Ribbed Watch Cap in Malabrigo

Pattern: Ribbed Watch Cap & Beanie from Churchmouse Yarns and Teas
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock yarn in Black
Ravelry Link: Ribbed Watch Cap
Notes: Needle 2.25 and 2.5mm

Whew that was close, I finished knitting Pietro’s birthday hat the morning of his birthday. This is the first time I have knitted with the Malabrigo sock yarn and it was not quite what I was expecting. It is 100% merino and being 3ply it is a little thinner than other sock yarns I have used. It is not soft to knit with and the hat is a little “average” looking, it looks like something you could buy from a local department store rather than a luxurious hand knit. It also seems to attract a lot of lint. On the plus side Malabrigo has a great colour selection, is machine washable and fairly well priced at 19 euros for a skein of 440 yards. Happy birthday Pietro, I know you don’t like wearing hats but I hope you like wearing this one.

Ribbed Watch Cap in Plucky

Pattern: Ribbed Watch Cap & Beanie from Churchmouse Yarns and Teas
Yarn: Primo Fingering by The Plucky Knitter in Elegant Elephant
Ravelry Link: Ribbed Watch Cap
Notes: Needle 2.25 and 2.5mm

This was such a satisfying hat to knit. The tubular cast on is the most amazing thing I have discovered in knitting so far. This cast on is used when you are doing a 1×1 ribbing and want an invisible and stretchy edge. You cast on with some waste yarn, follow the instructions, and then after a few rows you can undo the waste yarn. Magic.

The decreases that form the shaping at the top of the hat are also very sleek. But be warned in between the tubular cast on and the mitered decreases is a lot of knit one, purl one knitting so be prepared for some boring knitting. I was knitting with a slightly variegated making it a little more interesting and I knitted most of it over the Christmas and New Year holidays and wanted something easy enough to be able to talk and knit at the same time – it’s the perfect project for knitting groups.

This hat was meant to be a Christmas present but I didn’t finish it in time, so now it will be Dipak’s birthday present this year. Now I am on the prowl for some plain black yarn so I can knit Pietro one for his birthday.

Molly in Plucky

Pattern: Molly by Erin Ruth
Yarn Primo worsted by The Plucky Knitter in Peep Toes
Ravelry Link: Molly

Oh my, this is the third time I have knitted this hat. The first was for Antoinette back in January, the second for Angela in a fabulous aqua colour and this red one was meant to be for Elena but I ended up keeping it because I love the colour so much. The pattern is fun and quick, it’s free but a little hard to follow. To help me follow the pattern I write out the repeats and circle the rows that you need to cable on, then strike them off as I knit.

I also modify the pattern by only doing 15 pattern repeats to be able to knit the hat out of one skien of plucky worsted. This yarn is a dream to knit with and really enhances the cable. I’m a huge fan of plucky yarn and over the past year Sarah has expanded a little so the yarn is much more available, just sign up to her website to know when there will be yarn.

 

 

 

 

 

Fiona on the Fly in Blue Sky Alpacas Royal

Pattern: Fiona on the Fly by Lucy Sweetland
Yarn: Royal (100% Alpaca) by Blue Sky Alpacas in Antique Black
Ravelry Link: Fiona on the Fly
Notes: Cast on 90 stitches

I am in love with this yarn and have a large number of skeins in my knitting stash thanks to South Seas Knitting! It is so soft, a dream to knit with and easy to wear against your skin.  The Royal colours are a little unusual (in a nice way) and I find them difficult to photograph accurately.  This is not a range of yarn I would recommend buying online just incase you don’t like the colours, unless you are mad on alpaca like I am.

Lucy, the pattern designer has a great website and some really nice patterns. I have admired this hat for a while – especially her purple version, it has the perfect amount of slouch I am looking for in my hats.  My version is not quite as I hoped, the decreases are not in keeping with the fisherman rib so at the top of the hat is a distinct circle and the yarn is perhaps not thick enough for the look I am after – but in saying all that it hasn’t stopped me from wearing it a lot!  I modified the pattern a little by doing a folded rim like the Wurm hat.

Wurm in Plucky

Pattern: Wurm by katushika
Yarn: Merino/Cashmere/Nylon worsted by The Plucky Knitter in Rutherford Grill
Ravelry Link: Wurm
Notes: 3.25 mm needle for the rim and 4 mm needle for the rest of the hat

Oh I do love the fancy rim-hem-thingie used in this pattern. It’s given the hat such a tidy finish and the double thickness will surely keep my ears warm.  The band is created by knitting for 12 rounds, purling 1 round and knitting for another 12. You then fold at the purl round and pick up and knit the bottom row stitch with your next stitch in the current row (i.e knit the two stitches together) to create a hem, just like you would if folding fabric to create a hem when sewing a garment – so clever!

The pattern suggests a 5ply yarn but I’ve used a 10ply giving me a very thick, warm hat with enough “stiffness” to be able to wear it sticking up or I can push it back for a more slouchy look.  As always the Plucky yarn is a dream to knit with, so soft and the fabulously intense colour makes you want to keep knitting.

I can see me wearing this hat most weekends and now the pressure is on to knit a couple more hats that will be appropriate for wearing to work. These are the sorts of things I have in mind…