Urban Hat

Hello!

I haven’t been able to knit much over the last couple of weeks as I have been away at my daughter’s. Before I went, though, I managed to finish a poncho for my two granddaughters, or ‘Princess Cape’ as the four year-old calls it, and a simple, Urban Hat for Niamh, the elder girl. This is the second of these hats I have made for her: one has a pompom, and one does not. When I made the first one, neither my daughter, nor my granddaughter could decide whether they wanted a pompom or not, so my daughter decided that I could make two hats. She is not a knitter. More about the hat, shortly.

Urban Hat

Materials:                            100g Aran or Worsted weight yarn

I used Debbie Bliss BFL Aran in Gunmetal (100% BFL wool)

Or: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

Rowan Wool Worsted

Sublime Aran

4.5mm 40cm circular needles, or double pointed needles; one long (at least 100cm) 4.5mm circular needle if using Magic Loop; a second 40cm circular needle if using two circulars for the crown.

Tension:                               26sts and 26 rows to 10cm (4ins) in k2, p2 rib

 

Size:                                       One size but see information below about changing the size

The hat will look very narrow while knitting because of the ribbing, but k2, p2 is a very stretchy stitch and a hat that measures about 40cm (14ins) unstretched will easily fit a head measuring 55cm (22ins).

I knitted this hat for a girl with lots of hair and her head measured 53cm (21ins). If I was making this for me, I would add an extra 8 stitches to the total, and for a man with a large head, an extra 12 stitches. The pattern repeat is 4 stitches, so just ensure the total number of stitches cast on is divisible by four. If you wish to make a smaller hat, cast on fewer stitches by deducting multiples of four.

Level of Difficulty:            Suitable for knitters who can knit in the round; can work a simple k2 tog decrease; can work k2, p2 ribbing

Instructions

Using 4.5mm needle of your choice, (see above), cast on 92 sts.

Ensuring sts are not twisted, join to work in the round, placing a marker to denote the beginning of the round.

Round 1 and every round:* k2, p2, rep from * to end.

Rep this round until hat measures 26cm (10.5ins) from cast on edge.

Note: You may wish to change this measurement so the hat is suitable for its recipient. Measure from the base of the ear to the top of the crown, e.g. the measurement for my model was 19cm (7.5ins), then add on the amount of turn up desired on the cuff of the hat. I added on 9cm (3.5ins). For an adult, you may wish to work 10-12cm (4-4.5ins) for the turn up. So, if I was knitting this hat for me, I would probably knit 30cm (12ins) in rib.

Crown shaping: Change to dpns or two circulars as sts dec to make the knitting easier.

Round 1:              * k2, p2tog, rep from * around

Rounds 2 &3:     *k2, p1, rep from * around

Round 4:              *k2tog, p1, rep from * around

Round 5:              *K1, p1, rep from * around

Round 6:              *k2tog, rep from * around

Round 7:               Knit

Round 8:              *k2tog, rep from * around

Round 9:              Knit

Round 10:            *k2tog, rep from * around

Round 11:            Knit

Round 12:            *k2tog, rep from * around. 6sts remain.

Break yarn, leaving a 20cm (8ins) tail. Thread yarn through remaining sts and finish off on inside of hat. Weave in ends.

I washed the hat in Eucalan, wrapped it up in a towel and squeezed hard to remove the excess water. I then laid the hat out on a mat or towel, smoothed out the stitches gently, and placed some empty kitchen roll holders inside the hat to avoid creating fold lines as the hat dried. There is no need to pin or stretch the hat, just a gentle smooth with the hands. Enjoy!

 

Add a pompom if desired. There are some lovely pure Alpaca ones available at the moment, if a little pricey. Or you can make your own, either using a pompom maker, or the old-fashioned method with cardboard.

 

Abbreviations

K                             knit

P                             purl

K2tog                    knit two together

rep                         repeat

sts                          stitches

dec                         decrease

dpns                      double pointed needles

 

I hope you enjoy the hat pattern. If you have any questions about it, please do not hesitate to contact me via the Stash contact form.

If you have any questions about the poncho, or would like to see it as a pattern, please contact me.

