Thursday, May 11, 2017

Little Birds Hat

Little Birds Hat
Little Birds Hat

Yet again the story behind this hat is simple: while at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March, I went on a quest to find the perfect silvery yarn for a hat design. After combing through all of the booths, I finally settled on the subtle luster of this 4 ply from Ripples Crafts. Then, of course, once I had the fiber picked out I had to figure out the pattern, and ultimately decided to let a play on a basic stockinette let the yarn shine through. So if you, too, have a gorgeous 4 ply at home this may just be the design for you! (or - even better - order one of the gorgeous colorways from Ripples!!!!)

Yarn: Ripples Crafts Hand Dyed Yarn 4 Ply - Burras (100% Wool; 400 yards [366 meters]/100 grams); Moonshine - 1 skein (I used 58 grams, or roughly 232 yards)

Little Birds Hat
A look at the finish.
Needles: one 16" circular needle in size US 2, one 16" circular needle in size US 3, one set of double pointed needles (dpns), also in size US 3

Notions: Tapestry needle, two stitch markers

Gauge: 28 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette on size US 3 needles

Using your size US 2 needle, cast on 154 stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. Then we'll work a ribbing, as follows:

Ribbing Row: * k1, p1; rep from *

Knit this ribbing row until ribbing measures roughly 1.5". Transfer your work to your size US 3 circular needle. Then we'll begin our main pattern, which is Little Birds from page 105 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and goes as follows:

Rows 1 - 3: knit