Recently in Finished Items 2009 Category

Another quick post on a christmas present.



This is the Mug and French Press Jacket by MK Carroll knit for my Mom. I had a couple false starts with this as I found the increase rate for the bottom much to fast and it caused the circle to ripple. I eliminated one "increase wedge" out of it and it then laid flat. However the only mugs I could find were narrow at the base with flared out sides so as the pattern was written it was too big for the base. I only increased until I could do one less repeat of the cable pattern. 



Because the sides do angle down so much the jacket works a little better when the closure loop is secured over the handle instead of through it. It keeps it from slipping off. Otherwise I'd recommend using a more flat sidded mug if you have one. Overall though it's a very pretty pattern. I love the way it looks. 

Pattern: Mug and French Press Jacket (Ravelry link) by Diane Serviss of MK Carroll
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Wool
Needles: US size 6 (4 mm)
Mods: Worked 1 less increase section on base, overall smaller by one less cable repeat.

Now that all the holidays are over I'm finally getting back into the regular swing of things. That also means I can post Christmas gift knitting!



I made another version of the Chunky Newsboy Hat pattern for my friend. It's such a cute quick knit. To change it up a little I did a few columns of twisted stitches to create sections. It's rather subtle and doesn't show well in the photographs but was simple to add. I think if I make another I might add some 1x1 cables. I also lengthened the brim widthwise as my last one came out a little narrower than a traditional brim. Although I think I was also knitting really tight for it as well. My other mod was to again use the knit/purl variation of the long tail cast-on as I detailed in that post.



Here's a shot of my lovely friend wearing it on Christmas (and rocking out on a ukulele!) :)
[Who now has an awesome photography blog, check it out! tmuir-artofobservation.blogspot.com]

Pattern: Chunky Newsboy Cap (Ravelry link) by Diane Serviss of Earthly Fae
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, Light Medium Blue #106
Needles: US size 13 (9 mm) and US size 8 (5 mm)
Mods: Twisted stitch every 8 sts, brim 4 sts longer, cast-on in knit/purl long-tail method

And just for fun, Aejaz playing in the exceedingly rare Dallas Christmas Eve snow we got (first in 80 years).



He'd dive into the snow and chase the scattering balls of it and eat them. We laughed like crazy.

A friend was having a Housewarming/Christmas party so I picked up this bottle of wine as part of a gift. The bottle looked a little bare though so I whipped up this cute hat and scarf set for him. :)



A fun quick pattern and great use of leftover yarn. The pattern is Chilled Wine Garb (rav link), also available here. The yarn was leftover Red Heart Ltd. Sport Solid in Cherry Red and Paddy Green. The scarf is just straight stockinette stitch and rolls itself into a nice tube. I simply carried the alternating colors up the side, weaving them to the edge as I went. A clever small pom-pom tutorial using straight needles was given by the pattern designer as well.

And what was the theme of this party? Ugly/Tacky Christmas Sweaters! Haha. Mr. PieKnits and I had fun looking through all the over-decorated sweaters of yore at the thrift stores trying to find the most obnoxious ones. The one I'm sporting he found, it has lots of bells, bows and baubles all over it (and shoulder pads, wow). I kept thinking how much I looked like my grade school teachers! It was quite hilarious though and I plan to re-donate the cloths and consider it part of my Xmas charity.



I also knit the little santa hat although I'm debating what to do with it. I was going to felt it but ran out of time so just wore it as-is and was thinking of just keeping it that way. But now I may rip it and reknit it in a slightly different shape to felt it. Hmmmm...

There is hardly a more fabulous accessory than a vintage style hat.



Nothing transforms an outfit like a great hat can. I think they're such fun pieces which is probably why I can't seem to stop making them. This pillbox hat is not full size, so it's more a type of cocktail hat that sits tilted on the head.



From understated to extravagantly embellished, the decorations can endlessly vary the look. Make two from one skein and adorn completely differently!
 


The pillbox shape for hats has been around literally thousands of years but was more recently made popular in the mid-20th century. This classic shape is easy to wear and won't mess up your hair.



The instant download rundown -after payment via Paypal you will be given a link to download the pattern. This link will also be emailed to you and will expire in 120 hours. For any questions about the pattern or whole download process please shoot me an email me at- jen@pieknits.com!

