New Knitting Pattern: Opulence

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When I was given some Rowan Island Blend samples at last year’s Rowan Roadshow, I instantly knew I would turn them into a very special hat. I had experimented on an unusual shape before and was sure that this soft and drapey yarn was the perfect choice for my idea.

I wanted a hat that can be worn either as a beanie or as a tam. There also was this idea of three-dimensional segments that add dramatic volume. Voilà, Opulence was born. The hat looks extra spectacular when worked in different colours, but due to its unusual shape, it also looks stunning in one single colourway without the colourwork. Opulence is worked bottom-up in one piece using intarsia in-the-round if you opt for the multi-coloured version. A folded hem contrasts the opulent crown.

My sample uses Rowan Island Blend (70% Falkland merino wool, 15% baby alpaca, 15% silk; 137 yd / 125 m per 50 g) in Empire as main colour and Jet as contrasting colour. The DK weight yarn is very soft and drapey, light enough to wear the hat in spring, yet warm enough to also wear it in winter. However, if you prefer another DK weight yarn, just make sure you meet gauge and surprise me with your interpretation! The pattern comes in six sizes to fit to fit 14 (16, 18, 20, 22, 24)″ / 35.5 (40.5, 45.5, 50.5, 56, 61) cm head circumference. As usually, you can buy the pattern in my Ravelry store. I am looking forward to all your colourful Opulence hats!

New Knitting Pattern: Spikes

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For quite a while, I had the idea of a three-dimensional statement hat in mind. It should not be too complicated to knit and when I had received my Schoeller + Stahl chic & warm sample, I knew it was the right time to work on that idea. The result is a bottom-up knit hat. The spikes are constructed by simple increases and decreases paired with a tight gauge. There are no short rows involved, so you should be able to knit this hat as an advanced beginner already.

Spikes is available as individual Ravelry Download for €6.00 plus VAT. I hope you enjoy the pattern and am looking forward for your interpretations!

Last Minute Christmas Gifts

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For the first time, I finished all my handmade Christmas gifts on time! The last ones to be finished were a knitted hat and a crocheted collar.

The collar is a super-easy pattern whose result depends heavily on the yarn used. This is why I chose Rowan’s Fine Silk in cream, a fingering weight, single-ply silk/ wool/ viscose yarn with a light halo. The yarn was easy to crochet and the result is just stunning. A lightweight (12g), yet warming collar you can wear over almost any top or pullover. I will definitely crochet another one for myself!

The hat is, as announced previously, a Double Crossed hat. The pattern is easy to follow and not difficult at all as long as you are not afraid of cabling. I used 53 g of some leftover Rowan Kid Classic in smoke. As usually when I use this yarn, I am very happy with the result. To obtain a tam shape, I have blocked the hat using a huge dinner plate. Sadly, I did not have time to take a proper picture of the finished hat, but it turned out beautifully.

The Antler Hat

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This is a gift for a friend of mine. He kindly asked if I would knit him a woolen hat for winter and here it is!

The pattern is a free one by tincanknits. It is well written and easy to follow. I have knit the largest size on 4mm and 5mm needles using 78g of Cascade Yarns 220 superwash. I have omitted 2 pattern repeats as the hat was long enough already. The yarn is a classic workhorse.  It knits up well and is rather durable (I have used it for a pair of mitts years ago, they’re still alive and pretty). Nonetheless, I still prefer shetland yarns and shaded handdyes.

By the way, there are more hats to follow soon. The next one is going to be a Double Crossed hat which will become a christmas gift.

Syncopation Adoration

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My introduction to two-colour brioche during the Building Blocks MKAL was a very successful one. As once again my box of dk scraps was almost bursting, Stephen West’s free Syncopation Adoration Hat pattern sounded like a perfect solution.

I have used 53g in sum of five different dk and worsted wool leftovers, changing the front colour every 8-12 rows. The pattern is well written although I am not overly happy with the construction of the decrease section. Maybe this is why the pattern calls for a pom pom on top.

However, I like my new (and first ever) brioche hat!

