Category Archives: Hats

Chullo Hats

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Here’s another UFO found in that stash – an unfinished chullo hat.

chullo hat knit by Deborah Cooke in Knitpicks Palette

This hat is knit of Knitpicks Palette and was a kit. Here’s the Rav page for the Andean Chullo Hat pattern, which is still available. Here it is at Knitpicks. The kit, which isn’t available any longer, came with several balls of Palette – I’m thinking maybe 8 colours. Palette is a fingering weight wool, which comes in a lot of colours.

I remember the pattern being a bit of fun, as there were numerous motifs that you could place on any of the sections and knit in any combination of the colours to make your hat your own. Have a peek at the projects on Rav to see the many variations. Of course, I had to march the llamas around the hat, though they might have shown up better if I’d knit them in the white in the kit. It’s also possible I mucked up the decreases at the crown because the circumference does diminish very quickly. (?)

This hat stalled without the tassels, partly because of the chullo hat shown below. I didn’t knit this one – I bought it at the Mountain Equipment Co-op a billion years ago (give or take). (In the 90s there were a lot of South American knits available for sale.)

South American chullo hat from the Mountain Equipment Coop

It’s knit of a yarn that seems a lot like Lopi Alafoss – but its special magic is that it’s lined with polar fleece. The mister grabs this hat whenever it’s really cold.

inside of South American chullo hat bought at the Mountain Equipment Coop

I meant to do the same with my chullo hat, but was stymied as to what shape to cut the pieces for the crown. Now I realize that the creator of this hat avoided that challenge by only lining the main part of the hat and the flaps. I’ll do that with mine.

We also have a couple of chullo hats from one of the mister’s trips to South America. He hiked the Inca Trail back in the day (to end up at Machu Picchu at dawn) and it was so cold that he bought two hats from the local knitters. Both are chullos. He wore this navy one.

South American chullo hat

He bought this second hat just because, and I’m glad he did. It’s so beautiful.

South American chullo hat

The wool is so fine, it’s almost thread. Look at the detail.

detail of South American chullo hat

Someone had a very fine set of needles! I love that the colour placement is apparently random. It’s such a lovely piece of work – and very inspiring.

And here, finally, is my own lined and finished chullo.

chullo hat knit by Deborah Cooke in Knitpicks Palette

Another Planetarium

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This hat is a free pattern in the most recent Knitty online magazine. I knit one of these right away for the mister – here’s that blog post.

Planetarium designed by Cissy Yao and knit by Deborah Cooke

I folded it in quarters for this picture.

The pattern is called Planetarium (that’s the Ravelry link – here’s the Knitty link) and it’s knit in two colors of a fingering yarn. These two are from my stash. I had a skein of a zingy purple Koigu KPPPM and some leftovers of Lichen and Lace sock in Citron. (I used it for my Stargazer Mittens.)

I made the same changes to the pattern as the last time. This one doesn’t feel like it’s going to pill, so that’s a good thing.

Planetarium

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This hat is a free pattern in the most recent Knitty online magazine. I thought it was so pretty that it jumped right onto my needles!

Planetarium designed by Cissy Yao and knit by Deborah Cooke in KnitPicks Chroma

I folded it in quarters for this picture.

The pattern is called Planetarium (that’s the Ravelry link – here’s the Knitty link) and it’s knit in two colors of a fingering yarn. I used KnitPicks Chroma for mine, because I had it in the stash. The colourways are Black and GoGo Boots, which is a gradient yarn. it’s a very clear pattern and an easy knit IMO.

I made a couple of changes to the pattern. I knit it exactly as written the first time, but the mister doesn’t like slouchy hats so much. My gauge was also a bit tight. Rather than changing needles, I knit a larger size (actually one repeat larger than the largest size) and I left out one of the three star bands to make the hat shorter. It fits more like a watchcap, which makes him happy.

As much as I like the colours, I think the yarn is going to pill – it’s a single ply, loosely spun. If I make a second one for myself, I’ll use a yarn with more of a twist, maybe Koigu KPPPM. Hmm. Time to check the stash!

Pantone Hats

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Things have been quiet here, mostly because I’ve been writing like mad lately. I did NaNoWriMo in November, then was finishing up the book that publishes next week – it was almost twice as long as I’d expected, so getting it done was a bit of a crush.

I have also been knitting though. 🙂

First, I have three hats to show you.