Pattern: Dose -  Felted Pillbox Cocktail Hat
Gauge: 12 sts and 16 rows = 4" in St st before felting
Needle sizes: Size 11 (8 mm): 16" circular (cir) and set of 4 or 5 double-pointed (dpn)
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino (100% merino wool; 223 yds [204 meters] per 100g): 00226 Black, 1 ball (approx. 1/2 for 1 hat)
Skill level: Beginner-Intermediate (working in the round with small number of sts, short rows, single crochet used)
Price: $3.75
Format: PDF instant download pattern

So it seems 6,194 ravelry projects can't be wrong. The Saartje's Bootees pattern just churns out awfully cute booties. I knit these Red Heart Ltd. Heart & Sole in Razzle Dazzle. I love finding "non-babyish" colors for baby knits. Personally I think there are too many pastels out there. These are for my new niece who should be arriving sometime today!



I would have liked to share photos of a green and thriving veggie garden this summer, alas it was not meant to be. We had the heat spike up early and long and it really stunted about everything. Wow do I have some ugly tomato plants. I'm finally getting a few from it and hoping the frost will hold off long enough to get one crop out of them. The chili peppers though, the chili peppers went crazy. They're something you can count on to take the Texas heat and with that in mind I had planted several varieties. This is my recent harvest where I left everything that could possible stay on the plant a bit longer there (this is probably 1/4 of what's out there). It's close to 2 lbs! And these aren't exactly heavy fruits.



I have Hungarian hot wax, Sweet banana pepper, Serrano, Cayenne, Bell peppers, and a mystery plant that re-sprouted from last year. There's also a few tomatoes in there (mostly cherry).
So any ideas on what to do with all these?
My go-to has been chili quesadillas (which are awesome with these) but one can only eat so much.

My lovely friend Mel, who I designed the first Devra hat for, was definitely one of the most enthusiastic recipients of a hand knit I've made. So when she requested another version in a darker color, slouchy style, with a little longer brim to switch up with her other one, I was only too happy to comply! Thus what I'm dubbing "Devra 2.5", heh.



The yarn, Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends, has come out with some new lovely colors and this one is a near black (color: Stone) which I thought lets the cables show through nicely. I did an extra repeat on my slouch version (Devra 2) to make it "extra slouchy" as she has such amazingly thick hair that the original was more "slightly loose" that full bodied. On me it looks close to a dread tam (can't really see all of it here), which I like just as much actually.



On the original design I kept the brim short as I think it's cute but also because while plastic mesh canvas (wonderful cheap stuff) works well as a brim stiffener it isn't the most shapable material on its own. It can tend to come out rather flat, which is more noticeable on a larger bill. Again I took some inspiration from my dabbling into millinery and wire reinforced the edge. It turned out simple to do. I wish I had done this for all my past hats! Take any gauge wire that's easy enough to shape and form it to the outside edge of your canvas. Then using a thread and needle whip stitch it into place. Doesn't have to be perfect, you won't see it once it's inside the knitting. Now it's easy to form into a shape that's to your liking.

My newest mini hat- and oh how I love it so!



My last mini top hat I had modified the Miniature Top Hat pattern to be about 3/4 scale but for this one I wanted it even smaller and less tall. I heavily modified the pattern for this and would say its closer to 1/2 the size of the original. And I wanted one in black, because well, black is awesome.






When felting pretty much all yarns produce some surface fuzz on the finished felt, some more than others. A simple trick I use to tidy them up is shaving the fabric. Yep, with just a regular old razor (I keep a cheapie one on hand for this).



You can see the difference it makes! It looks much more like commercial felt now. You can use a sweater shaver as well if you have one. I've also been studying millinery and picking up some "hat tricks" from this as well. It's common to sand the felt down (with sandpaper, same as you do wood). I plan to try this next.



For the feathers this time I tried out something I picked up in reading. I wrapped the feather cluster base in wire (millinery tie wire is what's professionally used, you could also use thread) to hold them together. Then I sewed a small metal jump ring behind the lace band and inserted the feather base through this to help it stay in place better. The burn flower I made following this nice tutorial. I had some lining I had cut out of a thrifted skirt I'm converting into an apron bustle that worked perfect for the petal material.



I sew hair clips into the underside of my hats to keep them on. It's also common to use an elastic band to be worn under the head. Unfortunately for me I have a rather shallow occipital ridge and bands like that always just slide right off, hence the hair clip route.



I adore the look of birdcage veils but couldn't decide if I'd want one all the time. I then came up with the idea for a detachable veil, perfect! I used hook & eye closures, the hook being sewn to the gathers in the veil and the eye portion being attached under the lace band. I love both looks!

