Question on Stranded/Fair Isle boarders

spun a FINE 'yarn':

Good question. Have no answer. Noreen (basically acknowledging your post, Aaron!)

They've gone out of style? Given that my head is always buried in vintage knitting patterns I see fair isle designs all the time. It hadn't occured to me that modern patterns don't favor such a technique at present. It's probably just a trend, though I note that popular knitting bloggers like Eunny Jang

and Stephanie Pearl McPhee do colour work.

The first sweater I knitted myself had a simple fair isle border around cuffs and hem, it wasn't a "trendy" look then either but I liked the lift such a detail gave to an otherwise plain jersey.

Why do you consider a fair isle boarder practical Aaron? I've always considered such things decorative, the only practical use I can think of is that they increase the thickness of the fabric making it warmer

- but in the case of boarders this is limited to a small portion of the garment so doesn' really offer any practcial increase in warmth at all.

VP

Stranded borders help keep an edge from stretching out of shape.

They give the fabric better drape.

Stranded borders form "seal" that keeps heat in and adds warmth, all out of proportion to the weight added to the garment. You may not notice this unless the main fabric is knit a bit tighter than most modern fabrics. I knit my swatches from worsted weight yarn on US # 3 needles. Then, swatches with a stranded border were noticeably warmer than the plain fabric. This is not so important to me because California does not have bad weather ; ) But, if I was living some where where it got cold. . . And, I hear that there are such places : )

I am planning to replace all of my "technical" synthetic pile gear with knit wool. And stranded borders are one of the things that make wool, "warmth for weight" competitive with synthetic pile. And the time to replace all my technical gear with ganseys would be impossible. But a sweater knit on # 3s with a stranded border - that I can find time for--- I may regret this, but ....

One issue that I have not resolved is the affinity for the Velcro hook strips on my storm parkas for knit wool.

Aar> > I had not done any stranded work for awhile, but for the last few days, I

Hee hee...I saw your post and was very puzzled as to why your renters would be stuck, especially if they were so practical. Hope I don't offend... ;)

Come to Minnesota and test out your theories. It will take much more than a tightly knit sweater with stranded borders to keep you warm.

Have you really studied the virtues of stranded borders by testing them? Or, are you just poking fun at a poor nerd? Or, is that a serious invitation to "Come to Minnesota" and play in the snow? (Minnesota is not on my list of really cold places, and I got to play in the snow there 3 or 4 years ago : )

(If you look at

very carefully, you will see that everyone in thebackground is wearing full-on downhill ski/ snowboarding gear. That skiarea was very likely just as cold as any place in Minnesota on that day,and I was not even wearing my heavy socks or long pants, or a wool hat. Infact, most of the day, I skied without gloves.)Aaron

At times, Minnesota gets colder than the arctic.

But to return to your original question, I believe that stranded Fairisle borders have fallen out of favor for two reasons.

First, we are accustomed now to stretchy ribbing at the wrists, which pulls in and helps seal the sleeves/mittens etc. Ribbing is stretchy, and stranded borders are not. So-called "stranded ribbing" only stretches if you adapt it (as some have, this is not my idea) by doing the striped pattern over three stitches instead of two, so two thirds of the ribbing is stretchy.

Second, for a while even ribbing was forgotten in the fad for deliberately curling the edges of loose, fashionable sweaters, so much so that when the designers rediscovered ribbing, they would do a short ribbed area and then do more stockinette, so the fashionable rolled edge would still be there. The looseness of the stockinette edge is even more of a contrast to Fairisle borders than plain ribbing is.

=Tamar

Thanks Tamar!

The answer to all of your questions is no. Most definitely, I was not poking fun. We frequently joke about the weather here but we also know to take it seriously when we need to. Based on my experiences with meeting people from other parts of the nation, Minnesota is widely known as one of the coldest states in the lower 48. Perhaps it's because they've listened to Prairie Home Companion or the national news reports when International Falls or Embarrass is identified as being the coldest spot in the nation. And they're just hearing the air temperature and not the wind chill temperature which can be significantly colder. Sorry to disappoint you but I was not suggesting you come to play in the snow. I was thinking of more typical activities such as standing on the street corner waiting 20 minutes for the bus, riding a bike several miles to work or walking against a wind so strong and cold you have to periodically turn around to catch your breath. I'm not able to see what anyone in the background of the picture is wearing but, even if I could, it would tell me how cold it was. Tell me what the wind chill temperature was and I'd have fairly good idea of how cold it felt. Looking at the picture made me shiver to think how cold I would been on a bitterly cold day if I were dressed like that waiting for a bus to go to work. With that much bare skin exposed, I very likely would have found myself being treated for frostbite in an emergency room with them shaking their heads at my foolishness. But no, I went out wearing a long down coat with pockets to put my hands in, double layer mittens and cap, scarf covering most of my face and socks and warm boots on my feet.

My view is, "I can not do anything about the weather, so I might as well enjoy it."

I learn everything that I can about how to stay warm (and cool.) I apply those lessons. If there is snow, I dress for it, and I play in it. If there is rain, I wear my rain gear, and I splash in the puddles.

Stranding is one of those lessons. It may not help on that winter night when the wind chill is 150 below and we are out trying to save the stock. But, on those magical days when huge snow flakes are floating to Earth, it may be the difference between being chilled and being cozy warm. It may be the difference between being grumpy about the weather, and being enthralled by the wonder of the snow!

Aaron

Wind chill? The temp was just above freezing and most of the time I was skiing at speeds greater than 25 mph, so the wind chill was about 23. Not real tough conditions, but I was just testing a handknit fisherman's sweater, not some high tech ski gear.

> 0-he/DSC09290.jpg very carefully, you will see that everyone in the> > background is wearing full-on downhill ski/ snowboarding gear. That ski> > area was very likely just as cold as any place in Minnesota on thatday,> > and I was not even wearing my heavy socks or long pants, or a wool hat. > > In> > fact, most of the day, I skied without gloves.)> >

Lest you think I was being grumpy about our cold weather, let me assure you I was not. It's one of the reasons I choose to live here and I have learned how to dress for it. The only time I complain about our weather is when it gets too hot and humid in the summer. I've found no way to dress comfortably for it.

I think it is called "skinny dipping" : )

Just find deep water that stays cold.

spun a FINE 'yarn':

COLD water makes guys parts look like a stack of buttons, LOL sorry, I could not resist! Noreen

Oh no, now you're trying to get me arrested :-) Heard on the radio last week: a man from rural Moorhead in northwestern Minnesota was arrested for indecent exposure. He was accused of going out to the mail box in the nude in front of a female mail carrier. Later he was seen taking out the trash wearing nothing but tennis shoes.

Is that what they call a "flashy dresser"?

Or maybe he was just having a hot flash. It does happen to men, so I hear.

You just need to go to one of those "wildlife preserves" and make sure that there are no "mails" around.

When I first came to California, I took some rock climbing lessons. One of the first lessons involved rappelling down a cliff face to the beach below. As each of us went over the edge, the instructor would say, "Do not look down!"

It was not that he was afraid of us being afraid of heights; it was that we were over a nude beach and all the girls from the local high school were tanning up for the prom; and, he did not want us being distracted.

California has many clothing optional beaches. If you can not find any in Minnesota, just come on out here. Maybe, you have just too many mosquitoes and leeches for clothing optional beaches, but we have great white sharks in our water. Aaron

spun a FINE 'yarn':

Plenty clothing optional and nudist places in WI, and FL too. Noreen who HATES to wear clothes.