Red Koigu arm warmers!

I made a second pair of arm warmers to keep my Mother-in-law's arms and hands warm while she's reading on cold Alaskan nights. You might remember the Chukar arm warmers. They were a big hit!

Koigu is a lovely lovely thing. Merino, tightly spun enough to have a firm hand, and presumably resist pilling, but not at all scratchy against the skin. And the colors, Oh the colors!

I ordered this Koigu in October 2006 from Patternworks. It was on backorder, and I held out because I thought it was the prettiest colorway. I ended up holding out until february, a little late for xmas 2006. So they became a xmas 2007 project.

I wanted a thicker fabric from the koigu, since these are supposed to keep arms warm, not just pretty. I settled on a horizontal rib (4 rows of stockinette, 4 rows of reverse stockinette). This incidentally made the shaping of the arm quite easy, since it was very elastic. I checked to make sure the fabric wouldn't be too stretched out up near the elbow, again referencing the warmth issue.


I then knit up the hands separately and sewed the sections together, letting the cuff roll and sewing it a few rows into the wrist.


I used an I-cord bind off on the fingerless fingers, and LOVED it. Such a neat edge! Sorry the photos don't show it better.

BTW, that is one of our new bathroom countertops! We went shopping at a marble/stone remnant yard, and found this beautiful piece. A little more eco-friendly than buying virgin stone.

Gratuitous poodle shot!

After his latest haircut, he was so cold that he wanted his coat on inside the house.