Three hats in Caron X Pantone knit by Deborah Cooke

I found a package of three Pantone X Caron braids in the cutout bin at Spinrite a few years ago. (That’s a Ravelry link because these braids are discontinued and no longer on the Yarnspirations site.) This colourway is called Morning Blues. I think they might have been a little off-weight in certain colours – which would explain them being discounted – as I had some fiddling to do to get a result I liked.

First Snow hat knit in Caron Pantone X by Deborah Cooke

The middle one is that old fave hat pattern of mine, First Snow (which is no longer available.) It has a faux-fur pompom. I wasn’t fussy about where the colours changed on that one, just started the next colour when I ran out of the one I was using. It took every inch of the braid to finish. I knit two of these before but only managed to photograph one. Here it is.

The other two are knit using the Yarnspirations patter Fair Isle Hat, a free pattern which is designed for this yarn bundle and is still available. It specifies where to change colours and I had to fudge it a couple of times. I still think they came out well, though.

Next time, I’ll show you the cardigan that is challenging my eyesight…

A Soft Stripey Chemo Hat in Aran

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I know far too many people who are battling cancer right now, and recently offered to make some chemo hats. I expected this to be an easy project, but it was a challenge instead. When I found a yarn I liked (soft and squishy), I couldn’t find a pattern for it (or even its gauge) that I also liked. In the end, I merged some patterns together and came up with my own.

Here’s one, for an aran weight yarn.

Chemo Hat in Aran weight yarn by Deborah Cooke, knit in Lion Brand Landscapes by Deborah Cooke

This yarn is Lionbrand Landscapes, a 100% acrylic yarn that comes in wonderful graduated colours. (That link will take you to the Lionbrand website product page.) I used a colourway called Blue Lagoon for this first one, and bought the yarn at Michaels. One thing with this yarn is that it’s a loosely spun single ply, so be careful not to split the strand when knitting. I ended up making more of a scoop motion than usual to catch the entire ply and that worked really well.

This hat is knit from the top down. Many of the ones that were knit cuff-up ended up having too tight of a cast-on edge, so I preferred this method. You might prefer it inside out as the knit side of the stockinette is smoother. Check with the recipient before you sew in the ends as you’ll want them on the wrong side, whichever side that’s going to be.

You’ll need:
• one skein of Lionbrand Landscape yarn (I used .7 of a ball in Blue Lagoon for the hat with the ribbed cuff, and .85 of a ball in Wildflower for the version with the rolled hem.)
• 6.0mm needles, a set of DPNs and (if you prefer) a 40cm circular
• 5.5mm needles, either a set of DPNs or a 40cm circular (for the ribbing)
• stitch markers (optional) You’ll need one to mark the beginning of the row, and five more (in a different colour) to mark the repeats.
• a needle to sew in the ends.

Gauge: 18 stitches and 22 rows = 4 inches, in stockinette on 6.0mm needles

There are instructions for two sizes for the finished hat is 21″ (regular) and 23″ (large) around. If the recipient has a much smaller head (or you aren’t sure) the version with the ribbed cuff is more likely to stay put.

Instructions:
Cast on 6 stitches on a 6.0mm DPN and arrange them over three needles (2 stitches on each). Join in the round and place a marker at the beginning of the round.

Round 1: KFB in each stitch (12)
Round 2: Knit
Round 3: *K1, KFB, place marker. Repeat from * to end of round. (18)
Round 4: Knit
Round 5: *K to one stitch before marker, KFB. Repeat from * to end of round. (24)

Repeat rows 4 and 5 until you have 78 (for regular) or 90 (for large) stitches. Change to the circular needle when you have enough stitches, if that’s what you prefer.

Knit the next round, removing the markers after each wedge and leaving only the marker at the end of the round. Continue to knit for 3″ after the last increase.

Work next row in K1 P1 ribbing, changing to 5.5mm needles as you work the row. Continue in ribbing on the smaller needles for 2.5″ (In my case, that was 13 rows.) Cast off in ribbing.

Sew in ends and you’re done!

Variations:
• I wanted 2/2 ribbing on the blue hat, so I knit two stitches together halfway through the first row of ribbing and again at the end of the round. That gave me 88 stitches instead of 90, which is divisible by 4.
• you can also make a variation with a rolled brim. I made one with the colourway Wildflower but forgot to take a picture before sending it away. Instead of changing to ribbing, just keep knitting in stockinette to at least 8″ from the cast-on edge. I made mine with 6″ of stockinette after the last increase, then cast off loosely. This used more of the ball but had a nice rolled cuff.

Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
KFB: Knit front and back. This increases one stitch, making one stitch into two. You could substitute any other increase you prefer, like M1 (make one) or YO (yarn over).

A Furry Sophie Bucket Hat

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I don’t much like hats, but I live in Canada and need one for several months out of the year. As a result, I’m always knitting hats, in search of The One. I finally found it!

The Sophie Bucket Hat pattern is writting for Lionbrand Go for Faux, a yarn I love to bits. It’s so soft and squishy, and it knits into the most amazing fabric. The stitches disappear so it could be a length of faux fur cloth. That makes knitting it a bit of a challenge as you can’t read your knitting at all. (When I make a mistake, I just rip it all out and start over again.)

Here’s Go for Faux on the Lionbrand site. Be aware that they also make a heavier version of this yarn called Go for Faux Thick & Quick. That’s way too thick to use for this pattern, but on online vendor sites, it’s easy to miss the weight distinction. (Go on. Ask me how I know.)

Sophie Bucket Hat knit in Lionbrand Go for Faux by Deborah Cooke

And here’s the pattern for the Sophie Bucket Hat on Ravelry. This is a free pattern if you visit her website and print the blog post. If you want to download a PDF, she has one for sale on her site and on Ravelry.

I used one and half balls of Go for Faux in Mink for this one. I found the Go for Faux at Len’s Mills as well as online stores:

The strange thing about the Go for Faux (because I’ve bought a lot of colours of it) is that the black colourway, called Black Panther, feels very different from the other colours. It’s not nearly as soft, which is a shame because black fur would be awesome. I have no idea why this would be.

I used 1.4 balls of another fake fur yarn called Buttersoft, from Spindle Yarns. (That’s a Ravelry link.) This yarn was available at Fabricland and is apparently their own label. The colourway is Wineberry.

Sophie Bucket Hat knit in Spindles Buttersoft by Deborah Cooke

I wanted a colour other than greys and browns, even though I’m not much for dirty pinks. I also didn’t find this yarn as squishy-soft as the Go for Faux. Here’s how the hats look flat.

Sophie Bucket Hats knit by Deborah Cooke

There is a tiny colour change where I switched to the second ball on each hat. On the grey one, the end of the first ball was a bit whiter, so there’s a stripe there (ha – like a halo!) while the second ball of the dusty pink was a bit lighter than the first one. I did match dye lots in both cases, but I guess there’s variation over each skein.

Knitpicks also has their own faux fur yarn called Fable Fur. (That’s a KP link.) I have a few balls of it which I bought to knit garments for the girls, but sadly don’t have two balls of a single colour. I ordered more of the Hibou, which is a pretty grey teal, to make myself another Sophie Bucket Hat. There’s also some Go for Faux in Red Panda on its merry way to me. That’s a great pinky burgundy colour. How many hats do I need? Hmm. Canadian winters can be long…and this is the perfect hat. I think a few more can’t hurt!

Have you found your perfect hat pattern yet?

Olof Hat Done

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I mentioned this hat in December, which is a free pattern from Knitty. (Olof hat pattern on Knitty.)

Here’s my finished hat in Rowan Felted Tweed:

Olaf hat knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Felted Tweed

I made the medium size and chose which colour to use as I went. It was a good pattern and a nice knit.

I like the colours of it but don’t love wearing the hat. (I hate hats, really.) It fits around but is the wrong height – not enough to slouch, so it just makes my head look bigger. (My head is bigger than this foam one.) Mr. Math will adopt it, I’m sure. He loves all the hats in Felted Tweed.

Meanwhile, I’m still knitting on the Rowan shawl/stole and have used half the wool in five repeats of the pattern. It’s about 30″ long now, so will be a good length when done. It’s a lovely knit, a bit too complicated to memorize the pattern, but the yarn is giving a nice definition to the stitches. I’ll show you that one when it’s done.

Olof Hat

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I spotted this free pattern last week – Fulay Little of LittleKnits shared it on Facebook – and since I have a bunch of Rowan Felted Tweed in my stash, I thought I’d give it a try. I’m always looking for the perfect hat. Most are too small for me, but this one has directions for three sizes.

Here’s the Olof hat pattern on Knitty. (BTW, I chose the option to print just essentials and it included all the pix, which isn’t the way that usually works.)

