Cobweb knitting

I bought a skein of the Malabrigo Laceweight on a whim at the Yarn Garden because of the swatch hanging by it - absolutely gorgeous. It's merino singles, hand-dyed in Pearl the palest pinks and greys.


This yarn is exactly what I would imagine knitting with cobwebs would be like. Not cobweb weight yarn, actual cobwebs. That may not sound great, and it's certainly a little nerve-wracking, but it's sort of cool. I thought very carefully about what I wanted to make with this yarn before I started, because there is no going back. No frogging this stuff because the fibers stick to each other and it would be very easy to break the strand. I'm lucky if I can tink it. But there is no going back now.


I chose the Trellis scarf by Evelyn Clark from Interweave. It only calls for 440 yards of laceweight and it's fairly simple, except for the whole 7-into-5-cluster thing. Knit 7 together, leave them on the needle, yo, knit the same seven together again, leave them on the needle, yo, knit the same seven together AGAIN and slip them off the needle. Oy. I had to switch from the bamboo to metal needles because the bamboo tips weren't pointy enought, but the metal ones aren't much better. I dread every first and ninth row of the lace pattern. But it makes the most be-yoooo-tiful stitch.