Tag: hat

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Quick Lace – Fast & Free Projects in Chunky Yarn

Are you ever in the mood for some instant gratification, but with a little extra interest?  Two words: chunky lace.  We’ve got four projects here – two knit and two crochet – that you can finish in a flash.

Let’s start with the very quickest – the Chunky Lace Beanie in Deluxe Chunky (pattern link here).  This was originally designed for a quick little free e-book of hats with pom-poms called Hot Hats.  However, the detailing on the crown is awfully nice, so after its release, the original knitter reclaimed it, cut off the pompom, and now wears it every winter.

This quick lace topper takes just one ball of Deluxe Chunky 100% wool.  120 yards + US size 10 needles and you’re done.  There are 122 (and counting) shades of Deluxe Chunky.  Your LYS can help you find a color that’s perfect for you.

 

Next, the Waving Lace Stole in Deluxe Chunky (pattern link here).

We mentioned Deluxe Chunky’s array of colors for the last pattern, but this one goes in the opposite direction.

It uses color 50004, Pewter Undyed Natural.  The color here is the color of the sheep it came from.  It’s a charming, rustic look that would work well with dresses or blue jeans.

The lace works up quickly on US size 11 (8mm) needles.  Fringe finishes it off.

Wear it wide, or fold it in half for a scarf with a lot of depth.  Fabulous.

 

On to crochet!  Here’s the Ambrosia Scarf in Deluxe Bulky Superwash (pattern link here).

This puff-stitch scarf is worked end to end.  Shorten or lengthen it by changing the number in the beginning chain.  Three colors of Deluxe Bulky Superwash play together – three balls of main color 932 Icy Gray, and one each of 913 Honeydew and 933 Sweatshirt Gray.

Such a sculptural, wrappable, wearable piece.  Very impressive.

 

Finally, the Racing Cowl in Uptown Bulky Amplify (pattern link here).

We’re pushing the boundaries of “lace” here, but this one is so quick and easy. Just one skein of self-striping Uptown Bulky Amplify and a N-15 (10mm) hook make this strikingly colorful piece.

We pulled the cowl down over the shoulders here so you could see how it’s constructed a little better.  Really, it’s back bar half double crochet all the way around, row after row until you feel done.  Super quick, but it gives the finished piece an almost knitted look.  Neat!

In a couple of weeks, we’ll be looking at some fabulous cabled projects in bulky yarn.  They rank among our most popular projects!

Until then, happy crafting!

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Free Pattern Friday – Cosign Cap

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Cosign Cap in Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash (pattern link).

Why cosign? Two reasons.  1, when I first saw this hat it was sideways, and the patterning looked like little cosine waves.  2, someone mentioned that they loved this pattern, and I immediately cosigned on that.

The pattern is written and charted, and contains a variation on cabling you might not have seen before – the right slipped cross and left slipped cross.  You’re using a cable needle as with traditional cables, but instead of knitting both stitches, there’s a slip involved.

It creates an elongated stitch that slants left or right.  Neat effect, and a useful tool to add to your cabling repertoire.

The crown keeps using slipped stitches without cabling, to continue the elongated stitches into the gathered top.  A lovely finish to a charming topper, made even more charming by the little nubs in the Deluxe DK Tweed Superwash.  Only one ball required.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend, full of beauty and warmth.

Happy crafting!

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Free Pattern Friday – Hazy Hat and Pullover

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Hazy Hat and Pullover set in Uptown Worsted Mist (pattern link here).

I actually have a lot of thoughts about this pattern, because

1) I love cables, and

2) I heard the “colorful language” around here as the pattern swelled to 4… 5… and finally to 9 pages.  That’s what happens with extended sizing (although we don’t really consider it “extended”), and full charts and written instructions.

The consensus is that it was worth it.

There are quite a few things to love here, like sizing from Small to 4X in the pullover…

detailing like twists along the sleeve and texture within the front cables…

and how nicely this does in Uptown Worsted Mist, which is variegated enough to add interest but not so much that it overwhelms a lovely design.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend, and that you take time to do something for yourself.

Happy crafting!

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What are we working on?

When I decided to write a blog post today I was planning to focus on my Seamless Leaves pullover, but as I was taking photos, an idea popped into my head – why not share what everyone around the office is working on? I moseyed around the office asking our team about what they’re working on and whether I could take a few quick photos of their projects. Sadly, Yonca and Amy are out today (they surely deserve it after a busy weekend at Stitches West), so their own projects aren’t included.

