Crazy pants

Do you always plan your knitting projects carefully? So that you won't end up knitting anything useless but only well fitting clothes that becoma instant wardrobe favorites? I try to. But sometimes something comes along and you just have to knit it regardless of whether or not you will actually use it once it's finished. This happened with crazy pants, a.k.a Marled mania leggings.

What: Marled mania leggings / Stephen West

How: Circular needles 4.5 and 5.0 mm

From: Scrap yarns, 434 g

I saw Stephen's crazy pants on instagram just before Christmas and they blew my mind. They were so awful and wacky that they were actually amazing. I had to have them. I was also looking for some mindless knitting for Christmas eve. And to top it all off, our living room is filled with scrap yarns that I could use for this project. As you can see, I was totally powerless. I had to cast on.

The interesting thing about these pants is that you work them using two fingering weight yarns held together. As the yarns run out at different times the stripining isn't so obvious but it gives a marbled look.

Since I fell in love with Stephen's pair, I copied from him the idea to use dark colors for the other yarn all the time. I organized my yarns into two project bags: one with all the greys, blacks and dark purples and blues, and one with all the happy bright colored and variagated yarns. Then, I just picked one scrap yarn ball from each bag.

The pants are worked top down. First, you work few inches of ribbing with an eyelet row for the string. Then, you work some room for the bum using short rows. And after that, you start work on the inside of the pants. You see, the right side of the pants is reverse stockinette - and who would want to purl all the way. The problem is easilly solved by knitting on the inside.

Once the time came to separate the legs, I saved some of the first colors of the right leg so that the start of the left leg wouldn't be too different. After that, I let the colors play out freely.

Finally, you work a bit of ribbing at the ankle, and you're done! I used two dark colors (black and grey) for the ribbing on top and ankles so the ribbing stands out a bit. The string I worked in i-cord.

Yep. So I just had to cast on because it was such a fun way to use up all my scrap yarns. However, it turns out I've collected quite a bit of scrap yarns during the past years and I didn't see any difference in their amount as I finished the pants. Even though the scale said I used almost half a kilo of scraps! On the other hand, it was really pleasant surprise that in all their wackiness, the crazy pants are kind of cool. And they're super warm. So I will definitely be using them a lot! And not just at home, I'm gonna take these babes out and about!

Who thinks woolly shorts can't be hot?

"My bum freezes while  sitting in the snow," said my sister-in-law to me asking for woolly pants. Well, it so happens that I'm a knitter and can indeed grant such a wish. I headed off to find the perfect pattern and inquired about her favorite colors

What: Majas Mamelucker / Maja Karlsson

How: Circular needles 2.25 mm

From: Knitlob's lair Tuulen tytär, 121 g

Right at the time she asked for woolly pants, I bumbed into a really good looking pattern for wool shorts. She told me she didn't dare to think woolly shorts could look good but sure they can if you pick the right pattern. These look even sexy.

The pattern was very simple. The pants are knit top down. First you knit a looong rib that can be kept up to keep your stomach warm or you can roll it down. After the rib you add some stitches and the rest of the pants are stockinette stitch while the ribbing continues on the sides. Few short rows make room for the booty and once the shorts are long enough, you knit a gusset and pick up stitches along it for the legs. The cuffs are knit in ribbing. Easy and good looking.

The pattern is written for just one size, M/L. My sister-in-law is size S. At first I tried to modify the stitch counts but ended up with a garment that resembeled more a cowl than something that should accomodate hips. So I scratched that and begun again this time following the pattern. To get smaller shorts, I took needles that were one size smaller. I wish I hadn't added as many stitches after the rib but they fit quite well. It's just that they could fit even better.

The most fun part of this project was learning yet another knitting language. The pattern is written in Swedish. They do teach Swedish at our schools but that was years ago and I never became fluent. I only had to resort to a dictionary a few times. It was much more fun to try to figure out the meaning from the context. The side ribbing turned out more narrow than it should because I decifered the abbrevations for knit and purl wrong. But I think you won't notice unless I tell you. Whoops.

The yarn was soft and just the right kind of semisolid. It was a pleasure to knit. I really ought to knit a few sweaters in this one. One skein was almost enough for the shorts. I ran out of yarn during the first cuff. If I'd have worked the top ribbing a bit shorter, this project would've been a one-skein-wonder.

Thank you so much, sister-in-law, for lending your bum for the photoshoot. It was a joy to knit these shorts as the gift was very much appreciated.