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

Designer Knitting Autumn 2014 now in stock!

Just arrived and selling fast, the latest issue of Designer Knitting, Autumn 2014:

There are some stunning patterns in this issue, including these:

This stunning colourwork jumper by Rowan designer Marie Wallin is knitted in vibrant shades of Rowan Alpaca Colour and Rowan Kid Classic.

We love the incredible detail in this intricate cable and lattice-work jumper by Shiri Mor is knitted in double knit weight yarn, we this it would look fab in Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool DK or Debbie Bliss Rialto DK.

A cosy cardigan is just the thing to snuggle up in when the nights draw in, so what could be better than this lush boyfriend cardi by Pat Olski in Rowan Tumble?

Don’t miss out, get your copy here!

Happy Knitting!

Still by Kim Hargreaves – now available to pre-order!

Now available to pre-order, Still by Kim Hargreaves…..

We can’t wait to get our hands on this gorgeous book!

Happy Knitting!

Designer Knitting in stock!

New this week, Designer Knitting Early Autumn 2014:

Full of fashionable knits to take you from summer to autumn, as well as in depth articles on adding pockets, Scottish kilt socks and the health benefits of knitting, Designer Knitting is essential reading.

Here are a couple of our favourite designs from this issue:

This pretty cardigan by Sarah Hatton knitted in Rowan Wool Cotton 4ply features a delicate diamond lace motif and leaf embellishments and would be a perfect extra layer for cool summer evenings.

This airy top by Marie Wallin knitted in Rowan Truesilk is the perfect summer sweater!  An unusual lace pattern combined with the beautiful drape of the silk yarn makes for a fun knit.

You can see the other designs in this magazine here and Designer Knitting is available to buy on our website here.

Happy Knitting!

Echo Mittens

Every wondered what the the Stash staff get up to when they’re not working in our shop?

Well wonder no longer…..

Copyright Let’s Knit 2013 (used with kind permission)

Charlotte (or Lottie as you might know her) who works with us here at Stash, designs patterns when she’s not here in the shop and she’s got a pattern in the latest issue of Let’s Knit magazine, out today!

Her Echo Mitts are knitted in coordinating shades of Rowan Kidsilk Haze in shade #659/Ultra and Manos Del Uruguay Fino and feature a lacy edging and a faux placket adorned with cute little buttons.

Copyright Let’s Knit 2013 (used with kind permission)

While we don’t stock Manos Del Uruguay Fino, Artesano Alpaca 4ply in shade #7609/Paraguay would be a perfect substitute and is an almost identical colour (but you could use any 4ply yarn instead).  Or you could try Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply and Debbie Bliss Angel, Party Angel or Rowan Kidsilk Haze Eclipse for a more glamourous look!  The mittens use less than half a ball of each so you could make two pairs from a ball of each yarn.

If you’re curious as to what goes into a design like this, Charlotte has written about the design process behind the mittens on her blog here.

Have a good weekend and Happy Knitting!

Happy Valentine’s Day

Good afternoon knitters! Well we have managed to somehow have an easier week than most this week. I suppose all our preparation for the new seasons products may be starting to pay off! Now it was Valentine’s Day yesterday so I hope your other halfs didn’t forget and managed to show you just how much they really care by picking you up something lovely.. and for the most of you out there reading this I hope it was something yarny!

We have two wonderful offers on starting today for those that may still be looking for that little bit extra, we have…

15% off all chunky yarns, simply enter the code CHKY15 at the checkout

and

15% off selected sock yarns from Regia, Opal, Noro and Araucania, simply enter code SOCK15 at the checkout

A few items that you may like to pick up are,

 

Homespun Vintage by Jane Crowfoot, Inspired by the fashions of the 20th Century, 20 knit & crochet projects are split into three classic themes: Two Tone Chic, Folk Tales and Time for Tea. Lampshade covers & pillowcases evoke the drama of Art Deco shapes, floor cushions display the colour & simplicity of Russian Folk Art, and doilies & sofa cushions reflect the ‘Make Do & Mend’ era. Or how about Debbie Bliss Rialto Print? Twelve knits for four to twelve-year olds in Debbie Bliss Rialto Print DK.

 We have more new yarns in and may I say some beautiful pastel colours from Araucania in Ranco for this season, perfect for spring!

and with beautiful summery tones of Botany Lace,

This Monday all the staff here at Stash finally had our Christmas do! After many re-scheduling! We went for a nice meal at Frankie & Benny’s, so we would like to say another huge thanks to those at our knit group that contributed towards that for us. Thank you!

Arrivals

 To begin the week a key member of our team, Anne Aukland came back to us from a 4 week trip to New Zealand! After sending us lots of beautiful pictures whilst being away, we are now glad that she is home. No more bragging for Anne! 😉 However we all wish you good luck with your new house move this weekend! WELCOME BACK Anne!