First up: Seamless Leaves

W

Cottonwood is one of my favorite yarns. It’s eco-friendly and has so many beautiful colors to choose from.

I love so many of the projects in the new collection, Arboretum, featuring projects by the one and only Amy Gunderson using Fibra Natura Cottonwood. Each pattern in the Arboretum ebook is extremely wearable and tempting to cast on, especially when the temperature has been lingering in the 60s and 70s in North Carolina.  I decided that I needed to cast on a Seamless Leaves pullover for myself, and I wanted a basic, black version. Because of my inclination to knit things in deeply saturated colors (especially warm colors), I just don’t have enough neutral garments in my wardrobe. This project is my perfect solution.

I love the lightweight fabric created by Cottonwood. It’s wonderfully smooth and even with stitch definition that makes the raglan details on this pattern shine.

Even unblocked and worked in such a dark color, these details look great thanks to Cottonwood’s superb stitch definition.

Our sales team seems to be having an affair with two-at-a-time socks, toe-up socks.

Left: Krista’s socks in Pix, Right: Katie’s socks in Allegro

Here’s what Krista had to say about her project:

“I’m always working on a pair of socks.  Always.  For this project, I am using one of my favorite yarns, Pix, in the Paisley print.  They’re a plain vanilla pair (nothing but stockinette) using a basic short row heel.  I love how Pix works up in patterns as I’m knitting. This yarn makes a simple project very fun. Socks are perfect on-the-go knitting to keep in my bag.”

Here’s what Katie had to say about her beautiful WIP:

“I enjoy making socks, but I have Second Sock Syndrome and never learned how to do two-at-a-time socks.  Krista helped me with the cast-on and now I am loving it! I was even able to just knit at my daughter’s choir concert last night and didn’t mess up.  Woohoo; progress! I love the elasticity of Allegro. I am using the color Grape Sonata. I decided to do ribbing over the arch instead of just stockinette stitch because I love my store-bought socks with the ribbing on the foot.  We’ll see how it turns out!”

I’m sure they’re going to be perfect! If you’re also a sock knitter, you might be interested in one of our free sock patterns like this one, this one, or this one.

Finally, our social-media extraordinaire (and quite frankly, everything-extraordinaire!), Heather, showed me a deliciously squishy hat knit up in Poems Silk in the Baffin Island colorway. She told me she enjoys a simple hat project when she’s knitting at the movie theater. I have to say, this is always something that impresses me. Whenever I bring knitting to the theater I have the tendency to drop the occasional stitch or insert an unwanted yarn-over. Serious props to those of you who are successful in your endeavors in low-light knitting! Heather’s hat is looking great and we can’t wait to see the finished version.

That’s it for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed a little glimpse into some of our projects! We’d love to share more soon.

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U-S-A!

I have caught the Olympics fever big time this year. This past weekend, I did little more than drink coffee, binge-watch Olympic events, and of course, knit non-stop.

It’s important to have good knitting and tv companions. Charli is a big fan of the snowboarding half-pipe.

Ralph Lauren designed the closing ceremony knitwear and outfits for US Olympic team members, including this spectacular stranded hat. I’ve already seen some incarnations of this over on Ravelry.

Image result for us olympic ski hat
credit: Ralph Lauren

It’s a great hat. I love the balance of color and the jaunty double tassel thing that’s going on at the top. But stranded knitting can be intimidating and also time consuming. If colorwork is your cup of tea (confession: it’s mine!), then I would recommend these colors in Deluxe DK Superwash for your take on this hat:

838 Twilight
837 Christmas Red
828 Pulp

But if you’re in the mood for a simpler project with just as much patriotic bang for your buck, how about the USA Hat & Cowl in Uptown Bulky Amplify:

U-S-A U-S-A

With just one skein of self-striping Amplify you can make this  patriotic hat and cowl set. And on size 11 needles, this set goes so quickly you could make this project several times over before the closing ceremonies next weekend.

What’s on your needles this week as you cheer on your country?

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Free Pattern Friday – Double Up Hat

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Image of an oatmeal-colored hat on a gray background

Today, the Double Up Hat in Amphora and Whisper Lace (pattern link here).

Remember the adorable baby in the Sunset Slouch?

Image of a small toddler wearing a multi-colored hat with a pompom on top
Awwww!

His mom Krista designed a hat for us this week!  Krista works in Customer Service here, and this is her source of inspiration:

Image of a set of wire storage cubes filled with balls of yarn
Yes, we do work in paradise.

