looking for advice

[theliterator]

Hi again! Lurker still... though less of one since this is my second post?

The thing is, I've recently moved to the arctic and I think I need warm... things. I kind of want a balaclava, actually, and I'm probably going to end up making one, but I was wondering if anyone had advice regarding what sort of yarn I ought to use? (I'm open to the idea of a scarf, but I don't like how hard it is to keep them in place. Maybe a neck gaiter type thing?)

I'm a casual knitter, but I just found out my tuition for fall semester is paid, so I have an unlimited budget (I've bought a new coat and fur-lined cap and everything first, the balaclava idea is secondary, promise!) and I don't have a pattern either but I figure I can find something in my book of random patterns the person who taught me gave me or online if I had too, I was mostly at a loss on fiber, given how I mostly just stick with cheap acrylics (or more expensive acrylics) given the casual nature of my knitting.

Also, I live in a dorm, so something that requires minimal post-knitting care would be nice. Warmth though, would be good. I hear it gets cold here.

So any advice before I give up and throw the internet out the window would be awesome. (There was a muskox one at the store, but it is scratchy in its warmth which is not an ideal balaclava, in my opinion.)

ETA: according to wikipedia muskox yarn is qiviut, but i think the stuff they're selling at dundas hasn't been seperated from the guardhairs like what you can buy elsewhere. i'll consider picking something like that up in qanaaq or having someone else do it for me, but it seems prohibitively expensive otherwise.

Comments

[sholio]

I live in the northern end of Alaska (Fairbanks) and knit stuff for myself and family members (scarves and things), and I usually go for -- here's my highly unscientific method -- any yarn that feels soft and fluffy to me when I pet it in the store. *g* Seriously ... if you're making scarves, hats and things like that, if it feels nice and soft, then it will probably work fine. Wool and wool blends are the best, but really fluffy/chunky acrylic seems to make nice warm things too (all that fluffiness traps warm air close to your skin). I made myself a scarf from Lion Homespun, which is just a soft acrylic yarn, a couple of years ago that is still working great. Mmm, fluffy. Sensations Angel Hair is a very, very soft wool/acrylic blend that I like using for light projects. Your available yarns are probably different if you're not in the U.S., but I like wool/acrylic blends because they're cheaper and easier to care for than pure wool, without making a huge sacrifice in warmth. Basically soft=good, wool=good, but don't get too wedded to pure wool if cost and ease of care are big issues for you, because acrylic can produce nice results as well.

The one exception to this is if you expect to be getting wet a lot. Fairbanks has a very dry cold in the winter. It never rains -- it's too damn cold! -- and the humidity is very low. Pure wool is much better if you are going to be living in a place where you will be likely to get soaked on a regular basis in the winter, like a Colorado kind of winter -- lots of wet snow and near-freezing temperatures.

The big problem with knitted head coverings is that, unless it's a very tight knit on small needles (which isn't usually easy with soft, chunky yarn) wind goes RIGHT through them, which is particularly a problem when you're using them to cover your ears and nose/cheeks. For a balaclava-like thing, either you will need to line it with something around the ear region, or plan to layer it with something else if you're in really cold, windy conditions.

My usual solution is to start with a headband over the ears (they're very easy to knit; I don't have a pattern handy, but just a simple band that goes around your head) and then a hat and scarf on top of that. I've gone snowmobiling in subzero weather with a headband, a fur hat and a pile of scarves, and not only was I warm enough, but I got so hot that I kept having to take off scarves. *g*

I knit scarves -- just ordinary flat scarves -- all the time. They're a super-easy project that you can do while you watch TV or hang out in a dorm lounge, and very versatile and useful to have around in a cold climate. You can wrap them around your neck to block cold air from going down your coat, over your mouth/nose to keep from frostbiting, pull a loop of scarf over your head to add an extra layer to your hat (and keep it from getting blown off), layer them with other scarves ... lots of things. And they're super-easy to take on and off, and stuff into a bag or backpack if you don't need them. I always kept a spare scarf in my backpack when I was going to school. :D

[jumpuphigh]

I want to add that if you make scarves longer than most patterns I've seen, they become much more freezing-weather friendly. I knitted my cousin in Juneau a 6+ foot scarf and it wasn't too long. Normally, my scarves are shorter than that so I felt a little weird when he opened it up but he thought the length was perfect.

[sholio]

Oh, yes, long scarves, definitely. :) (Heh, my husband still has a scarf that I knitted for him 15 years ago when we were in college that has got to be 8 feet long - I looked at it when I was done and made this face - D: - thinking I should've stopped a couple feet earlier, but he still uses it, even though I've knitted him shorter scarves since. *g*)

[jumpuphigh]

I am now feeling inspired to knit super-long scarves. Go figure.

[aunty_marion]

Headbands are a good idea! One that's very nice and can be worn alone to keep most of the head and the ears warm is Calorimetry; another good one is Quant, if you want to get adventurous and tackle entrelacs. (There's a good addendum to Quant online somewhere for making both ends match up better, if you want to search it out - alas, I can't remember where I got it from!)

Shawlettes (smaller, usually narrower, shawls) are good too - you can wear them as scarves or over the head and tied round the neck (if they're long enough).