Now, this week we have been trying to make space and get ready for new arrivals. We have had in ‘Pompe’ by Ella Rae – a pattern book using DY Choice Jester Yarn. I know what you are thinking, yarn with pompoms? Well let me tell you it really does makes very cute items for children. Just take a look inside ‘Pompe’ and you will see for yourselves.

We have had a few new shades in of existing yarns, Simonetta and Grace Hand-beaded, both by Louisa Harding. These are all photographed and available for purchase on our website now.

 

Earlier in the week we had a visit from the lovely Christine from Big World Buttons, Chester. She bought with her a selection of BEAUTIFUL handmade ceramic shawl pins. We took them all! And wouldn’t you have done the same if you were in our shoes? Look how wonderful they are…

These are all newly available to view and purchase now on our website.
Prices range between £14.99 – £19.99.

Today we have had a huge delivery of discontinued yarn, there is a mix of cotton yarns, sock yarns, lace yarns and more, a mix of Louisa Harding and Noro. I wont give too much away about them, I have been busy busy busy listing all of these on our eBay store, they are all available NOW so take a look.

As well as that we got a lovely delivery from Rowan with 3 samples knitted up.. freshly photographed just to show you..

 

Left, Merrion, knitted using Rowan Fine Tweed, pattern found in ‘Tweed Collection’.
Right, Bute, knitted using Rowan Colourspun & Felted Tweed, pattern found in ‘Rowan Magazine 52‘.

 

Above, Norton, knitted using Baby Merino Silk DK, pattern found in ‘Just Baby’.

We have had in some great gift boxes by Rowan. These are also available for purchase on our website. Really great ideas for Christmas presents. They include,
Two balls of Rowan Yarns
One pair of knitting needles
One cable needle
One Rowan sew in label
One knitting leaflet including How to Knit instructions and illustrations
All contained in a smart presentation box with handle

 

And just to let you know, we have a 10% off selected chunky yarns at the moment, and a 10% off all DY Choice yarns. Great as we are coming up to Christmas.. and winter!!

That is all I’m going to give away this week, so until next week Happy Knitting!

Busy, busy, busy

Yet again another busy week for us here at Stash with lots of new arrivals constantly coming in. So an update of the week..

After being told we should get this in as everybody was wanting it, we got it in. It’s Circulo Tecido Trico. Circulo Tecido Trico puts a whole new spin on ruffle yarns. This fabric base has holes on one side similar to rail-road style ruffle yarns. A pattern for a ruffle scarf is included on the label and shows you how to knit into the holes for a unique ruffle look. I immediately liked the prints (the leopard being my favourite!) I thought how is this going to work out? How is it possible to knit with ribbons? But after Helen (The Boss) came in with one that she had started to knit up I was amazed! It has been selling as we were told it would and it looks wonderful! Rather than me telling you here is her sample, see for yourselves..

It is available in 22 different prints and if you look closer there are 6 free patterns available for this ribbon yarn. Here are just some of them that we have in stock at the moment. Click here to see the free downloadable patterns.

We have had in some great books, great ideas and great little monsters in Janet Smith Can’t Knit by Suzie Johnson, The Glamour Collection is also beautiful as expected, it has some fabulous designs in especially coming up to Christmas! Follow the links on our website to view all the designs inside these fabulous books.

We have a new Swift and Ball Winder in stock, these again are great ideas for Christmas presents!

Our lovely bosses, Helen and Steve have had fun this week amongst the busyness. They got to grab a sneak peek at all the new Spring Summer 2013 yarns, Patons, SMC, SMC Select, Debbie Bliss, Rowan, Louisa Harding, Arauc… and plenty more! Oooo exciting! Can you believe winter is just beginning and they are already choosing next seasons yarns?

Well anyway enough dreaming now, we had our knit group again this Wednesday as we do every week (Wednesday 10.30 – 12.30), some of our loyal knitters and knatteres had knitted a small square each to put together as a beautiful baby blanket for one of the other ladies. So to end this weeks post, here is our group with their baby blanket.

I hope you all had a great Halloween and have fun on Bonfire night, remember remember the 5th of November!

October Must Haves!

October has been a very busy month for us (hense the lack of blogging – sorry!), we have had so much new wonderful stock in this month we have been constantly unpacking, photographing, processing, stocking, uploading, selling, then NEXT unpacking, photogr.. and so on! So as you can imagine we have a lot to play with and ogle at! I thought it would be best to give you a quick insight of what is new and show you our must haves!