Shush you, I know it's another hat (I can hear youuuu) but as it's only the first of er, four *cough* felted hats I've more or less finished (including a new design!) we'll just move right along, shall we?



As I mentioned when I made my mini tricorn hat, I still wanted a full size one. It had been started and lounging around for several months when I finally got the itch to finish it. Can I say LOVE! This is such a ridiculously fun hat, and I had finished it just in time for International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arrrr! I'm hoping to wear it with the pirate ensemble for a themed Renaissance Festival weekend too.  Also, I've taken to wearing it around the house with frightful attempts at pirate speak.



Followed the pattern as written this time. I made my own cockade using this lovely tutorial and finished it with an awesome pewter skull button. I then stitched on some silver trim, attached the cockade and added a couple ostrich feathers. I've found the ostrich feathers located in the floral section at craft stores work great as the base has floral tape wrapped wire which helps in securing it to the hat.





And obligatory pre-felting monstrous size shot. (My dog wandered in while taking this and it totally freaked him out, heh.)

These mitts were actually finished months ago. They went so quick I completely forgot about blogging them! I truly just winged 'em.

Casted on, worked from the top down in *Yo, k2tog* in the round until reaching the thumb. Then I split apart at the side to work back and forth until reaching the bottom of the thumb, rejoined in the round and continued until the wrist. Here I worked a few garter stitch rows and bound off. Keeping with simplicity I sewed some mock buttons on each side (instead of actually bothering to make button holes).



I think often these really simple little knits are the ones that actually get used most often. Such as the Quick Plastic Bag Holder, one of the easiest fastest knits I've ever done and one that I find the most pleasantly useful.

Finally, I managed to actually read a crochet pattern. I had managed to make the basic stitches in a program at our Dallas Hand Knitters Guild but that was just making rows of the same kind of stitch. The more confusing part to me is reading the patterns.

With knitting you have to do something to each stitch on the needle in sequential order, even if that's just slipping them. For crochet, trying to figure out how to skip around all over and work different stitches into different places just lost me. So after reading several tutorials and just sitting down and making several attempts I finally started to figure it out! Yeay! 



I have seen several crochet patterns over the years that made me yearn for the skill. One I had in my queue, figuring I would try it, was the cute simple Crochet Necklace by Creativeyarn. I used the flower pattern here.



I used the very last bit of my Peru Naturtex Partners Pakucho Organic Cotton for this. It made me think about this yarn's "journey". I originally got it for my first design, Topi. I liked this yarn so much I used it for my Mouse Pad Wrist Pillow as well. It then worked nicely for making cords for my Reniasance/pirate chemise too. Does anyone else have a yarn that continually shows up in their projects?

Well I'm kinda out of anything more to say about this one. I guess it doesn't make a very interesting blog project but it was interesting to knit. I enjoyed doing some stranded colorwork as it had been awhile. These headbands wear differently now that I have so much shorter hair but I like it. So here are some photos (what everyone really looks at anyway right?), project details below.





Pattern: Argyle Headband, by Lady Spankington
Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull, #0090 Black & #0010 White
Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm)
Mods: Provisional cast-on to start at beg. of chart. Worked the ties to desired size after chart completed, a few inches of i-cord then finished in crocheted chain.

For years, I had wanted to take belly dance lessons. I'd even posted about it before but for various reasons I hadn't done it. Finally last March I found a perfect beginners class really close to me. I've been going since and I love it!

Just a few weeks back we had our first introduction to playing the finger cymbals, or zills, and I immediately thought, "weee! I need to get me some of these!". Now my playing cymbals in drumline experience is actually coming in handy, who'd have thought?



My shiny new Saroyan Nefertiti's came in the mail along with an instructional video and I happily began driving my dog up the wall with them. So I realized I needed to make some zill mufflers stat, especially if I actually wanted to practice with anyone in earshot.

These knitted covers help damped the sound of the cymbal but it's still audible enough to hear yourself while practicing. Elastic run through the final stitches make these easy to slip on and off. 

There are some nice looking crochet patterns out there but as I'm still woefully crochet-challenged I wanted to create my own. Using a doily pattern as a jumping off point this is what I came up with -

Zufflers!

Printer-friendly version

Finished Sizes
Fits 2 - 2 1/2" sized zill.
Materials
Lace weight yarn or Crochet Cotton Size 10 or similar weight. Needles: US Size 2 (2.75mm), Size C crochet hook (or similar size). Notions: Sewing needle, 1/4" elastic or cord.
Abbreviations
See Yarn Standards Abbreviations or Chart Key below.

