Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Lollipop Beanie

Lollipop Beanie

The story behind this hat is mostly just a story about the yarn; I first spotted this perfect color in my local yarn store back in Madison, and, though I wanted to buy it about 1,000,000 times, I never did. Why? Well, because I have a tendency to psych myself out when trying to design with yarns I really love, and I never quite figured out exactly what I'd do with the skein. Then, of course, I moved to Switzerland, where I can no longer buy Malabrigo at my local yarn store, and I finally had to face the facts. I missed the brand, and wanted this exact skein. So I ordered the fiber online just a few weeks ago, and, this time, I knew exactly what I'd do with it as soon as I touched the stuff. Specifically, I decided to make a hat that looks good enough to eat, aka the Lollipop!

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted (100% Merino Wool; 210 yards [192 meters]/100 grams); #12 Very Berry – one skein

A better look at the cables.
They're lollipop-esque, no?
Needles: one 16" circular needle in size US 8, one 16" circular needle in size US 9, one set of double pointed needles (dpns), also in size 9, and one cable needle (cn)

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 16 stitches = 4 inches on size US 9 needles in stockinette

So let's make a hat then! Using your size US 8 needles, cast on 80 stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. Then we'll work the ribbing as follows:

Ribbing Row: * k1, p1; rep from * 

Knit this ribbing row until piece measures roughly 2". Transfer work to your size US 9 circular needle, and then we'll knit one transition row, as follows:

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Rib & Braid Headband

Rib & Braid Headband

I wish I had a cool origin story for this headband, but the truth of the matter is that I was in the mood for a small project and I wanted to use my leftover yarn (the rest of this color went into the Zigazig Ah Scarf). Other than that, I went with a dainty cable to suit the light weight of the fiber, and a smaller needle so the ribbing would be nice and tight!

Yarn: Lang Yarns Merino 150 (100% Virgin Wool; 164 yards [150 meters]/50 grams); #197.0085 - one skein

A better look at the cute little pattern.
Needles: One 16" circular needle in size US 3, cable needle (cn)

Notions: Tapestry needle

Gauge: 27 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette on size US 4 needles

So let's make a headband! We'll start by casting on 144 stitches loosely, and then placing a stitch marker and joining in the round. Then we'll move straight to the main pattern, which is a variation on Rib and Braid Pattern from page 201 of Barbara G. Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and for which you'll need the following notation:

front cross (fc): slip 1 stitch to cn and hold in front; p1, k1 from cn