Abyss Legwarmers
Please note: I always test my patterns 100%, however, this one is NOT tested. I just don’t want to and it’s pretty easy anyway. As usual, let me know if you have any comments!
The originals were knit up with one skein of fingering weight and one skein of DK, however, they could be done with two skeins of fingering weight, if you prefer.
Craft: knitting
Skill Level: Rookie-Apprentice-Virtuoso-Genius
Skills: knit, purl, K2tog, yarn over, i-cord
Sizes: adult small (shown) and large
Finished Measurements: approx. 5″ wide, 20″ long lying flat with cuff folded down (size small)
Gauge: 34 sts = 4″ on 2.5 mm as given on Anne ball band; 22 sts = 4″ on 4 mm as given on Soft Touch ball band
Yarn: 1 x 100 g (560 yds, 215 m) fingering weight yarn; 1 x 200 g (500 yds, 457 m) DK weight
Suggested Brand: 1 skein Anne by Schaefer Yarn; 2 skeins Shelridge Farms Soft Touch DK
Needles: 3 mm dpns (or 12” circular – dpns required for i-cord)
Other Materials: tapestry needle or teeny crochet hook
Instructions:
Make two.
Starting at the top with DK yarn (MC), CO 80 (112) sts with long-tail method. Join in the rnd being careful not to twist sts. Pm for beg of rnd.
Work a K2, P2 rib for 10 rnds.
Rnd 11: *K2, P2, K2tog, YO, P2*, rep from * to * to end of rnd. 10 (14) eyelets.
Next: work 10 rnds in 2×2 rib.
Rnd 22: knit one rnd for fold line (shows as a purl rnd when cuff is turned down).
Rep the first 21 rnds once more.
Change to fingering yarn (CC) and st st. Use jogless stripe technique and carry strands up the back (unless you want to weave all those little guys in, but I don’t recommend it!)
Work 3 rnds with MC and 7 rnds with CC until legwarmers reach one inch from desired length. Obviously, you may choose a different stripe pattern (or a solid) based on your tastes and yarn choice.
Once your legwarmer is long enough, change to MC and work 12 rnds in 2×2 rib. BO in rib.
Finishing:
Fold top cuff over along purl line. Block if needed. Make a 30-inch i-cord on dpns and weave through eyelets, making sure they line up. Weave in ends.
Love these! What a great way to play with two weights of yarn… I'm a legwarmer addict and these are perfect!
It was a little risky with the two weights, but they came out really nicely. I like the DK for the cuff because it's nice and squishy!
These are probably the coolest pair of leg warmers I've seen. I'm a novice knitter having only made 2 scarves and a pair of little girl leg warmers. I'd like to make these for my oldest daughter – I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew…
I live a fair distance from a yarn retailer. As a fellow Canadian, where's a good place to buy yarn online?
These are very easy – even for a novice!
I made mine on 12" circulars, which are a little awkward to hold, but if you don't like to use dpns, it's a good alternative. The "hardest" part of the pattern is the cuff, and it's not tricky at all!
Luckily for me, I work at a yarn shop, so I rarely buy yarn online anymore. I have bought from Yarnmarket.com without any problems, although they are not a Canadian distributor. I also really like Snow Leopard Trust because they carry my favourite: camel wool!
Love these! I've been thinking of casting on for a pair of legwarmers recently but haven't felt the inspiration. This oughtta do it – thanks for sharing! And I love the tie, what a great idea.
I love these warmers, and would love to make them in a child's size! Any suggestions on how to reduce??
Hey RustyBaby, sorry for the delay, I've been putting some thought into this:
Naturally, I would make them shorter.
Depending on the size of child we are talking about, I would try casting on 64 sts. This should make them about the right size, but also give you the right amount of stitches so that the ties and eyelets will work out.
For everyone's reference, you need a multiple of 16 sts so that the number of eyelets for the ties works out. You need an even number of holes, otherwise, when you thread the ties through one end will be inside the legging and one outside (which makes them impossible to tie – make sense?).
