strati, 12mm needles to get gauge. Test knitted during communications event. I worked 5 repeats, ran out of yarn, so cast off by grafting the last row to the cast on edge, to create a cowl. I love it, even though the yarn is a bit 'crunchy' as it's in my colours. So I ain't giving this away. Nope, it's mine.

In the meantime, you will just have to put up with some very dodgy pictures of me over at Flickr in both versions (click link to access) ...which (in reverse order) do indicate that while this is a great cowl or scarflet, it does not double well as a hairband - it just looks silly!