Parade of Spring Hats

It has been brought to my attention that postings have been a bit sparse lately. Therefore, here are some of the hats I've been making. All linked patterns are free downloads. And all of them are pretty easy to make.



Here we have a Crocheted Shell Stitch Preemie Hat. It's a stitch I haven't used with a hat before and I like the way it looks.








And this is the Mock Cable Baby Hat. It is very easy to make and does not use cable needles.










Here is a basic crocheted beanie with fdp's to add interest.











I've done this type of design on the Knifty Knitter but not on needles. The Simple Hat Pattern gave directions for this variation.








It's getting close to the time the local Farmers' Market will open so I've been looking for some new brimmed hats to sell.


The Beanie Brim Hat is a free pattern available on Ravelry. It really isn't flat on top; that's just the shape of my flower pot.









The Nubby Brim Cloche is another pattern from Ravelry.










The last hat is a Crocheted Brimmed Hat. It is fuller and looks like it will let your head breathe.









All of these hats were made with acrylic yarns. I'm planning on making the last three with cotton yarns as we get into summer.

Winter Olympics 2010

Rather than joining any of the Olympics groups on Ravelry, I decided to do my own thing. My project was to see how many pairs of socks I could crochet during the Olympics. All were made in my size and done the same way: F hook, hdc foot, afterthought heel, v-stitch leg, and 3 rows of "ribbing" (fpdc and bpdc). The final count was 9 pair --- woo hoo!

Crocheted Socks

Recently I decided to crochet a pair of socks. Ravelry has a group for that and I got some helpful information there about good basic patterns.


For my first pair I used the Ultimate Crocheted Socks pattern. It calls for an F hook so the socks worked up very quickly. With the esc stitch, they were also soft. The pattern has a nice explanation of a short-row heel.





Next I tried Vee Socks for Me. For this pair I used Sockotta yarn, an F hook, and a short-row heel. The foot of the sock is hdc and the leg is the v-stitch.







Here is a variation of the Vee Sock for Me. Again it is sockotta yarn and an F hook. On these socks I did hdc on the sole of the foot and the v-stitch on top of the foot and on the leg. The heel is afterthought. I love the way the heel looks. I wasn't quite sure about the afterthought heel and found a very clear explanation here.



For me, crocheting a pair of socks is much quicker than knitting them. They are a little bulkier but not uncomfortable to wear. I like using an F hook because it's faster and the sock fabric is a little looser. I like using hdc instead of sc for the same reasons. I think I'll make some more.

Mostly Hats

I can't seem to stop making the Short Rows Wavy Hat. It's so easy and really shows off the colors in the yarn because of being knit sideways.



James C. Brett makes Marble Chunky yarn in gorgeous colors. The skein is 200 g and an adult hat takes only 1.85 oz.
This hat is made from MC8.

I made this hat by following the directions but using size 8 needles instead of 10. When the hat measured 19 inches along the brim, I stopped and kitchenered the seam. This is the same yarn but a different colorway. An adult hat from this skein had sharp divisions of color but this size sort of blends from one color to another. This color is MC3.

I've been wanting to try slipstitching with 2 colors and found this pattern. The slipstitching is supposed to extend from the brim to the crown but I stopped early.

And here is another pair of Sockotta socks. I lost the band when I wound the yarn into 2 balls a few years ago so can't identify the yarn. This is the basic toe-up fleegle-heel sock I've been making lately.

Hat Frenzy

It all started with the idea of making a masculine hat. This is one of Vanna's Choice yarns. It's okay but nothing special.








Then I used the same yarn and needles but did a baby hat. What a difference in the way the yarn looks. I think I was using size 9 needles. Guess I need to use smaller needles on the adult hat next time.

That got me back into making baby hats. This is Bernat Baby Jacquards - I'm a Big Boy. I used size 7 needles instead of the recommended 6 so the pattern isn't quite as defined.

Here I used Baby Marble by James C. Brett.

The colors in sock yarn are so tempting but my stash is out of control. So I bought one skein of this yarn and made a baby hat. It's Paton Kroy Socks - Mexicala Stripes.