A Very Special Hat

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A dear friend of mine, Kle, recently invited me to a live concert in exchange for a handknitted hat. As she is a very special person, I decided to knit her a very special hat. It is loosely based on Woolly Wormhead’s Scrapalong pattern with lots of short rows, some of them textured in seed stitch, some of them stacked, a bit of popcorn stitch and a flat top. The result is a slouchy something, the front a lot longer than the back, and can be worn in many different ways.

I have used 68g of Tausendschön sock yarn in a variegated colorway on 2.5mm needles. The pattern is sort of a recipe, open to add your own ideas. It can be knit in any yarn weight and comes in a lot of sizes. You definitely should try it, the pattern is for free.

A New Hat for Fall

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Since its publication in November 2015, I wanted to knit a Father Cables Hat. I knew from the start, I would knit it from my leftovers from the Custom Fit Sweater, Rowan Kid Classic. Obviously, knitting a cabled hat with mohair yarn would give the design a completely new interpretation. Well, maybe this was my intention.

What I had not considered was how the yarn would react to being forced into cables. It showed a lot of resistance. Nonetheless, I won and am overly happy with the result. I love the Mohair halo on the cable pattern and I guess I do not need to explain how cosy it feels on my head.

I needed 52g of yarn on 4.5 mm needels (3.5mm for the ribbing) for an S/M slouch version, which actually fits my head like a perfect beanie. As usually, I did not knit any gauge in advance, so I do not complain. It fits my large head perfectly and my karma apparently wanted me to knit a beanie. Unintentionally, I still have a bit more than one ball of this yarn remaining. I am sure I will find something suitable as Kidsilk Classic still is one of my favourite yarns.

 

Agathis

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I added Agathis to my Ravelry queue the day it was published in January 2015. Well, it’s been a while since. I obviously needed to find out about a wonderful little yarn shop in Aachen, where I recently bought the yarn for it. I’m talking about La Volotte, a small shop specialising in organic, fair-trade and mulesing-free yarns, which is situated in Aachen, Jakobstraße 107. The owners are super friendly and helpful and offer a variety of brands including Schoppel, Atelier Zitron, Misti Alpaca, Isager and BC Garn, to name only a few. Each quality is available in a range of different colours, including greys and black (the latter makes me ultra happy).

Now back to the hat. It is knitted with Zitron Luv & Lee, a barely spun yet superwash merino yarn. I love the yarn, but it is hard to knit cables with it at a tight gauge. However, I love the result. The hat came out just as beautiful as I wished it to be. Additionally, the yarn makes it a warm and perfect winter accessory. I fully recommend both, the pattern and the yarn.

Holiday FOs

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For reasons unknown, I had decided to knit someone a christmas present. I usually avoid this, as I tend to fail in meeting deadlines. To my very surprise, I finished a cabled lace shawl within just three weeks. The wonderful and well-written pattern is Care to Dance? which still only has seven projects. Change that, my dear readers, the result is stunningly beautiful! A closer look at the edging:

The yarn used is Tausendschön Merino Extrafein, a quite splitty, but very soft yarn. It took me 94g to knit the shawl.

Another project I have finished more or less during Christmas holidays is King in the North, a pixie hat I knitted for a dear friend. The yarn used is Zauberwiese Supertwist Falkland Nylon, a fingering weight plied yarn with some sort of extra twist, that knits up perfectly and gives great stitch definition.

Currently, I am working on another hat, Agathis. I hope to finish it soon as I broke my second pair of 4mm needles the other day and now am forced to finish that hat before I can use the needles to knit a pair of mittens. First world problems.

A Star Wars Hat!

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I have finished another project, a star wars hat for my boyfriend. This really was a fast project, it took me just three days although it included stranded knitting. The pattern is charted and well written. I have changed the colours to make black the dominant colour and am super happy with the result (my boyfriend, too)!

The yarn used is Katia Merino 100% in black, grey and white, which I bought at Maschenkunst in Cologne.

Nice side effect: I accidentally had a perfect timing for the cinema release of “The Force Awakens”.