DIRECTIONS (Make two, or four for a more subdued sound)
With crochet hook and using Emily Ocker's Circular Cast-On (tutorial link) CO 8 stitches. Slip and divide sts evenly onto double point needles to join in the round. Work written directions below, or follow chart working 8 repeats. After a couple rounds pull cast-on tail to close the circle.

Round 1: K all sts.

Round 2: *K1, yo; repeat from * all around - 16 sts.

Round 3 and ALL UNEVEN ROUNDS: K all sts.

Round 4: *K2, yo; rep from * all around - 24 sts.

Round 6: *K3, yo; rep from * all around - 32 sts.

Round 8: *K3tog, yo, k1, yo; rep from * all around.

Round 10: *K1, yo, k3, yo; rep from * all around - 48 sts.

Round 12: *K1, yo, k2tog, k1, k2tog, yo; rep from * all around.

Round 14: *K1, k2tog, k3; rep from * all around - 40 sts remaining.

Round 16: *K3, k2tog; rep from * all around - 32 sts rem.

Round 17: *K2tog, yo; rep from * all around.

Round 18: *K1, k2tog, k1; rep from * all around - 24 sts rem.


Chart

Finishing
Leaving all sts on the needles, cut yarn and pull through last stitch to fasten off. Thread elastic through all live stitches on the needle. Fit piece over zill and cut elastic to size. Sew ends of elastic together. Weave in all ends.
See more PieKnits patterns this way >>



Just for the heck of it I rummaged around my closet and put together a "costume". Here's where marrying into an Indian family is helpful, hehe! I have lots of scarves/veils, bindi's, bangles, full skirts, etc. Just threw some on and snapped a few impromptu photos.

But this one is my new go-with-anything hat!



The super cute and popular (with good reason) Felicity pattern. I love a good stocking cap and this one has just the right amount of shaping. I know some people had issues with the brim being too small but mine fit perfectly using the recommended needles and cast-on amount. Followed the whole pattern exactly actually (not always common for me).



I used the uber economical Caron Simply Soft for this. Love that stuff for this kind of thing. This hat isn't your heirloom colorwork piece, it's a stuff your hair in it, beat the crap out of hat. Easy to care for, soft and non-scratchy on the skin. Plus a $1.25 for a hat? It won my thrifty heart.



It looks so unassuming laying flat. You can see the the overall shaping a little better here. The brim simply uses a smaller needle size to create a neat fit.

Pattern: Felicity [ravelry link], by Wanett Clyde of Knitology
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft, #9727 Black
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm), US 7 (4.5 mm)
Mods: None!

When I created my cadet-style cap pattern, Topi, awhile back for Knitty.com one of the things I really liked about it was its gauge flexibility.



Since it is worked from the top down, you don't have to swatch or have the exact same size yarn if you simply work to the desired size you need. So when a friend requested a Topi and picked out a bulky yarn I was excited about putting the pattern to the test at such a different gauge.

It works! While the pattern does need to be modified from casting on 5 sts to 4 sts to create one less increase wedge section, that is essentially the only change. This modification was necessary because the yarn has such a larger row gauge it was increasing too quickly and causing the top to ripple. From there however you work the pattern pretty much as written. The pattern instructs how to determine your own diameter measurement for the finished size you need and you work to that point.

 

In the extended entry I've listed my exact modifications. The brim requires less sts as well but this would not need to be exact either- just BO sts stopping when you have left the size you want for your brim then follow the directions working to each wrapped stitch.

For a little extra something I was asked if I could "add a skull" which I was only to happy to do (I could add wee skulls to everything). Unable to fit it in with intarsia in such a small space I contemplated applique and settled on a little embroidery. This was accomplished with basically this technique with sketching out a design on notepad paper, pinning said paper to hat and stitching over it.



Pattern: My design, Topi from knitty.com
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky, #127 Walnut
Needles: US 10½ (6.5 mm), US 10 (6.0 mm)
Mods: Bulky gauge, CO 4 sts instead of 5 - Details in extended entry

Hello bloggie, I've missed you.

Not as much knitting going on lately, other life stuff, etc etc. I did mange to finish up a should-be-quick project finally. A little snood for either some retro flair or as an addition to my Renaissance garb.



The vintage pattern is available here for free. I forget the yarn I used, a nice linen/cotton blend with US 10 1/2 size needles. I converted the pattern to work in the round on 60 sts and grafted the bottom instead of seaming the sides. Lace seams and me are not buddies.



I do have some other FO's to share, just need to get some decent photos. You know, ones not snapped hastily on my lunch hour.