This is a small section of the big wall of sample balls that she sits next to in Customer Service.  We keep these to send to magazines and shops who want to touch the yarn for themselves, but of course since we’re all crafters here we also eye them hungrily ourselves.  It’s only natural that we sometimes look at them and think, “you know, these would go great together!”

The Double Up Hat combines brushed DK/light worsted Amphora and superfine Whisper Lace wool/lace blend to make this worsted weight hat with a subtle heathered look.

Closeup image of the ribbed brim and body of a knitted hat

The two yarns together create a lovely halo effect.

I’ve been wondering how this would look with Whisper Lace in one of the more variegated tones.  Let’s grab a selection from the Big Wall o’ Yarn to see.

Image of two gray balls of yarn resting on a black surface
Amphora 115 Castle and Whisper Lace 212 Stonework

I may have a new project to add to the queue.

Have an excellent weekend, everyone.

Happy crafting!

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Free Pattern Friday – Sunset Slouch

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Sunset Slouch in Poems and Deluxe Worsted Superwash (pattern link).

This adorable Fair Isle hat has already proven to be popular around the office, even before its official release.  It’s sized from newborn to adult large, so it’s a nice topper that can fit everyone.  Self-shading Poems wool gives a nice graduated color shift that keeps things interesting!

The adult size shown was the first one we knit.  Designer Rachel Brockman used a 1×1 rib long tail tubular cast-on for a nice, stretchy edge.  Rachel did a photo tutorial of this method of casting on not long ago, in a blog post about the Nutmeg Hat and Mitts kit from our 12 Days of Winter kit series.  You can find that blog post here.

Before we could publish the pattern, it caught the eye of Krista on our customer service team.  She whipped up the cute teal version shown up top for her cherub-cheeked son.  We just have to share his picture.

Awwwww!!  Great job on both the cap and its model, Krista!

We hope you have a fantastic weekend, and that you spread a little joy in your corner of the world.

Happy crafting!

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Day 10 of Winter

On Day 10 of Winter, we bring to you the Templetop Revisited Hat and Cowl set.

Oh, how I adore stranded knitting in our Deluxe DK Tweed! Crisp, defined colorwork has its place. But when the yarn has more character like our tweed, it softens the lines of the patterning and gives more interest.

This title of this design has the caveat of “revisited” because the original Templetop Cowl indeed exists. The first incarnation of this design was knit in Amphora, another yarn with one of my favorite characteristics: halo.

With smooth, plied yarns, knitting is crisp, even, and predictable. But when a yarn has a special characteristic such as tweedy bits or loft, stitches are less cut and dry and more organic. They have a mind of their own, so to speak. And they become more like real life, too, where we can’t always control things down to every last detail. There is a level of relief that comes with that acceptance, where we just let things be how they’re going to be, and this is ultimately why I love yarns with character. They mirror our own lives in ways that we might not realize at first.

Golly, you never knew yarn and knitting could get so philosophical, right? You can find the Templetop Revisited kit on our website here.

 

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Day 4 of Winter

Day 4 of Winter brings us the matching Latticework Hat and Scarf set in washable Adore yarn.

Though there are some traditional 2×2 cable panels in both hat and scarf, most of the crossed stitches are actually twisted stitches.  Right and left twist stitches are a way of crossing stitches that doesn’t require a cable needle. And with just a bit of confidence, 2×2 cables can be crossed without a needle, as well.

I love love love twisted stitches and use them frequently in designs. Through the magic of (simple) needle acrobatics, a lovely texture can be made across your knit fabric. These types of stitches were used a few years ago in our Uptown Afghan Knitalong. Here is the video showing how to do right and left twists.

Remember, each of our 12 Days of Winter projects come packaged in a very giftable bag tied with ribbon. So if you’re shopping for one of your knitting buddies, these might just fit the bill.

I have no plans of taking this off any time soon. It’s freezing in our office!

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Free Pattern Friday – Cozy Kid Set

It’s Free Pattern Friday!

Today, the Cozy Kid Set in Adore (pattern link here).

This too-cute set features cables without a cable needle!  Left and right twists and mock cables save you the trouble of fiddling with too many notions.

This cute hat and zippered cardi are sized from newborn through 13-years.  Machine washable Adore is a good choice here – it’s always nicer to give someone a luxury knit without worrying that all your effort will be lost in the wash.

We hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Happy knitting!