Warm Wool Winter Slacks

   

 

In my previous post, I mentioned having begun a pair of bottom-up wool pants/slacks.  In this post, I’ll lay out the pattern, such as it is.  It’s really such basic knitting, that a pattern is almost not needed!

The legs are easily tried on for length and circ., and once the legs have been joined, the whole shebang can be tried on, if half the sts are first slipped to another long ckn.

As mentioned, I’ve used 3 different worsted wt. wool yarns.  

Materials
3 skeins YarnUndyed worsted/aran wt. non-superwash extra fine merino (A)

3 skeins Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Buckskin (B)

1 skein Kelbourne Woolens Germantown, in Pink (a salmony pink) (C)

The pants weigh 22.4 ozs. (635 g), not incl’g the tie.

Size 7 (4.5 mm) ckns (16” and 29-32”)
3 different color stitch markers
Stitch holders or waste yarn
Tapestry ndl
Length of t-shirt yarn – for the tie

Gauge: 5 sts and 7 rnds/1” in St st, and 6.5 sts/1”, in  k2, p1 rib, with size 7 ndls or size to give gauge.

Size: about size 8.

Finished Dimensions
Leg Inseam: 29”
Leg Circ. from Lower Edge to Mid-Knee: 17.5”
Circ. of Upper Thighs (mid-knee to crotch): 20”
Hips: 36”
Rise: 10”, measured along the front
Waist: 32”

Legs (make 2)
With C and shorter ckn, long tail CO 114 sts, place rnd marker.

Setup Rib: (K2, p1) around.
Work rib until 2” from CO edge.

Dec Rnd: (K2, k2tog)28x, k2 = 86 sts.

With B, knit 2 rnds.
With C, knit 2 rnds.

Rep last 4 rnds 3x more = approx. 4.5” from CO edge.

With B, knit 2 rnds.
With A, knit 2 rnds.

Rep last 4 rnds 16x more, then knit 2 rnds B = approx. 16.25” from CO edge.  

Try On: At any point, you can slip the sts to a long ckn and try the leg on, to make sure it has the amount of ease you desire.

Thigh Shaping
On the next rnd, with A, k1, m1, knit to end of rnd, m1 = 88 sts.
Work 11 rnds in est. stripe patt.
Rep last 12 rnds 6x more = 100 sts.

Try On: At this point, you can slip the sts to a long ckn and try the leg on again, to ascertain if enough sts have been inc’d.

Knit around in stripe patt for 20 more rnds, end after finishing the 2-rnd B stripe = 29” from CO edge, or knit to desired length.  Break both colors.

Crotch
Slip the first and last 10 sts of the rnd onto a holder or waste yarn.  Rep for the 2nd leg. The crotch sts will be seamed or 3-ndl BO, later.

On the next rnd, with B and the longer ckn, join yarn and knit around on the rem 90 sts, then knit the 2nd leg’s 90 sts onto the same ckn = 180 sts.

Hips
Knit around in stripe patt for 39 more rnds = approx. 5.75” from the crotch.

Waist Shaping
Place a different color stitch marker at the outer right hip (between sts 90 and 91), so that the front and rear each have 90 sts, to facilitate the waist shaping, as well as the short rows that need to be worked across the rear only.

Rnds still begin at outer left thigh.

Keeping to stripe patt, on the next rnd, k1, k2tog, knit to 2 sts before the next marker (at right hip), ssk, k1, k2tog, knit to 2 sts before the end of rnd, ssk = 176 sts.

Patt 3 rnds even.

Rep last 4 rnds 3x more, then rep the dec rnd with A, then knit 1 rnd in A = 160 sts, 8.75” from the crotch and has approx. a 32” circ.  Break A.  

With B, knit 1 rnd, dec 1 st = 159 sts.

Short Rows
The short rows will be worked within the ribbed waistband.  If working the pants in one color, the short rows could be worked earlier, if desired, at approx.   4 to 5” from the crotch.

Short Row 1
With B (k2, p1) all the way around to 3 sts before the first (rnd) marker at outer left thigh, W&T, rib to 3 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Short Row 2
Rib to 6 sts before the rnd marker at outer left thigh, W&T, purl to 6 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Rib 1 rnd, ending at the right hip marker, working the wraps along with their sts.

Short Row 3
Rib to 9 sts before the first (rnd) marker at outer left thigh, W&T, rib to 9 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Short Row 4
Rib to 12 sts before the first (rnd) marker at outer left thigh, W&T, rib to 12 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Rib 1 rnd, ending at the right hip marker, working the wraps along with their sts.

Short Row 5
Rib to 15 sts before the first (rnd) marker at outer left thigh, W&T, rib to 15 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Rib 1 rnd, ending at the right hip marker, working the wraps along with their sts.