Be forewarned, this hat is ready to file a restraining order against me and my camera.



Yep, another mini hat! Oh how I love it so. I want to invent more excuses to dress up and where it. I adore the look of these wee hats of the Victorian era. Decorating them is also half the fun and really completes the hat.
This is a modified version of the Miniature Top Hat pattern by Lara Breese of Dark Twist and worked in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.



Here is the hat after fulling and pre-embellishments. I printed out some victorian scrollwork samples to use as inspiration for the needle felting. (This is what I was practicing for on my other hat.) I unspun different weights of black yarn to form the lines. You may notice in the unmodeled pics the top of the hat was sinking in a little. To correct it I flipped the hat over and traced the top circle on some plastic mesh canvas (love that stuff, so useful!) and cut it out. I then pinched it in half and inserted it into the top of the hat and let it pop into place. Due to the shaping of that hat it stays in place perfectly without having to tack it down.



My modifications were to make this at about a 3/4 scale from the original. If I make another version I will probably work the side decreases rounds in quicker succession to make the sides shorter. I also used the optional i-cord bind off which I think gives it a really neat and almost rolled brim edge. The hat is held in place by a hair comb sewn to the underside of the brim, same as my mini tricorn hat.





For the embellishments I wrapped two ribbons around the base and made a ribbon bow with the sheer ribbon. Then I took some tulle netting, folded it accordion style then folded it in half to create a fan and secured it by sewing two buttons on top. To finish it off I stuck in some feathers and viola!



I have the feeling this may be the beginnings of a miniature hat collection...



Few more photos on my Ravelry page. And see my newest mini top hat here.

Having seen a scarf similar to this in an online shop I got it in my head that I needed one. Do certain items ever do that with you? You see something and have to make it, abandoning any other current projects until the current obsession is done? I'm rather hoping it's not just me...



There are several versions of this type of scarf/neckwarmer patterns out there, I came upon this one first (Bowtie Scarf) and figured I'd just modify it for what I wanted. Upon further looking I think there are some better written and/or closer to what I was looking for patterns out there (perhaps this one Bow-knot Scarf).



I knew I wanted it smaller, with a Stockinette slipped stitch border for neatness, non-visible increases (instead of YO's as I didn't want to carry them all the way through) and the knot section in 1x1 ribbing. In retrospect I probably should have done the other gathered section in 1x1 as well but you can't really see it when it's slipped through the keyhole. So I only increased to 21 sts for the main sections and used a backwards loop increase instead of the yarn over.

With the mohair content I thought it might be a bit scratchy but after adding some conditioner to the blocking rinse it really softened it up! It didn't bother me at all to wear it next to skin all day.



Pattern: Bowtie Scarf (Ravelry link) although Bow-knot Scarf would be a closer jumping off point
Yarn: Lana Moro Ali, #2621 (From a swap, used for my Amelia Earhart hat that matches my yellow coat)
Needles: US size 6 (4mm)
Mods: Smaller, less wide, slip stitch edging, backwards loop increase, knot section in 1x1 rib

Having been inspired by a really nice program at the Dallas Hand Knitters Guild last year on needle felting I wanted to try it out on a current project. To test my idea I started searching about for some scrap felt when I came upon this hat. Some of you may notice it looks familiar; it is actually a failed prototype of my 1920's style cloche design Stella.

After playing around with it I suddenly realized if I turned it around and tilted it just so, suddenly it had a wonderful 1940's silhouette. It was like finding an unknown $5 bill in your pocket and it feeling like free money!



The needle felting though, oh dear, this may quickly become a new obsession. So much fun. I unspun some Lamb's Pride Bulky to use for the wool and just started laying it down and punching away free-form style. I'm so pleased with it and it's definitely my type of medium (as I generally prefer highly controllable and mutable).

I can't seem to get away from quick small projects. The instant FO's, they are so hard to resist.

Seeing countless cute and cozy looking cowls (wee, alliteration) lately I've had a few ideas for my own floating around. This exceedingly simple one I knit up holding two strands of worsted together to get a bulky gauge. I think I'll make a taller one in an actual bulky yarn as well for the single strand should show off the yarn overs even more.

This fitted cowl is nice for a little extra warmth without too much bulk under a coat.

Fissure Cowl

Finished Sizes
Women's [Men's]

Materials
Yarn: Moda Dea Cartwheel (100% Wool; 77yds per 50g); Color: #9412 Misty; 1 ball, held doubled OR a single strand of Bulky weight yarn. Needles: US Size 11 (8mm). Notions: Crochet hook (preferably close to 8mm), waste yarn.

