Tag: ski hat

A Hat Named Priska on a Man Named Josh!

Just in time for Christmas and the cold!

Priska is knit using US 6 and 9 needles (4.25 and 5.5 mm) and less than one skein each of Cascade 220 worsted in two colors.  The hat band is designed to fit snugly, yet stretch.  This is possible because it is all stockinette, with stranded colors.  The hem is long and doubled over, creating a very thick, warm ear covering, as well as one which is snug enough, in theory, to allow activities without losing it.

My husband, Josh, is modeling the hat; this one is the “medium” size.  This hat fits me quite well, so the medium made be made for most adults.  The small will probably fit an older child, and the large for anyone with a big head, or for anyone who does not want a tight-fitting head band.

This hat can be knit up quickly by an experienced knitter, so it would be perfect for a last-minute gift.  Even the fairly new knitter, familiar with stranded knitting techniques, should not be too challenged by this pattern.

I designed this hat for my husband’s grandmother, Priscilla, with her bright blue eyes in mind.  Merry Christmas to Priska, and to all of you as well!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

This has been quite a busy time period since my last posting. Since then I have been knitting a number of hats, and writing up patterns. I even won a free copy of a pattern, and that has been a fun project as well – but to do the author justice, I will devote a separate post with pictures, once I am done with it.

Anyway, here is the new hat pattern: Checkerboard.

This hat is made out of Dale of Norway’s Falk, which is a wool yarn with a lot of bounce, is comfortable to wear, reasonably priced, and comes in a lot of different colors. If you are allergic to wool, or find it uncomfortable, a washable wool may be a good substitute.

I designed this hat to use up leftovers of yarn, as well as to have something to do with some color in it. Lately, I have been knitting a lot of textured patterns, enjoying the challenges and the pleasures of seeing a hat grow in texture, rather than color, which has been my historical preference. You wouldn’t believe that, seeing the patterns here, but it really is the truth!

Checkerboard is a very good project for the knitter who is ready to try stranded knitting. The 4×4 squares of color don’t require much work when it comes to knitting them up – they are really easy to do because you don’t have to count stitches. Instead, you just watch the colors. Row counting – well, most of us can count 4 rows of stockinette.

If you are a beginning stranded knitter, remember one very simple thing: carry the unused yarn loosely across the back of the knitting. This is very easily accomplished by periodically stretching out your knitting on the right needle as you go along.

Enjoy!