The pattern is a cabled hat and it is called Determination. I started out doing the pattern in Rowan DK and was only able to get a couple of rubbish snaps on my camera phone before passing it on to my Dad who does like the hats I make him. I liked the pattern so much I decided to make another one and keep it for myself this time. I was able to use some of my handspun yarn, which was a treat, as I've not used much of it, so far.
The yarn I used, was spun from a Hilltop Cloud blend called Mallard. I spun the fibre in the Tour de Fleece this Summer and I really like how bouncy and soft it is. It is a DK weight and I had more than enough yardage for the project, as I had a total of 184m. The fibre is 62% merino/25% BFL/13% baby alpaca which makes for an interesting texture and the bounce seemed perfect for cables.
I used the alternating cast on, described by Liz Corke, which gives a nice elastic edge and is simple to do and has become my preferred method of performing a ribbed cast on.
The cable chart is nice and straight forward without being boring and I whizzed through the hat in no time flat. It was lovely knitting with this handspun yarn and I love how the blended fibres transform the resulting knitted fabric into something multidimensional, rather than a flat solid colour produced by block dyed fibre or yarn.
I used 3.75mm needles to get a fabric I liked, as I have a loose gauge, and did three repeats of the chart. The resulting hat is quite a nice fit on my 21.5" head, as it is not tight, but will not fly off either. I decided that as I had lots of yarn left over from the knitting of my hat, I would use the remainder to make a pom pom.
I used a Clover Pom-Pom Maker
The pattern is available for immediate purchase and download, on Ravelry for £2.50. It's a lovely hat, which I enjoyed knitting, and love wearing. I may well knit up another one is a bolder colour next time, but I still love how the handspun yarn looks and think that the pattern shows it off excellently. I really must find some more patterns to show off my growing pile of handspun yarn! Does anyone have any suggestions?