Ok so let’s start with this, fresh in as of yesterday, Kim Hargreaves new book ‘Enchanted‘ and let me tell you – it is beautiful! (As per usual Kim!) 21 Designs using Rowan yarns. £17.50 for this book but it is WELL worth it! We have all the designs available to view on our website if you want to see them all.

                       

Next we have this stunning new LIMITED EDITION Interchangeable Boxed Circular Needle set from Knit Pro. These are Limited to a worldwide distribution of just 2000 sets, each set comes with it’s own numbered certificate of authenticity. The set which comes in a high quality veloured embossed box contains 8 pairs of colour coded birch wood needles. The needles follow the Dreamz system, one colour for each size of needle enabling easy identification of the required needle. Sizes included are 3.5mm, 4mm, 4.5mm, 5mm, 5.5mm, 6mm, 7mm & 8mm plus 4 cables 60cm, 2x 80cm & 100cm, 8 end caps, 4 cable keys and 1 set of Zooni beaded stitch markers.

The colours, the texture, the whole box, even the certificate give a real sense of luxury. It really is a ‘must have’ at £94.99!

Following on from them we have a whole new range of yarn now in stock. It is – DY Choice.

Designer Yarns have thought long and hard about this budget range of yarns. Creating an excellent value for money range of yarns, to suit those who are looking for good quality that doesn’t break the bank. It is a completely new product for us at Stash so hopefully it will do well and will be what you guys are looking for! This is available in different weights, sizes (50g, 100g, & 400g), styles and colours. Duchessa, DK with Wool, Aran with Wool and Rumba Tweed.

It’s not as high a quality as our usual yarns but it does come cheaper! If I was to compare it to other budget yarns this comes on top by far! Here’s a snap shot of some of the styles and shades.

For those thinking surely that’s not enough to occupy you for a WHOLE month? Well, of course we haven’t had just the one magazine/book in all month, so here are a few more that have newly come in…

                 

As well as all this going on, we had a visit from a customer last week who mentioned that she had come across us through the website ‘Pinterest’. We thought that’s strange as we’re not even on Pinterest. Infact, what really is it?! After looking into it I found a nice surprise that people had actually been ‘pinning’ what they liked straight from our website! So, since then I decided to create us our very own Stash Fine Yarns account. We now have an ‘Inspiration‘ board, which is basically home or knitwear images that we find inspiring and want to share with you, we have a ‘How-to‘ board which is images and links on how-to’s all relating to yarn crafts, and we have a ‘Store‘ boards which is updates from our store.

We have had a huge clear-out of our warehouse and have found lots of past season yarns, odd balls, and pattern books that we have put in nice mixed bags varying in size and colours. We have listed them all on our eBay store at auction so the highest bidder wins!

Thanks for reading, it really has been a busy month for us so I hope this is a nice insight for you of what’s been going on!

Louisa Harding Charity Trunk Show Success

So we held our Louisa Harding Charity Trunk Show event here last Wednesday and the whole thing was a HUGE SUCCESS! Yay! The event was for ticket holders only and raised £400 in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and to support Louisa with her rough trek in Nepal.

Louisa giving a talk

All attendees received 15% off the Louisa Harding range throughout the day.

For those that don’t know, to help Louisa achieve her fundraising target she has designed a series of hats asking only for a donation to the cause. The patterns are called ‘Himalayan Hiking Hats’ and she aims to get a photograph of herself wearing each hat on the first 6 days of her trek with the 7th hat being knitted during the trip and photographed on the 7th day. The staff here at Stash and our regular customer have all been very excited for the last couple of weeks to meet the lovely Louisa, have a root in her stash, get help and advise from her, and all show off our Himalayan Hats!

Louisa and Donna with their ‘Himalayan Hiking Hats’

The day was full of cakes, knattering knitters, and book signing the atmosphere was great. There was a raffle held with two prizes where Louisa and Helen Probert drew out the winners. The winners were two lovely ladies who had even come to the event together! Julie McCoy from Handforth, Wimslow won a bag of Louisa Harding Amitola yarn with a signed copy of the Amitola pattern book and Hazel Illingworth from Cheadle, Cheshire won a bag of Louisa Harding Orielle yarn and a signed copy of the Orielle pattern book. All the prizes were kindly donated by Designer Yarns Limited.

Hazel Illingworth, Louisa Harding and Julie McCoy

The day was ended on a high with lots of full bellies, happy customers, and very busy staff! For more photographs of the event visit our website here.

or our Facebook page here.

For more information about Louisa Harding’s fundraising, patterns for her Himalayan Hats, and donating visit her website here –

http://www.louisaharding.co.uk/macmillan/

For Louisa Harding yarns visit our website here and pattern books here.

Thank you to everybody that attended on the day and thank you to all who donated!