Knitting The Ursa Sweater - Starting to Knit

December 19, 2021

After swatching, I was able to cast on and finally start knitting my project! To learn how to do the half brioche stitch, or HBS abbreviated, I watched the video tutorial from Jacqueline Cieslak, the designer of the Ursa Sweater. I know sometimes people have a difficult time learning from online videos, but honestly, this video made it so easy to understand how to do the stitch. While I have been knitting for over a year, I had never done this stitch before and this video made it so easy to complete as a total beginner.

For today's blog, I wanted to talk a little bit more about the costs of knitting a project with quality, locally sourced fiber. When it comes down to it, knitting can be an expensive hobby, so I want to be fully transparent about the costs of making your own knitted clothing with wool yarn.

As I talked about in my last blog, I'm using Echoview Fiber Mill's Ranger Bulky yarn in the color Chickadee. This yarn doesn't come cheap; it's $34 a skein. To make the Ursa sweater in my size, I needed 4 skeins, which comes to $136 plus tax. For larger sizes, this price would be much higher, due to the fact that more skeins will be needed. Because I work at Echoview, I was able to use my discount to save some money, but obviously, this won't be possible for most people. Acrylic yarn can be a much cheaper option for those without a yarn budget, but it is worth noting some of the pros and cons of acrylic vs natural fiber.

Acrylic

Pros

• Cheaper

• More accessible

• Often machine washable

• More colors

Cons

• Not biodegradable

• Lower quality

• Larger carbon footprint

• Cannot be exposed to extreme heat (no potholders)

As a beginner, it can often be a good choice to start off with acrylic yarns to reduce costs while you're going through lots of trial and error. However, natural fibers are usually both softer and warmer, and you can find cheaper options if you'd prefer to use wool. Some of my favorite more affordable yarns are as follows:

• Fingering Weight: Cloudborn Highland Superwash Sock Twist is $6 per hank and is also sourced from Peru. It comes in 14 colors and consists of 80% wool and 20% nylon. It is machine washable and perfect for making socks.

• DK Weight: Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK is $6.49 per ball and sourced from Italy. Made of 100% Merino wool, this yarn is super soft and works great for hats and mittens. It is machine washable and also comes in 25 colors.

• Worsted Weight: Valley Yarns Northampton is 100% wool and comes in 38 different colors and costs $7.39 per skein. The wool originates from Peru, and does have to be hand-washed, but is a more affordable option compared to wool sourced domestically. I also like this yarn for knitting hats or mittens.

• Bulky Weight: Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky is $6.99 per skein and is composed of 85% wool and 15% alpaca fiber. It is sourced from Peru and must be hand-washed. I love the simplicity of the single-ply, as well as the softness that the alpaca fiber adds to the yarn. This yarn is great for making thick, cushiony sweaters.

For the Ursa Sweater, I'm using my Lykke interchangeable needle set (this was a Christmas gift) but you can also buy Lykke needles individually. You need a US size 10.5, 32-inch circular needle for this project. If I'm not using this set, I use my Knitter's Pride Ginger needles. These cost anywhere from $10 to $17 per pair.

I hope this info was helpful to anyone looking to start knitting! My sweater is still coming along smoothly, and it will serve well to keep me occupied on the plane back home for the holidays. I will update with a new blog post as I get further along.

Cheers!