I have been in a hat knitting frenzy this week, when I realised that I have such a small amount of time until Christmas, and I was several presents short. For two of the hats, I consulted my new ebook, Twisted Woolly Toppers by Woolly Wormhead. The ebook cost £9 and you get 10 patterns in several sizes, which I think makes it pretty good value. The first hat was knit for my younger nephew K. He's a rough and tumble sort of child, who is constantly on the move. For him I wanted a rugged hat that would stand up to all sorts of outdoor pursuits through the Winter.
This hat is called Tinker. I know it is going to look so cute on K. I haven't got a small head to model this beauty for you, so I've used a project bag stuffed with wool. Just imagine a cute grin beneath the hat and you'll get the idea.
It is a great fun pattern, perfect for little boys. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Donegal Aran Tweed, which feels quite rough to knit with. I'm pretty sure it will soften up on washing and wearing though, and that roughness will give it some strength, which is what I want.
The second pattern from this ebook is for my friend's little girl E. She is nearly 2 years old now, and I really wanted an excuse to knit Lollie. A toddler is a perfect excuse don't you think?
I used Squiggle yarn from Sirdar. It is a bulky weight yarn, which means that the tension was pretty tight. I think I may have made this a little bit too small, but there is plenty of give in it, so I shall block the heck out of it and see if that works. If not, it only took a couple of hours to knit, so I can knock another one up in no time, in a larger size.
My third hat was for my slightly older nephew O. I decided the time was right to splash out on some Rowan Felted Tweed DK. I've never knit with this yarn, but so many people have raved about it. It's price stopped me buying it for larger projects, but I knew I would only need one skein for a boy's hat. It is such a marvellously soft yarn. Oh how I wish I could afford a sweater in this yarn!
I couldn't find a pattern that I liked for this yarn that would suit O, so I made one up. I am so pleased with my twisted rib beanie, I might make one for myself, but slightly bigger. It is quite stretched on my head, but it will be fine for O, and as it has plenty of give, it should be good for several years yet! I'm so pleased I chose this yarn for O as he is always smooshing my yarn, and I am pretty sure he will appreciate the softness (and the funky colour) of his brand new hat.
Isn't it a great colour? I love lime green at the moment. I'm also pretty pleased with my crown decreases too. I think I'm finally getting the hang of them now LOL.
I do love the twisted rib, its such an effective stitch for creating texture and stretch. Perfect for showing off yarn. In fact, looking at these pictures, I'm going to get me some more yarn, as this colour and style works really well on me and you can never have too many hats!
Now I have reached the end of "Hat Week" I only have two more Christmas projects to do, but they are large ones, so I'd better get cracking, before time runs out.....the clock is tick, tick, ticking.
I'm linking up to FO Friday through the Blog Hub again. You really ought to go and see some of the beauties that other people knit and crochet, they really are rather good you know!