Here’s my first attempt:

Olof hat designed by Anna Peterseil knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Felted Tweed

I chose the Camel (the beige) to offer some contrast to the Bilberry (purple) and the Watery light teal), but the hat is too beige – even though that star band which is half done will have a green background. You’ll notice it’s off the needles, which is a portent of doom – or in this case, frogging. I’m going to switch some colours around.

On the upside, I enjoyed the corrugated ribbing, which was a new thing for me. The hat also fits well, though I might make another in the biggest size just to have one that’s a bit droopy. Rowan Felted Tweed really is wonderful for fair isle work. It’s such a nice soft yarn and I like how the stitches smush together a bit. (That’s a technical term. LOL) Here are several other projects I’ve knit in Rowan Felted Tweed:

Fair Isle hat by Mary Jane Mucklestone knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Colourspun and Rowan Felted Tweed
Fair Isle Hat from Vogue Knitting
Bute by Lisa Richardson knit in Rowan Colourspun and Felted Tweed by Deborah Cooke
Bute by Lisa Richardson

I also have the yarn stashed for Bute in the alternate colourway, all blues, for the mister. Here it is on Ravelry. (GAH! ©2012! I should probably cast on that beast. The first one was a lovely knit.)

Hmm. I’m looking at that grey hat on the left. It’s using two shades of Rowan Colourspun, plus three of Felted Tweed – those three were a subscribers’ gift from Rowan. The pattern was a scarf that I didn’t much want to knit and I’d forgotten all about it. It was the Garter Slip Stitch Scarf by Lisa Richardson. Here’s a Ravelry link with a project pic. They look quite good together, don’t they? I decided to frog right back to the purple ribbing and switch out the camel for the avocado.

Finishing Up the Cyochin

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A few weeks ago, I showed you my wonderful new Felix cardigan in Noro Cyochin. I started with seven skeins of Cyochin and had a little over two left after finishing the sweater. I decided to use up the yarn on a hat and mitts.

I used my go-to hat pattern, First Snow, but added some ribbing and another repeat to the circumference. (That’s a Ravelry link for the pattern.) I also added an extra repeat to the length.

Then I used Tin Can Knit’s free mitten pattern, The World’s Simplest Mittens, and got two pairs of mittens out of the rest. (That’s another Ravelry link.)

The pompom is from Yarnspirations. It’s the Bernat one in Black Mink.

They look so nice in the sunshine on this winter day!

More Hats & New Patterns

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No post last week because I was publishing a book. My knitting always falls behind in those last few days to launch. This week, though, I have two new hats to show you. I love them both! It doesn’t hurt that I found the yarn at the thrift store, either.

Both use the Vulgar Knitter’s First Snow hat pattern, which I really like and have used many times before. (That’s a Ravelry link.) Here’s a post featuring some other hats I’ve knit with this pattern: First Snow Hats.

The first of the two new ones was knit in Cascade Yarns Jewel Hand-dyed, a discontinued yarn in a beautiful red colour. (That’s a Ravelry link.) The colour is 9969. It still needs a pompom but I’ve ordered a black one.

Hat of Cascade Jewel in First Snow pattern knit by Deborah Cooke

The second hat is knit of Malabrigo Worsted – this skein had no label at the thrift store but I recognized it all the same. I think the colourway might be Forest. I knit this one a bit longer, with 10 extra rows of ribbing and an extra repeat of the 7-row braid.

Hat of Malabrigo Worsted in First Snow pattern knit by Deborah Cooke
Noro Magazine #17, Fall/Winter 2020

I’ve picked up two new pattern books this past month that I also wanted to share with you. I’m fascinated by the sweater on the cover of each one. First there’s a new Noro magazine. This one is Fall/Winter 2020 and #17.

Look at that fascinating cardigan on the cover! The design is really clever.

You can see a carousel preview of the magazine’s patterns on the Noro Magazine site right here or on Ravelry right here. I think it’s a really great issue.

Pompom Quarterly issue 35 Winter 2020

Secondly, I ordered a copy of PomPom Quarterly issue 35, Winter 2020, which was edited by Stephen West.

Again, it’s the sweater on the cover that caught my eye – this one is knit with mini-skeins of graduating colours. It’s also available in a cardigan version, which is just as gorgeous.

You can check out the included patterns on the PomPom website, right here, or on Ravelry, right here.

Incredibly (!) given my stash, I don’t have the yarn to cast on either of these sweaters, so I’m thinking about yarn choices. Which would you knit first?