The year is buzzing along and one of my goals this year (let’s not mention the intention to write two blog posts a month, shall we?) was to publish my first pattern on Ravelry and I’m excited to say that I’ve done it!
This is a gently slouchy hat with diamond motifs knit from the top down with a folded brim. It has a few tricky techniques in it to make for an interesting project!
In celebration of releasing my first pattern, Windshield is currently free on Ravelry. I hope you enjoy it!
I’ve been meaning to cast on a Sockhead Hat for a while and, with the weather cooling off here in Sydney, and my new found love of Atelier Yarn‘s Pinnacle Merino Singles, I cast on for the simple but soothing project.
It was an easy project with a long stretch of ribbing and then lots and lots of stockinette in the round before basic decreases for the crown. It gave me a chance to practice knitting-without-looking which is something I plan to master this year.
It turned out perfect!
Needles: 2.5mm circular for a magic loop Yarn: Fingering/4 ply 100% Merino 311 metres/340 yards My Ravelry notes:Berry Sockhead Hat
In Finland I picked up a knitting pattern book called “Pipo on Pääasia” which roughly translates to: The beanie is the most important issue… which misses the play on words from the Finnish because “Pää” means “head” so… the beanie is at the head of important issues. Sometimes language nuances just don’t translate :)
Anyway, keen to continue cabling practice, I checked out a few of the patterns and decided on one called Lokki (which translates as “seagull”) that looked suitable for a few balls of Debbis Bliss Cashmerino Aran I had waiting to be used.
I read reviews on Ravelry suggesting that some people found even the large size too small so I began with that and tried it on my head as I went. It was feeling large but it was hard to judge how large it would be. I finished it up and … oh boy … it’s massive!
Sticking with my current obsession with stripes and double pointed needles, I decided to work up some fingerless mittens. I didn’t put much planning in and unfortunately I paid the price.
I looked for a pattern online with roughly the same type of yarn and used their stitch counts and general approach but I didn’t check the hand size they were aiming for and I didn’t knit a gauge swatch (oops).
My own wrist is very thin and I have a long palm and hands. I tried the first mitten on as I was making it. I could see that it wasn’t looking quite right and I made a few adjustment because I was keen on the stripes and trying out the yarn. When the first mitten was done it floated around on my hand! I tried it on a friend’s hand and she also found it awkwardly proportioned. Oh dear. Perhaps I could shrink and felt them, I thought, so I made the second one anyway.
The pair of freshly knit mittensThe pair of mittens after attempted felting.
I’ve never felted anything before so after some googling for instructions I gave it a try and, while it might not appear so from the photos above, the mittens have shrunk a touch so they’re not as large as they were but they are still roomy. The wrist area above the ribbing is still too wide. The shape of the mitten between the wrist and the thumb does not follow the shape of a human hand. The thumb hole feels slightly tight and awkward. And they don’t even look felted! Continue reading →
My fourth crochet hat attempt was based on the Hadley Lace Hat from Oh Frog It! I bumped in to some sizing issues along the way so it turned out differently to the pattern. Continue reading →
Adventures while trying to make random things for fun by Niina (aka Give Me A Crown).