As ever, knit on.

Lesley

Copyright, Lesley Conroy 2016

Juniper Moon Farm

A dream to knit with, the yarns from Juniper Moon are deliciously soft and gorgeous! This offer is available until 3rd February, on all shades.  And remember, 10% discount still applies on all orders over £30 until the – end of January 2016!

Moonshine

Moonshine is a 40% Wool, 40% Alpaca, 20% Silk single-spun yarn and it is just a dream to knit with. You’ll love the depth of color and subtle variation the differing blend lends Moonshine

RRP £14.95
Was £12.95
Now £10.95

Findley
Findley is our lace yarn, 50% Merino 50% Silk, 100% luscious. At nearly 800 yards, you’ll be super happy that it’s in a ball, rather than a hank you have to wind! The yarn is super smooth with a beautiful sheen. It’s soft, doesn’t split and it feel A.MAZ.ING when it’s knitted up
RRP £16.95
Was £13.95
Now £11.95

Herriot
Herriot, named for literature’s favorite veterinarian, is a DK-weight 100% baby alpaca yarn. It’s deliciously soft and utterly gorgeous– you won’t be able to resist it!

RRP £14.95
Was £12.95
Now £10.95

View the Juniper Moon sale area on Stash Fine Yarns

Mirasol Flash Sale

We had a great response to our flash sale last weekend – so we are doing it again!

Make a date in your diaries for this weekend as we are offering great prices on three beautiful yarns from the Mirasol range on these dates only. All shades available (whilst stocks last!)

Mirasol Lines included in the flash sale are:

Miski	Paqu Pura	Sami
RRP = £6.95 Now = £3.95	RRP = £12.95 Now = £7.95	RRP = £12.95 Now = £8.49

 

You can find our Flash Sale on the website!

Flash Sale!

We are holding our first Flash Sale of 2016 on Louisa Harding Lines, including Jesse, Luzia Fur, Colline & Mila. This Flash Sale is running Saturday 16th Jan and Sun 17th Jan 2016.

Flash Sale: Louisa Harding

Our other discounts still stand including free delivery on orders over £30 (ex vat) and our new offer for the rest of Jan 2016, 10% off orders over £30 (ex vat)

Thanks Steph and all the team at Stash Fine Yarns

A bit of Christmas Cheer!

Extra 25% off sale items!

With the festive season being in full swing, we want to keep things going by offering 25% extra off our sale items. This code is valid from 25th December 2015 until 4 January 2016.

Have a look at our sale section here, all you have to do is pop the code in during checkout.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all at Stash Fine Yarns!

Brand New Debbie Bliss in stock!

Debbie Bliss
Rialto Luxury Sock Yarn

Debbie Bliss Rialto Luxury Sock Yarn

Recently awarded with an MBE for her services to hand knitting and the craft industry, Debbie Bliss has released a long awaited new yarn collection.

The yarn is a gorgeous luxury sock yarn with super wash wool and is made up of 75% wool & 25% Polymide. This brand new yarn is currently available in 14 shades, the yarn can be ordered now and will dispatched on Wednesday 6th January 2016.

On Stash Fine Yarns Website and have a quick look at the shade card below!

Debbie Bliss
Rialto Luxury Sock Yarn Shade Card

Black Friday discounts from Stash Fine Yarns

A warm hello from the new team at Stash Fine Yarns. It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the closure of the bricks and mortar shop in Chester, UK. However, you can still find us at http://www.stashfineyarns.com – where we will continue to stock an amazing choice of the yarns and accessories. Look out for news in early 2016 of our new shop. To kick off Black Friday – we are offering a further 20% discount across the whole range on our website, this includes already discounted items! – including Debbie Bliss, Louisa Harding and Noro. (offer valid on current stock only and subject to availability). Available from Wednesday, 25th November until Wednesday 2nd December 2015, please enter the code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout.

 

Autumn Bonanza!!

