New Knitting Pattern: Bold

Have you ever thought about knitting bobbles in super bulky yarn? The effect is just stunning! They look like little, knitted balls and add a dramatic, three-dimensional effect to classic stockinette stitch. The colour depth of Malabrigo’s Rasta yarn even emphasizes this effect.

The design as such is inspired by my love for extraordinary winter hats paired with my French roots. This hugely oversized tam can be styled in many different ways and looks great on almost everyone. It is knit in the round from the top down using the Magic Loop technique to easily increase to a circumference of about 43 inches/ 109cm at the largest part. The hat also makes a great last minute gift as it knits up in a single afternoon.

You can buy the English and German pattern in my Ravelry Store. Can’t wait to see which colours you will choose!

New Knitting Pattern: Magnified

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I have been playing around with textures a lot recently, so when Wolle Willich asked me to design a one-skein project with their stunning June Cashmere Fingering yarn, it was clear I would incorporate some of that research. The yarn is pure cashmere, so it is extraordinarily soft and will keep you warm when it is cold without making you sweat at higher temperatures. In my opinion, this is the ideal fibre for a luxury cowl you can wear in any season.

The design as such features i-cord edgings, a slip stitch texture and little cords sticking out here and there to emphasise the three-dimensional effect. Apart from the i-cord edgings, there are no advanced techniques used, so it makes a quick knit to try out some new textures. One 50g skein of June Cashmere Fingering is enough to make this little beauty. If you have not used this yarn yet, I recommend to try it out if you can afford it. Although it defininitely is a luxury yarn, it is a dream to work with and to wear. As a bonus, it is ethically sourced and supports Kyrgyz shepherds directly.

You can buy the English pattern in my Ravelry Store, but I also have written a German version which is available exclusively at Wolle Willich with the purchase of June Cashmere yarn. I am looking forward to see your projects!

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!

Tiffany Epiphany

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Now that my godchild has grown out of her baby scarf, her parents asked me for a larger one. As she is a very special little person, I decided to knit her a very special scarf, namely a child sized Tiffany Epiphany. To downsize the pattern, I have followed the smaller size and knit only four segments. With a finished length of about 160cm, my plan has failed quite a bit. Nonetheless, it should work out fine as the scarf is knit in fingering weight yarn and thus can be looped around the neck once more without adding too much warmth.

The pattern is well written with a lot of photos guiding you through less usual techniques. The scarf is knit modularly in garter stitch with minimal finishing. I liked to watch the shapes evolve while knitting although I have to admit that this is not a mindless knit. There is a lot of short row shaping involved and you may want to count your stitches every other row to make sure the shaping is correct.

I have used 20g blue Schoppel Wolle Admiral and 34g grey Zauberwiese Supertwist Falkland Nylon from my leftovers stash, 74g Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles in wibble, a Fibreshare gift, and 63g pink Schoppel Wolle Admiral Hanf, a new sock yarn with bio-degradable nylon which I got for free at Yarncamp 2019. Thanks to garter stitch, the four different yarn textures blend well into each other. A nice surprise was the Admiral Hanf yarn, whose 10% hemp content adds an interesting structure. Sadly, this is more or less invisible in garter stitch, but very classy in stockinette stitch. I definitely need to experiment more with it. Now let’s hope my godchild likes her new, colourful scarf and enjoys wearing it!