At this point, the rear has 15 rows worked, while just 5 rows have been worked across the front = a 10 row (1.4”) difference in height.

Try On: At this point, you can slip half the sts to another long ckn and try the pants on, to see of you need more short rows worked.  

Eyelets for Waist Cord/Tie
Place the 3rd marker at center front, between sts 40 and 41.

On the next rnd (k2tog, yo, p1) to the center front marker, k2, then (p1, yo, k2tog) to the end of the rnd.

Work 3 more rnds in rib = a 11.75” rise at the rear and a 10.25” rise at the front.  BO in rib on the next rnd.

Finishing
To seam the crotch, you can either place the sts onto 2 ndls and work 3-needle BO from the WS, with B, or weave the 2 edges together.  By leaving a tail at the beg and end of your joining method, the tails can be used to sew up the gaps at both ends of the crotch seam.

Waistband Tie
When it comes to waistband ties, I have become very fond of this simple solution – just cut a length of t-shirt yarn, like Hoooked Zpagetti or Ribbon XL.  Thread through the eyelets, then tie a couple overhand knots into each end.  Every time I need to replace the tie in some sweat pants or PJs, a length of t-shirt yarn does the job, as it stretches so well!

Naturally, if you prefer, you can knit an I-cord tie or crochet a slip stitch tie.

Drops Nepal, in  a med. grey mix, is on its way to me, for a 2nd pair.  As it will mainly be in a solid color, I will likely work the short rows within the hip area.  Will post pics when they are done, although it will take quite awhile, as life, right now, isn’t allowing for hardly anything enjoyable, but that’s for another post, if I decide to actually post how I feel about the current situation.

Here's to somehow finding the time and energy to work on new knitting designs, or at least finish up the 4-design set I began last year!

Onward!
Dawn

Project Exposition - Knit Wool Pants

Many years ago, I knit EZ’s wool tights for myself, in Cascade Yarns Ecological wool yarn.  I’m sure I kept project notes, but, for the life of me, I cannot find them!  

I would prefer pants/slacks rather than tights, this time around, to, firstly, be more comfortable, and secondly, have a more spacious leg opening that will allow for the wearing of the compression sleeves I need on my legs.  I am now so used to the compression sleeves, I feel naked without them!  They also help to keep the legs warm in colder seasons.  I also found that knit wool tights tend to bag at the knees, looking sloppy, because of their close fit

So, the idea is to have the pants from the waist to about the knees have approximately 1” ease, but from the knees down, an amount of ease that will skirt past the calves and hang straight.

It’s this measurement which has been giving me trouble.  As a guide, I’ve measured the legs of the several fleece pants I wear, but after 2 attempts, I found the legs to be too large.  Then I remembered that these fleece pants are rather old (they do last forever, don’t they!) and hence are much larger than I now need.  I’ve long ago taken in the waist and hips on these pants, but I left the legs as they were, which is to say, loose.

I am now on my 3rd attempt, and thus far, I’m fine with the fit – not tight and not too loose.

I am not working these pants from the waist down, instead, from the ankles up.  Perhaps it’s because I’ve only ever worked clothing bottom up that I cannot wrap my head around wanting to work upside down.  

The tops of sweaters, or pants, are the most fiddly parts – the rest is easy – so I prefer to work all the easy parts first, whilst I cogitate about all the shaping needed for the upper part.  I don’t like to figure out the hard part first.  I just plot enough of the design to get me started knitting!

When working color patterns, I also don’t like the look of upside-down stitches!  To my eye, the bottom of all stitches needs to show as a “v”, not as a “^”.  This preference does cause issues when knitting a color-patterned sweater, but, that’s for another time.

Working from the ankles up also means the project is a good one for summer traveling or just knitting outdoors, at least until both legs are done, and ready to be joined.

Now, the yarn. Preferably, it needs to fill the following criteria:
1) wool or a wool/alpaca or wool/(soft) mohair blend for warmth
2) plied, for sturdiness
3) comfortably soft, but doesn’t need to be merino
4) DK, worsted or heavy worsted weight, so that the knitting won’t be interminable (as I do have a LOT of other things to do, including the knitting of new design samples)
5) completely made in the US
6) the cost of which won’t break the bank, best under $50
7) light in weight for its grist (thickness)

I don’t have enough skeins of a *pants” color in stash, which, for me, would be steel grey, charcoal grey, tan, denim, or navy blue.  

I’m not crazy about black – I find it gives too stark a contrast with the sweaters I would wear, and it’s rather a depressing color, or rather, lack of color!  Black always feels like the easy way out, when, in fact, black isn’t easy to pair with color, it tends to want to be paired with grey or white, but I prefer some color and pattern.