My latest craze is shortrowing. This hat is a combination of patterns and is made with Sensations Rainbow Classic Pattern - Turquoise Rainbow.

I ran across this pattern on Ravelry. It's called the Short Rows Wavy Hat and looks great with variagated yarn. Here is a pink and green hat made from Bernat Softee Chunky - Summerset Ombre.

And this hat is made from Red Heart Super Saver - Peruvian Print.

Yarn Scraps Hat and Socks

I couldn't resist trying this when I read about it. The idea is to make a magic ball of yarn scraps. Cut pieces of yarn from 1 - 3 feet long and tie them together. Be sure to mix up the lengths when tying them. Knit a hat and pull all of the knots to the outside. Trim the ends so they are relatively even.





Finally had a chance to finish the socks that were put aside while bazaar items were in the works. Unfortunately, by the time the socks were finished I'd forgotten what the yarn was.










These are from my Sockotta stash and have a fleegle heel. This is a new technique for me and I really like it.












Same with these. My Sockotta stash has been around for awhile. When I got my yarnwinder, I pulled out the skeins of Sockotta and divided them into 2 balls each so they were ready to be knit up two at a time. It didn't occur to me to keep the labels. So now I can show them off but can't identify them.

More Bazaar Items

Lately I've been working on little purses and I've come up with a basic recipe and some variations.




Theses are made with Red Heart yarn and have fun fur-type flaps.

























These are a combination of a fancy thin yarn and Red Heart yarn. When possible, I used a button to close the purse.

When I didn't have the right color button, I chained a tie and threaded it through eyelets.

Basic Little Purse

Size 10 circular needles

Whatever yarn you want

J crochet hook if crocheting the strap

Using Judy's Magic Cast-on, cast on 18 stitches per needle. Knit in the round until the purse is 4-1/2 inches long. Bind off the stitches from one needle on the next round and cut yarn. Attach fun fur (or whatever you are using for the flap) and do garter stitch until flap is desired length. (I make an eyelet in the middle of the flap a couple of rows before I'm going to bind off. This acts as a buttonhole.) Bind off.

The strap can be a 3 stitch i-cord or you can chain the length you want and slip stitch back along chain. Attach strap to sides and add a button to the front to secure the flap.

Variation:

Using both a fun fur-type yarn and a basic ww yarn, follow the directions above until the purse is 3-1/2 inches long. Cut the fun fur and continue to knit. On the third round, make an eyelet in the center of the front for a buttonhole. Knit 3 more rounds and bind off. Make a strap, attach it, sew on a button, and you're done.

Christmas Bazaar Projects

I've been working on projects for a bazaar.



Here is Olivia's Butterfly. It is a free pattern and a quick project. I used Vanna's Baby Yarn.



















This hat is Bow-licious Babe. It is one of Connie Haney's patterns and includes information for making different sizes. The yarns are Vanna's Baby Yarn, Red Heart Melonberry and Seagrass.

And this is Connie Haney's Iced Coffee Sweat-R. When not needed, it can be tucked into a ball.

Scrubbie Dots

These little scrubbies are for washing dishes. The pattern is by Doni Speigle and is available on Ravelry. They are cute and very easy to make. Mine are doubled, meaning I made two and joined them with the single crochet edging.

Fpdc hats

Just basic beanies but I enjoy playing with different looks. Both of these are made with the fpdc stitch.

Fluffy Knit Purse

Michael's had a Learn-to-Knit kit that made a very cute purse. It seemed like a nice, simple project for practicing my lever knitting. The purse turned out so cute I had to make another one.

Loomed Scarves

My friend has recently begun looming and selected scarves as her project of choice. We have found that using a single strand of yarn on the blue Knifty Knitter and knitting a flat panel works nicely. A skein of Red Heart or Homespun makes a scarf that is 18 stitches wide and 60 inches long. There is usually a little left over so I've been crocheting hats to go with her scarves.



Elena is modeling a set made with Red Heart Fiesta.











Here the scarf is made with Homespun that has a gold thread in it.












And this set is made from JoAnns Rainbow Classic Pattern yarn.