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Christmas Knitting FOs

October 12, 2011

It’s been a while since I’ve posted something, but I’ve had some misses with my Christmas knitting. I made a Jared Flood hat, Windschief, for my older brother, that didn’t turn out right. Then I made a pair of Nora’s Slippers for my twin brother that I ended up just keeping for me because they will never fit his feet. So I was getting discouraged but then I started these hats for my brothers and each one came out great. It’s funny – one of the patterns had a total of only two people on Ravelry knitting it! And it’s a great hat pattern! There are some hidden gems in Ravelry, aren’t there?

Norwegian Hat

The hat I’m talking about is a Norwegian hat from Drops Design. It calls for a DK weight yarn, so I used my beloved Berroco Alpaca Light. It was a totally fun knit with just enough interest but didn’t required your total attention. I knitted it on circulars, using Magic Loop.

Raupe Hat

The other hat is called a Raupe hat and was designed by a knitter in Austria. I guess “raupe” means “caterpillar” in German and the hat is named that because it looks like caterpillars crawling around the hat. Hmmm. I wonder if I should tell my brother that little tidbit.

Pattern: Norwegian Hat by DROPS Design

Needles: US#2 & 4 Addi Lace Turbo Circular

Yarn: Berroco Alpaca Light in Tupelo & Black

Ravelry Page

Pattern: Raupe Hat

Needles: US#6 Addi Lace Turbo Circular

Yarn: Berroco Alpaca Light in Steel Cut Oats & Dark Chocolate

Ravelry Page

Posted in finished objects, gifts, guy stuff, hats, holiday stuff, knitting, magic loop | Leave a Comment »

Turn a Square Beanie

August 17, 2011

I love Jared Flood’s patterns and so I added this men’s hat to my Christmas knitting. I’ve made this for one of my nephews. I love this little hat. The decreases at the top are really nice.

I used some Ecolana that I had left over from these fingerless mittens. The yarn matched nicely with the brown Shepherd’s Wool. Shepherd’s Wool is made right here in Michigan. I love this wool – if you’ve never used it, it’s worth buying some. It’s a worsted that incredible soft and knits up so nicely and comes in a lot of colors.

The hat was just a tad too large, so I picked up stitches and added a lining with the Shepherd’s Wool. It made the hat fit perfectly and just made the hat a little nicer and extra warm – linings are so nice.

Pattern: Turn a Square
Yarn: Ecolana Natural and Stonehedge Shepherd’s Wool in Brown
Needles: US#7, circular
Ravelry Page

Posted in finished objects, gifts, guy stuff, knitting, magic loop | 1 Comment »

Radio Frequency Hat

June 21, 2011

My son, Nick, modeling the hat

More Christmas knitting FOs! This one is a hat for one of my nephews. I really love this hat. It’s Mandy Power’s pattern, “Radio Frequency Hat”. I thought it was masculine enough for a guy. It’s supposed to have a pom pom on top but I can’t decide if my nephew would like that or if that’s too “girly”. Hmmm . . .

I knitted this up in Berocco Ultra Alpaca Light, a DK weight yarn. I love this stuff. So warm and soft. The hat pattern did not include a lining, but after I knitted the hat and blocked it, the edge of the hat curled so badly I couldn’t believe it. Even though it had a braided edge, it curled just like pure stockinette. So I was thinking about adding a lining anyway, because it adds so much to the hat and when I did, it solved the curling problem. I just picked up stitches all around and knitted the lining, making the decreases just by eyeballing it.

I just picked up stitches all around to do the lining

I knitted this hat with a long circular needle, using a Magic Loop type method, instead of a short needle. I really don’t like doing that with a hat and having the knitting so tight on the needles and then having to switch to dpns to do the decreases. If you do a hat using Magic Loop, you can actually try the hat on and see better how the size is going.

Pattern: Radio Frequency Hat
Yarn: Berocco Ultra Alpaca Light in Black and Moonshadow
Needles: Circular US#5, 40″
Ravelry Page

Posted in finished objects, gifts, guy stuff, hats, knitting, magic loop | 6 Comments »

Brooklyn Tweed’s Men’s Striped Hat

April 14, 2011

It’s a little busy around here today. I’ve got workmen in my house, going in and out constantly, because we’re remodeling a couple of bathrooms. I’m also setting up for a cooking lesson I’m giving tonight, where I’m going to teach how to make fresh pasta with a roasted pepper sauce.

But I have to get in a little knitting, somewhere, right? I’m continuing work on this little project, which I’ll write about later:

But I do have an FO to show you. Continuing on with my Christmas knitting, I’ve just finished this men’s hat from Brooklyn Tweed – a Jared Flood design. It’s a very simple hat and a quick knit. You use two yarns, a solid and a self striping yarn and alternate them. The hat can look so different, depending on the striping yarn you use.

I think the four decreases at the top are interesting.

I knit this using the Magic Loop method. The Shibui striping yarn was pooling as I was knitting it and I didn’t want every stripe to look the same. So every couple of rows, I would cut it and the next stripe I would begin striping it from the other end of the yarn ball.

Pattern: Turn a Square from Brooklyn Tweed
Yarn: Shibui Merino Worsted in Sand #51304 and
Cascade 220 Superwash in Walnut
Needle: US #6 and #7, Circular
Ravelry Page