We currently have a fantastic offer online and in the shop – we are calling it the Autumn Bonanza!!  There is a MASSIVE 50%off on the selected lines listed in the banner above.  But you must enter the code BONANZA at the online checkout to receive the discount.  Visit our website here.  And if you happen to visit us at the bricks and mortar shop, just mention the word BONANZA at the till and you will receive the same discount!   We have a few single balls of other yarns in our sale section which are also 50% off.  These are not on our website so come and visit us.  We have a large sale section too so plenty of bargains to be had.  

Anne has recently knitted Wave by Kim Hargreaves using Fyberspates Cumulus.  This yarn is 74% alpaca, 26% silk and is super soft and fluffy.

Anne made the medium size and used 6 skeins of the Cumulus.  The cowl is also knitted in the same yarn

We hope to see you soon………..

Join us in the Sirdar Knitalong – animals from Noah’s Ark

You may or may not know that Sirdar is currently hosting a Knitalong. If you haven’t come across this term before, a Knitalong is when lots of people all knit the same item at the same time, usually within a set time frame. This may happen in an organised knitting group – often for charity – or you can join in with one online and knit along with other members of a website such as Ravelry.com.

The Sirdar knitalong involves knitting some of the animals from Noah’s Ark. And of course being Noah’s Ark you have to knit two of each!

One pattern is released each fortnight and you can find these for free on the Sirdar website. Print them off or view them on an appropriate mobile device and you are ready to go.

Patterns 1 and 2 are already available and number 3 is released today – 16th October. The first pattern was for Molly and Mickey a pair of cheeky monkeys. Anne and Lesley knitted one each. Lesley knitted hers with the suggested yarn, Sirdar Baby Bamboo – available from our website – while Anne used an alternative yarn to show that you can use something else if you want to. Our cheeky monkeys made a break for freedom the other day and we found them hanging around in a tree outside the shop……………..

Pattern 2 is for Eddie and Ellie Elephant. Lesley again is knitting hers in the suggested Sirdar Baby Bamboo, while Anne and Donna have collaborated on the second one using Mirasol Paqua Pura. We haven’t quite finished them yet but here you can see they are coming along nicely………………..

So why not have a look at our selection of Baby Bamboo colours, grab your pattern and needles and knit along with us. We’d love to see your animals, why not post them on our Facebook page or on our Ravelry group?

Socks – How do you knit them?

SOCKS – Have you knitted them?  Which method do you use?  There are several different ways and there’s crocheted socks too..

With the advent of Ravelry and numerous books and magazines, you can always find one to suit.

Anne prefers knitting 2-at-a-time on two circular needles so that she avoids sock-itus (the “dreaded” unfinished 2^nd sock syndrome).  She also knits her socks toe-up which has the advantage of being able to knit until she runs out of yarn because she likes her socks long.

Toe-up 2-at-a-time

Donna prefers knitting top down, one at a time using the magic loop method on one long circular needle. This just feels quicker but it does mean that you have to then start again and knit another identical sock.

Top down 1-at-a-time, 1 circular needle

There is a wide variety of methods used by the members of our knit group, from top down 2-at-a-time, to toe up one-at-a-time.  From one circular or two, to 4 or 5 double pointed needles.  Everyone seems to find the method they feel most comfortable with.

Whichever way you create your socks, we all love a good yarn to ensure the sock lasts.

These Regia and Sirdar yarns are ideal, and for the more luxurious pair how about Rowan Fine Art.  Although you could use any 4ply yarn for socks, yarns with a percentage of nylon gives strength to the yarn, particularly helpful in the heel and toe of your socks, where they get the most wear.

Regia Active sock yarn is particularly interesting. The First Sock yarn with temperature regulation!

The Regia Active 6-ply 50g ensures a new dimension of comfort during any kind of outdoor activity, no matter how rough it gets outside! This is made possible by the temperature regulation properties of Outlast®, this fibre is used with the tried and trusted Regia quality.  Outlast® fibre technology was originally developed for NASA to protect astronauts against the extreme temperature fluctuations in space. It’s been proven that wearing Outlast® components keeps your body temperature within a comfortable range. Whether in space or the great outdoors, your comfort is guaranteed!

Knowing which size to knit can be tricky but here is a handy website where you put in your size and it gives you all the maths! –  Regia Interactive Sock Guide