special cold weather care?

korsakovhatt3, you are a comedienne! You had me sniggering in amusement again. Thanks!

Fantastic idea, KorsakovHatt, about the unraveling! Yarns are so expensive. Great to find someone as into the craft as I am, even more, by the sound of it! Tell you what, I´ll webbmail you my email-adress, if you want to exchange some more crochet/knitting experiences. So we don´t bore the rest.

I'm not trying to turn this into a knitting message board -- I promise! :-)

You have to be careful when selecting the sweaters. Some sweaters won't unravel because they're machine knit with short strands of yarn -- 1 strand per row. You have to learn how to recognize which ones will unravel properly. Take a look at the seams -- with some practice you'll learn to recognize which ones are knit with short yarn lengths. It may take a bit of trial and error. I've been fooled before (but I usually only pay about $1 for these sweaters).

Some sweaters knit with short strands aren't a total loss. I recently found a multi-colored sweater knit from lengths of ribbon. I took the time to unravel and knot each length of ribbon together. I then crocheted a number of beautiful hats and scarves with this knotted length of ribbons.

To unravel a convential-knit sweater -- carefully clip the seams -- manufactured sweaters are usually seamed with thread or a thinner yarn. (Be careful not to cut into the knitting.) Once you have the sweater separated into its components -- find the bind-off at the top of a piece (a sleeve for example). I usually snip of the bind off row (straight across) and then start unravelling. If you decide to give it a try -- good luck and have fun!

P.S. Something I've encountered before -- if you find that there's a frustratingly twisted loop at the end of each row when unravelling, you've started with the cast-on row. (Some sweaters are knitted from the top down.) Stop what you're doing and work from the other end of the piece.

OMG, Viktoria. -35C! That's really cold. You just made me feel thankful that I live in Nova Scotia. We sometimes get windchills in the -20C range, but the actual air temperature is usually between -8C and +2C in the winter here. (I'll think of you when I'm tempted to complain about the weather in the upcoming months).

I always wash my hair the night before because I don't like to blow-dry my hair. If it's not completely dry by morning, I give it a quick blast with the dryer. If I leave any moisture in my hair it will freeze (no worries about nerve damage, though, thank heavens.)

P.S. Off-topic -- I'm a crochet and knitting nerd too. (It's not just for little old ladies anymore.) I like to wing it as well (I'm not the sort of person who likes to be confined by the "rules"). It's great to be able to picture something in your mind and then turn it into reality. I love wearing things I've made myself or seeing them on my friends and family. Knitting has been good for my health too. I quit smoking 2.5 years ago and learned how to knit as a way to keep my hands busy while I was dealing with the nicotine cravings. Who knew I'd develop such a passion for it? After a few months, I picked up a crochet hook for the first time. Recently, I've started buying sweaters made from linen and cotton yarns at second hand stores. I wash them, unravel them and turn them into something new. I can make a brand new sweater for less than $1.00. It makes me feel very clever.

Thank you Suers and KorsakovHatt for the great links! I´m such a crochet nerd myself (although I don´t really understand pattern descriptions, I kind of "wing it" from pictures) and I will definitely try those tam/beret styles.

I tend to freeze more in the fall, before I get used to it. +5C is cold now, -5C will be warm in april. I think +5C is pretty much where I need something on my head. We always get at least -35C some time during the winter, but I have never really thought about what it would do for my hair, perhaps because we are all very careful about not going out with wet or even moist hair. I have known a few people during my lifetime, who got terrible nerv damage in the face from wet hair freezing. All the hair dressers I have been to are really careful about blowdrying hair superdry in the winter. So I worry more about that than hair damage, I guess.

Maybe your hair is freezing because of the conditioner you are using. Some conditioners have alot of humectants (?) in them. They are molecules that hold moisture. You will notice that these conditioners also make the hair take a long long time to dry in humid weather. Check your conditioner ingredients. Either that or sometimes I know if I dry my hair with an electric dryer, it can feel dry but not be really dry.

The wind can dry your hair too.

I live in Nova Scotia. I guess that's why I call it a tam -- I guess maybe it's a Scottish (or Canadian) thing. I also call ski hats "toques", forgetting that a lot of people don't know what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the pattern link. It's slightly different from the one I have. I'll have to knit myself a new one.

Here's a link to a knitting pattern for a headband (it's the second pattern on the page) -- great for keeping your ears warm. I've made them in a number of different colours and yarns. I've also crocheted a few. Once you're familiar with the shape, they're quick and easy to make.

http://www.spindling.com/

It's kind of depressing to be thinking about cold weather. I'm still wearing sandals. I'm not ready to put them away for the season. The chilly weather will be here before we know it though (except for Dave -- lucky!).

I´m so there with you, Suers, I have a gigant head myself! Anyways, I have tried different options last winter, got loads of tips, but I seem to go for my extra large self-crocheted hat every time. It´s got room enough for a bun (however, without the bun the hat will fall down over my eyes, so for other styles - other hats) and I kind of look like a rastaman in it, but what the heck.

I´m not sure what a tam is. I picture some kind of wrap, is that right?

Another option (other than the prairie bonnet) is a tam. Last winter I knit myself a few. They're full at the top so they leave plenty of room for a high bun with no obvious bump showing.

When I wear my hair down (which is most of the time), I wear a knitted headband instead of a hat. It keeps my ears warm and the band lifts my hair up from the nape of my neck, so I don't get the usual matting from the friction of scarves or collars.

I stuff my hair into a hat and protect it from cold as much as possible... especially because I wear a wool coat and it would totally demolish my ends to leave it loose! and I also find myself timing my washing routine differently, taking showers/doing sinkwashes in the evening so I don't have wet hair in the cold below-zero mornings. Oiling definitely helps too :)

Anais