Wristlets for Christmas

I've said it before but I'll say it again - one of the best bits of Christmas is making home made presents for everyone. Since knitting is my new "thing", I decided to make a lot of knitted presents this year, and these lovely wristlets were my favourite, and the easiest too!

I found a very simple pattern on Ravelry on which to base my wristlets, and decided early on that I would combine the simple plain design with the heart motif from another project (the heart Christmas bauble I made with a pattern from Let's Knit! magazine). I wanted to make these for three friends, mum, and a pair for myself.

I took a trip to one of my favourite wool shops - baa ram ewe in Headingley, Leeds - and chose three shades of gorgeous Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (purple, gold, and a petrol blue), and added a ball in cream for the contrasting hearts. While I was there I spotted some beautiful Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran which I knew my Mum, who is also a crafter, would appreciate and chose a lovely blue shade.

The Cashmerino is a treat both to knit with and to wear. Beautifully silky soft, it is lovely to hold whilst knitting, and the items made out of it are lovely and warm. The Donegal Tweed Aran is less evenly spun than other yarn I've used, but still knitted the wristlets into a nice even-enough piece. The tweed effect is very pretty, and I like it so much that when we got given our Secret Santa people in work I decided to do another in a different colour for my recipient (they don't read my blog so the secret is still safe!). 

I only made one tiny change to the pattern to accommodate the pattern - the pattern fitted above the thumb hole, but needed an extra row before the ribbing to make sure that the top of the hearts had good definition. I found this out by making a practice version from some spare Aran I already had at home for another project. 

I also made a striped pair out of the remaining cashmerino (gold, blue, purple and cream), but I didn't get a photo of these or of my own which have been worn every day for 2 months now. They are so warm even though they are fingerless, and I think I'll be wearing these for some months to come too.

Gold wristlets in Cashmerino Aran being modelled by their recipient!

Blue wristlets in Donegal Tweed Aran, and petrol blue wristlets in Cashmerino Aran.