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Something Knitty: Ear Bud Sweater and Shizuku with Tendrils
Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 9:30AM Warning: Knitting Content
Makihige
Back in January (during the few weeks it was chilly here in Coastal Texas) I was keen to knit a pretty, stylish something that could do double-duty as a scarf and small shoulder wrap. While trolling that knitter’s opium den (Ravelry) I came across the Shizuku Scarf by Angela Tong (try here for a Shizuku link off the Rav). The original design is striking, with little teardrops forming the fringe on one edge of a triangular shawlette knit in Noro Kureyon, a progressively-dyed yarn. According to the pattern, “Shizuku” means “drops or teardrop shape” in Japanese. I wasn’t sure how I felt about those droplets. They looked fascinating, but would they be fun to make? Further down the rabbit-hole I found a mod that banked on the brilliance of Cat Bordhi (clever knitter extraordinaire). Ms. Bordhi has a You Tube video in which she explains how to make Tendrils—sort of fringy twists—all over a hat, suggestive of cartoonish dreadlocky hair. While the substitution of tendrils for teardrops neutralizes the original name of the pattern, the result is lovely. And those tendrils are FUN to make. I want to put tendrils on everything now. I used a little more than a single skein of Lion Brand Amazing (wool and acrylic blend) in the Glacier Bay color way.
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Eglentyne’s Shizuku with Tendrils Scarf (Photo by Sonar X11, Click to embiggen)Ear Bud Sweaters
My ear buds needed a sweater. Less to keep them warm than to make them look cool. Plus, I cannot resist whimsy, and who wants tangled rubbery cords? I covered my cords with South West Trading Company’s Tofutsies yarn (Superwash wool, Soysilk fibers, Cotton, and Chitin). I used US Size 1 (2.25mm) needles to make a four-stitch I-cord over the main wire, then a three-stitch cord after the split up to the ears. I didn’t cover the mic, and stopped short of covering the ear end of the cords because I didn’t want yarn in my ears. Bonnie Pruitt has a video tutorial if you want to try this one.
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Tofutsies Ear Bud Sweater (photo courtesy of Eglentyne and a sunny day. Click to embiggen.)
Something Knitty in Craft 
Reader Comments (2)
DUDE. Earbud covers! All Portlands will love these. Especially my Portland, though. Although they perhaps would need to be made out of some sort of rain/mildew-resistant yarn. Hmm...
I think Tofutsies qualifies as mildew resistant. It's one of those engineered yarns, made from soy and seashells. Or something like that. (Yeah, I know, "what's up with taking so long to respond to comments/show up here/pretend I'm a blogger now and again?" I was wondering the same thing. I'll get right on it.) xo