MK Carroll

I had been working on a crochet pattern for a hat using a pinwheel motif – one that I'd made several of some years back – and then I saw two or three other very similar patterns and reorganized my priority list. This week, I had some handspun cotton left over from another project and a gift package to put together. I thought a nice summery headband would do the trick, so I went through my stitch dictionaries.

This is the first version: misshawklet handspun organic cotton (turmeric), size C/2.75mm hook, sized to fit a medium (22"/56cm) head. I like the fit, although I think the ties are a little too short, and I'm not completely happy with the motif. I think the flowers look too thin and spindly. It was a little difficult to work with the hook size (the yarn is unevenly spun, mostly about sportweight), and I'd chosen the hook size in an attempt to get a certain tightness to the overall look.

Second version: misshawklet handspun organic cotton (silver gray), size E/3.5mm hook. This is sized to fit a small (19" – 20"/48cm-50cm) head, but it's shown on my medium-sized head, so it looks a little short. I'm happier with this version – changed the stitches used and the stitch count a bit, and now I think the flowers have a fuller look, which I like. It's only slightly narrower than the first version. I'm also thinking that I could do a version with a covered elastic strap, eliminating the ties. I've still got some of the handspun in pumpkin…