I’ve considered many yarns, but have settled on a few options:

Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted.  Have used it *many* times before.  It *is* a single ply, but it’s spun well enough to be strong enough. The mohair helps in this regard, as well, although it could be a bit prickly on the legs.

Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted.  US made 3-ply with no mohair, so it would feel more comfortable than LPW, but I’d prefer something a bit softer.

Brown Sheep Prairie Spun DK.  US made, all wool, 3 ply, and gets good reviews, but 6 or 7 skeins would end up over budget.

Drops Alpaca Bouclé.  Not US made, but a boucle would surely make a light in weight pair of pants, and at a reasonable cost.

Sandnes Garn Peer Gynt.  Again, not US made, but this Norwegian yarn is sturdy, and the last thing I want to happen after spending all that time knitting pants is to have them pill or felt from frequent wearing.

Drops Alaska.  I’ve used it before and like the feel of it.  It fills many of the criteria, but it’s not US made.

Drops Nepal.  Also not US-made, but after having knit a sweater sample in it, I find I like it a lot.  It’s inexpensive and soft, so it’s a strong contender!

For the first pair of pants, I decided on 3 colors from 3 different worsted wt. yarns in my stash – 2.5 skeins Nature Spun Worsted in Buckskin (tan), 2.5 skeins Yarn Undyed’s worsted/aran wt. non-superwash extrafine merino, and 1 skein of the new Germantown in pink, which looks more coral pink.

As to the design – I will use stockinette – no texture or color patterns – so, the only details to flesh out will be:

1) Whether the shaping should run along the inner thighs, the outer thighs, or down the front and back, or a mix of these, used at different parts of the construction.  

I decided on the inner thighs - to keep the increases basically out of sight.

2) Whether to have a fold-over waistband with elastic, a waistband with ties, eyelets and ties, a button band with buttons, perhaps in the style of the old sailor’s pants, or ribbing with knit in elastic thread.  As I don’t like bulk at my waist, I won’t be knitting a fold-over waistband.

3) Whether the bum short-rowing should be worked in the bum area, just before the ribbing, or within the ribbing, as with EZ’s tights, or if I should just shape the front to be lower than the back.

The front and back of sweaters and pants are the same in that the back needs to be higher than the front, which we can achieve by either raising the back or lowering the front.

I think this is the hardest decision.  Unless one’s short rows are neat as a pin, and snug, they will show, if worked in the bum area.  If, however, I decide on the sailor styling, the back and front panels will be worked separately, so i may allow for another way of raising the back section, but the sailor-styling looks best with wide legs, which I am not doing, for the lack of enough yarn.  But, perhaps I can find a middle ground, we’ll see.

Designing is always filled with these quandaries, which need appropriate resolutions!

4) Whether I want hemmed cuffs or ribbed cuffs.  If hemmed, then perhaps knit in a thinner yarn, to reduce bulk.  The same could apply to the waistband, whether for elastic or ties.  To keep this simple, I decided on k2, p1 ribbing, which I’ve been preferring over other ribbings for quite some time.

When I knit EZ’s tights, I skipped the under foot tab, and just began with the few rounds of garter stitch.  I otherwise followed her instructions, including having the ribbed waist.  I really wasn’t crazy about the ribbed waist and how the bum and waist fit, but then, my bum was more bodacious back then.  Menopause tends to shift weight around on a woman’s body, and so, it has with me, removing about half my bum.  So, it may turn out that I won’t need much shaping.

As I’m short waisted, I also like all my bottoms to sit mid-rise, below my belly button.  To me, there’s little worse than fabric bunching up at the waist, when I sit!  I also like the waistband to sit in place firmly – no wiggling waistbands!  It’s the little things that annoy us.  But, isn’t that one reason we knit?  To get exactly what we want or need.

Despite having ripped out 2 legs while figuring out this design, the plain knitting-in-the-round is just what I need right now, whilst I deal with hubby being in the hospital twice and in 3 rehab/nursing homes over the past 2 months.  

Mentally, I’ve been in limbo, finding it difficult to focus on my work – woe to the 4 related designs which are only partly knit and barely written up! 

I keep expecting that he should be able to come home soon, when I will then be quite busy all day taking care of him, and the house and cooking.  The reality is that I haven’t a clue how much longer he will need to be in rehab, so I do need to snap out of this mental fog and get done what I can, while I can.  

At least as of the other day, he has his new cell phone connected to his account and his previous phone #, which he naturally didn’t want to give up.  Hopefully, this phone won’t go missing, like his old phone – it’s why when I was in the hospital, I didn’t even bring my contact lenses, knowing how things go missing in hospitals.

I’m just at the point of beginning to increase gently for the thighs.  I’ll post again when both legs have been joined and I’ve decided on the styling for the top of the pants!

Onward, Dawn