Hello, Carr Wiebe,
I have bought yarn online from wool-tyme.com when they had something I couldn't find locally.
They are located in Ottawa. Good luck!
A.G., Vancouver.
Am very new to knitting, and am not sure of the abbreviation use here.
What is "DK", "Pm" and "MC"? What is "CC"? Can I use medium weight yarn for this?Oh, what is "BO"?
Thank you..
Suri
Hi Suri,
If you are able to download my patterns from Ravelry, I would recommend that. I give a list of all the abbreviations on the first page of every pattern.
They are all standard (as far as I know), although, in the knitting world there is always multiple ways to do everything (which is usually a great thing!).
You can also "google" any terms that you don't know and you will get many websites that can help and often videos. Use "knitting help" in your search. Knitting often requires a little bit of extra research.
DK = "double knit", in this case it refers to the weight of yarn that you are supposed to use. Medium weight yarn is usually considered about a worsted weight (heavier, thicker than dk).
PM = place marker
MC = main colour
CC = contrasting colour
BO = bind off
what would be a good way to decrease around the ankles? the top is way to big for my ankles, and i keep ending up with holes where i decreased.i'm doing these in single-row stripes,with more of a worsted weight yarn on size 7(us) needles, if that makes a difference.
I would make mirrored decreases down the back of the ankle. Place a marker for the back and work a ssk, K1, K2tog every third row when you come to the marker.
You definitely shouldn't be getting holes when you decrease – how are you making them?
Another alternative would be to spread your decreases out evenly around the legging: decrease about 4-5 sts per round every fourth round…something like that.
What a great pattern !
Out of curiosity, what are the names of the colours you used ?
I just finished the first one, and it looks fabulous! thanks for the tips on decreasing:)
Are these made with size US 3 circular needles? Can they be made with bigger needles, and if so how would I adjust the amount of stitches to cast on? Thanks! Beautiful leg warmers. My daughter (12) wants to make them and I think size 3 would drive her crazy 🙂
These are made with 3 mm (US 2-3) needles.
If you are using bigger needles, use heavier yarn also and make a gauge swatch before beginning. Try casting on 64 sts with a DK or light worsted weight yarn and a 4 mm (US 6) needle.
Ok, so I was just looking at yarn to order for this, and noticed that the sock yarn you used (Anne by Schaefer) is 560 yards – about 100 yards more than most other sock yarns. Could this possibly be done with one of the smaller balls of yarn? I'm looking at the Malabrigo Sock yarn, which comes in at about 440 yards. Thanks for your help!
As I recall, I had some yarn leftover…possibly about a 100 yards. I would say you would be safe with one "regular" ball of sock yarn, although the legwarmers might be slightly shorter overall. If you can divvy up the ball into two equal parts, then you can just knit until your ball runs out (I use a scale to check). Malabrigo would look smashing as legwarmers!
Thanks so much! I was planning on divying it up anyways, as I'm going to try and knit them 2 at a time on a magic loop. These are adorable, by the way. I'm a little bit intimidated because I've never tackled such a large project, but I HAVE to make these!
Wow, these are fabulous! I would love to link to you from several of our pages – would you mind if I used the picture? (Great pic too!) we are Fabulous Yarn and we are here because Crystal above asked us to help her with yarn selection! Thanks!
Hi Judy,
Have at 'er! Thanks so much for asking first. Your website makes me drool!
is the main color the one one the top and the bottom or the color in the middle?
kate
Hi Kate,
The MC is the colour of the cuffs (top and bottom), the aqua. Typically in patterns, MC refers to the colour that is used most often.
