Oh, I am so sorry about that title!! 😉
For Christmas, I made my older daughter a pair of beaded wristlets and the younger daughter a pair of Baby Fan Mitts – both in black Woolfolk Tynd. I have made MANY pairs of Baby Fans. It is my “go to” pattern for fingerless gloves. BUT, the wristlets I made for Laura are from a relatively new pattern called Time 2 Sparkle! I saw them and thought of Laura immediately. She loves black and gold. And I love the very vintage, almost “Downton Abbey,” look of them.
I did not realize that the pattern called for two colors of beads. You need to pre-string the beads in a precise order, something like: 8a, 2b, 1a, 1b, 3a, 1b, etc. for 500 beads…per wristlet!! Oh, hell, no!! It would take HOURS!!!!! Instead I used single color gold beads on a hank and strung them like this:
The 500 beads equaled about 40 inches, which took maybe 5 minutes to string. I spent more time chasing the loose beads that got away because I didn’t secure the other end of the thread!!
The wristlets start out as a square:
Then you seam all but the last two inches at the top:
This makes the top wider to go over the hand:
I love them! I went out and bought more beads so I can make a pair for me, but what I might do is shorten them and make a bracelet instead. Not sure yet what I’ll do!! These would have been in my “nine for 2017” but I did not get the pictures with Laura until yesterday!
The wristlets are so pretty! I bet Laura loves them! I love the split in the wrists. They are quite dressy looking. I have made the Baby Fan MItts, too, and they are a fun little knit! I have discovered that in this frigid weather you can wear the fingerless mits over gloves (black leather?) for an extra layer!
I don’t know how you got all that done in such a short time – along with all the Christmas and New Year prep! You are one fantastic knitting machine!
Happy New Year to you and family1
Comment by Kathy W. — January 2, 2018 @ 1:35 am
I love these! I’m inspired to knit with beads again….uh oh.
Comment by Cheryl — January 3, 2018 @ 11:33 am
Your Time 2 Sparkle! cuffs came out just perfect! I’m glad you had fun making them and hope your daughter enjoys wearing them. Happy New Year!
Comment by Galina Z — January 3, 2018 @ 12:50 pm
I love these wristlets, and also Kathy W’s suggestion to wear them over black leather gloves when it’s this cold – 7 degs F this morning near our nation’s capital, which I know pales in comparison with your MN temps but is pretty darned cold for northern Virginia! I used Woolfolk Tynd for the Snowfall Hat, probably not quite sturdy enough for that project, but it will be gorgeous for the matching mitts.
Comment by Pru Klein — January 3, 2018 @ 2:54 pm
Oh, and a splendid solution to stringing the beads!
Comment by Pru Klein — January 3, 2018 @ 2:54 pm
So lovely!
Comment by Lee Winemiller Cockrum — January 14, 2018 @ 6:59 pm