Gauge
13 sts and 9 rows = 4" in Stockinette Stitch.

Abbreviations
See Yarn Standards Abbreviations.

DIRECTIONS
Crochet a chain with waste yarn approx. 20 sts for provisional cast-on. Using either 2 strands of worsted weight yarn held together or one strand of bulky weight, pick up 12 sts in the back of crochet chain for provisional cast-on. (Alternatively, a regular cast-on can be used and the ends seamed together during finishing.)

Note: You may pick up more than 12 sts for a taller/higher cowl.

Rows 1-4: Knit.
Row 5: Knit to last 5 sts, yo, k1, yo, k1, (yo)twice, k1, (yo)3x, k1, (yo)4x, k1 loosely.
Row 6: Knit across, dropping all yarn overs.

Repeat rows 1-6 nine[ten] more times.

"Unzip" provisional cast-on and place lives stitches on an extra needle. Join this end to last row via three-needle bind off.

FINISHING
Weave in all ends.

See more PieKnits patterns this way >>

My once pristine craft room was no longer so, especially after being used for the xmas present wrapping, it looked like a gift wrap explosion occurred. So the other day I buckled down and cleaned and organized and wow am I so much more inspired now! I've rediscovered several projects that I picked up pieces for ages ago and now have gotten to whipping up, so more to come soon.

But first, I got one of these painfully cute mini Sockblocker Key Chains with pattern probably close to two years ago and it was time to retrieve it from buried under the stash.



This was also a perfect excuse to sample some Claudia Hand Painted yarn I've been admiring in my stash. This is the Buckeye colorway. Sadly, I may be ruined for cheapie sock yarn now.



Oh, and what's up with the title you ask? Well I always do love amusing signage so I felt compelled to share this one with you. Pulled over and snapped this gem of sign-making design at a hair salon next to my office.

It always seems when knitting on any kind of a deadline it comes down to the the wire and thus my photos end up being hastily taken if remembered at all. Still, I wanted to at least try to portray how cute these mittens are! My owl-loving friend, who's birthday was coming up, had recently lost her pair of mittens so I knew this was the perfect pattern as soon as I saw it. "Give a Hoot" is a free pattern by Jocelyn Tunney and one I thoroughly enjoyed making. Both right and left directions are given which really is more convenient than a simple "work in reverse for other hand" type instruction. 

While the pattern calls for worsted yarn it definitely falls on the thicker side of that category. My yarn was a bit on the thinner side, so if you like a bigger fluffier mitten I would keep that in mind. While searching for some buttons for the eyes I came across these amber-eye ones and couldn't resist them! We were joking that these mittens could alternately be used as a hand puppets as well. :) I'm happy she likes them! 

Pattern: Give a Hoot by Jocelyn Tunney
Yarn: Ella Rae Classic, #1 - White
Needles: US size 6 (4 mm) & US size 8 (5 mm)
Mods: Not much other than shortening the ribbed cuff a little.

Mr. PieKnits hat is now available as a free pattern download!




I managed to get a little better shot showing the cabled decreases at the crown. It is tricky to photograph the top of your own head! I would like to get some photos of Mr. PieKnits modeling his hat but our daylight hours together in the winter are pretty much weekend limited.



This was designed as a gift for my husband who tends towards simple knits but still wants something interesting. While most of this hat is worked in a simple rib pattern, subtle cables spring forth twisting into the top decreases adding interest. The result, an engaging knit for both the wearer and knitter! As a very stretchy hat, it fits most adults.

The pattern contains both written and fully charted instructions.

Ths sample shown is knit in Schulana Cashmere Millefiori, other suggested alternative yarns are listed below. NOTE: This pattern was worked to use up ALL of the possible yarn without a swatch left over.

Pattern: Subtle Twist Hat
Gauge: 14 sts and 23 rows = 4" in Sockinette st.
Size: Adult/Unisex (20"-23" circumference)
Needle sizes: US Size 10 (6mm): 16" cir and set of 4 or 5 double-pointed needles (dpn)
Yarn: Schulana Cashmere Millefiori (100% Cashmere; 100yds/91m per 50g/1.76 oz.); Color: #5 Blue, Gray, Brown; 1 ball. Suggested Alternatives: Misti Alpaca Chunky, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky.
Skill level: Intermediate Beginner (cables, working in the round)
Price: FREE
Format: PDF format digital pattern
Additional Photos: In this post