counter turn hat: ta-da!

November 3, 2015 by 2 Comments

The Counter Turn pattern is one in a set of three similar knitted cabled hats (the set of patterns costs money) that are great for gifts and work up relatively quickly.  I’ve made this one in Berroco Vintage (52% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 8% Nylon) in red:

counter turn hat

I was too lazy to do the recommended cast on, and its sloppy finish demonstrates that lapse, but overall I’m happy with this.  It’s very stretchy and I plan on giving it to a man for Christmas.  I might take the pompom off, actually… do guys like pompoms?

Well, that’s all for today, short and sweet!  Thanks so much for stopping by, see you soon!

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4 tips for making baby shower gifts

July 12, 2014 by 8 Comments

baby hat

Above is a gift I gave to my coworker at the last baby shower I attended.  This weekend I’m going to another baby shower, and I’m trying to narrow down options for an appropriate gift.  I’ve got some tips to help:

  1. Use cheap yarn.  Baby things can get messed up.
  2. Use yarn that’s soft enough for a baby’s skin.  This might mean counting out your favorite wool, even if it feels soft to you.
  3. Use yarn that is both machine washable and dryable.  This will help busy moms clean your gift easily, meaning your gift is more likely to get used if the mom isn’t worrying about getting it dirty.
  4. If you want to use a natural fiber, try cotton or bamboo.  They’ll keep the baby warm if you’re making something wearable but they will still breathe, keeping the items from being too hot.

With these tips in mind, I’ve found a few items in my house that are already complete and waiting to be gifted to a soon-to-be mom.  The first is made of Stylecraft Special DK leftovers from a previous blanket (100% acrylic):

baby blanket 1The second is also acrylic (maybe Caron Simply Soft?) and has been around for a couple of years:

baby blanket 2Both of these blankets are soft, made of acrylic, and machine washable and dryable.  Since I’m not sure if I’ll have time to make something else, it’s a choice between the two, but the 4 tips apply to almost anything you want to knit/crochet for a baby.

What are your favorite things to make for babies?

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

 

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finished the hat!

August 28, 2013 by 10 Comments

What a day!  After working a long and hot (95 Fahrenheit) lunch shift out in the sun, all I wanted to do was get clean and cool and relax!  My hands still wanted something to do though, and as a result the knitted hat for my friend Tara is finished!

Hat for Tara 1

 

It turned out great!  The seed stitch was fun and the inside looks just the same so it’s totally reversible.  I added 8 stitches to the recommended cast on number and also went up a needle size from the recommended one (both because the pattern writer knits very loosely and because my friend has lots of lovely thick hair, although the extra stitches turned out to be unnecessary).  The hat can be worn slouchy, like that, or it can be worn with the ribbed section rolled up like this:

Hat for Tara 2

 

It’s still roomy this way and it is big enough to where either way it can cover one’s ears.  I thought about lining it with polar fleece for extra warmth, but I’ve never done that before and don’t want to try it out on a hat I’m planning on gifting (but if anyone has any tips on that, I’d love to hear them so I can try it out on one of my hats sometime!).  I think I’ll be working with my friend on Thursday so hopefully I can give it to her then.

This hat used about 3/4 of my 220 yard ball of Aslan Trends Royal Alpaca, and the free pattern can be found here.

That’s all for today!  Just wanted to share the finished project somewhere (I can’t put it on Instagram yet because Tara and I follow each other and she’d see it)!  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Now I’ll get to work on the CAL installment for this Saturday!

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