Happy knitting!
this is somewhat of a complex question. on the part where it says K2, P2, K2tog, P2 i knit 2 together when it says to, but for the yarn over i pearled with out pulling the yarn to the front. so would that count as one of the two pearl stitches that follow the K2tog? im sorry if that question to ask 🙂
catie
oops 🙂 i forgot to type the YO in the pattern. sorry 😛
Catie,
You should knit two together, then bring your yarn between the needles to the front of your work (that is the yarn over). When you purl the next stitch you will have to bring the yarn to the front again, wrapping the yarn around the right needle. This creates a small hole in your fabric and also increases one stitch.
i tried that but for some reason the stitching looked off. is that supposed to happen? or would you know what im doing wrong?
catie
It's hard to say without seeing your knitting. Have you done yarn overs before? There should be a strand wrapped around the needle with nothing anchoring it below. When you come to those stitches on the next round, you should knit into them as if they were a regular stitch. The purpose of doing this is to create a hole, in this case, to have eyelets to weave your ties through at the end. If you are unsure, take the pattern and your knitting into your local yarn shop and ask for help.
i have done yarn overs before but not exactly like this. but if this doesnt work, then my legwarmers will have character to it… 😛
these are so good! did you design all of these patterns? if so, how did you design them?
Check out this post for more information about my design process. 🙂
http://bohoknits.blogspot.com/2011/01/knitting-outside-lines.html
hey its catie again. how did you get the legwarmers to decrease as it got lower? (i am having way to many questions lol) 😛
sorry for the delay…I somehow missed this comment! There are no decreases at all for these…
then how do they get thinner as it goes down?
catie
They don't…they are just a tube. They may appear to do that in the photo and if you wanted to add in some decreases, that wouldn't be difficult to do.
what do you mean "st st" in the instructions?
I use standard abbreviations. If you are ever unsure, just google "st st knit help".
"St st" means stockinette stitch – you knit on the right side and purl on the wrong side (if you are making a flat piece of fabric). Since these are made in the round, you would simply knit every row.
I am going to knit this from England and one or two things are very different as there are no abbreviations. Can you tell me what dpns, md, pm, bo and i-cord. I am sure my yarn provider will know what fingering weight yarn is and happily I do know what DK is.
Many thanks. Pru
Hi Pru, Just Google "knit help" + [abbrev.]…you will get all the help you need.
Hi,
I love the look of these leg warmers and am planning to make them.
Just curious to know where the picture came from seeing as you never tried the pattern? Are the leg warmers in the image made from this pattern?
Cheers and thank you!
Hi there,
I have never TESTED the pattern. I made these (pictured) for myself and there was a lot of interest in them, so I made up a pattern. But I never made a second pair to test out the pattern. Enjoy!
can i buy these?
Can these be done on a circular loom? I can loom, I just haven't mastered knitting yet.
Nope. They are one of a kind.
I don't see why not, but I'm not familiar with loom knitting.
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Hello – love this pattern! Just started working on it using circular needles which I find much easier to use then the DPNs. I'm stuck though hoping for an answer soon so I can continue. Perhaps I did something wrong…..not sure. Its regarding Round 12. Pattern states to do 10 rnds in 2×2 rib. How can I do this when I'm left with (after round 11) with a k2,p2,and a k1 st (from the k2tog)? Do I just ignore the single st left from the k2tog st? and do k2,p2 around? HELP? Did I miss something?anks!
Hello – In Rnd 11 you must YO (yarn over)…seems like you might be leaving this step out. To YO, bring your yarn towards you between the needles, wrap around and then forward towards you again to get ready to purl the next stitch. You should be wrapping the yarn right around the needle, thereby creating an "extra" stitch. It also makes a little hole in the fabric so that you can thread the i-cord through later. Hope that helps, but let me know if you have any other questions.
Hello! Yep, thats it, thats what I didn't do, I didn't 'wrap it completely around the needle again! Thanks so much, so glad you saw my question and answered so quickly. Now I can resume my project! Thank you! Just looked at the photos from Nepal, truly amazing. Such beautiful colors through out photos, the yarn, the scenery the people! Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Hi – just wondering what "mds" stands for in your pattern. I am dying to try this pattern but need to understand all the abbreviations first as live in Australia! Thanks Claire
Rnd is Round.
Try this website if you are ever stuck. I use standard abbreviations. 🙂
http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knitting-glossary
Love the pattern! Just one question: What do you mean by small and large? If I missed it or you answered this, sorry! :/
No problem, Serena. The pattern is written for two sizes. The small should fit most people, but I wanted you to have the option.