Slightly Slouchy Hat (Knit Picks Chroma Fingering)

Slightly Slouchy Hat (Chroma Fingering)

A little while back I ordered 1 ball of Knit Picks Chroma Fingering in colorway "Mix Tape" so I could play with it and see how the long color changes would look. Since I wanted to try using a fingering weight yarn with my Slightly Slouchy crochet hat pattern, I picked up a size E hook and got started. I did wind up unraveling the beginning, snipping off the first color, and then starting again - because no matter what, a big pink circle at the top of a hat is going to make someone think of...something other than a hat.

Mix Tape

The colors are wonderful, aren't they? I like the way the hot brights are balanced out by the dark grey.

This is part of my getting a jump on the winter holidays project list. The Slightly Slouchy Hat has been teen-approved - the Firefly stripes version was made 'specially for a smart, sarcastic teen who enjoys the added obnoxiousness potential of having the colors of a Lampyridae backside involved. Your mileage may vary.

Pattern: Slightly Slouchy Hat (free! - in US/Canada and UK/Antipodes versions)
Yarn: Knit Picks, Chroma Fingering Sock Yarn, colorway Mix Tape

Handspun Hat: done!

Handspun Hat
Top-Down Ribbed Beanie Recipe
US 11 and 10 needles
Jenny Neutron Star handspun, "Candy", about 80 yards


This time it's really finished - I ripped back a few rounds, then switched to US 10 needles and did 2 rounds of stockinette and bound it off. I like it better now, although I do feel like the hat is asking for more. Some buttons, maybe? A few crochet circles? I may have to just set it aside and walk away. It's already quite exuberant.


About the yarn - the jennyneutronstar.com site won't load for me, and the Jenny Neutron Star Etsy shop hasn't had any activity for over a year. Back when I first got this yarn, quirky handspun yarn wasn't as readily available. When I was asked to put together a few kits for the Alt Fiber show, I didn't have much time and I really wanted to feature indie crafters. Jenny Neutron Star really came through for me and custom-spun 3 skeins to order (although I botched the wpi - this is really more like 5-6 wpi yarn, and it's my misstatement, not hers). 2 years later, nifty handspun/handdyed yarns are thriving on Etsy, and so while I can't find a way to direct you to Jenny Neutron Star right now, I do have a couple of Etsy favorite sellers for bulky thick/thin yarns: Terra Bella Spun does handspun/handdyed, which I've used to knit up similar hats. Miss Hawklet has some "scraptacular" yarns up right now that I find especially delightful, and I used some Midnight & Lulu yarn in the Springtime Scarflette I did last year. Typing "handspun yarn" into the Etsy search feature will get you pages and pages of delightful stuff! I know I have to be careful when I do that. For the next few days, my Etsy favorites (up on the top right corner of this blog) will be featuring lovely handspun yarns. I may have to go sit in my stash for a little while to keep me from buying more.



Springtime Scarflette closeup

Tree Bark Rib Neckwarmer

neckwarmer.tree-rib.jpg

Traveling rib motif from Teva Durham's Slinky Tree Bark Rib Tunic (in the book Loop-d-Loop: More Than 40 Novel Designs for Knitters)

This isn't a beanie, as you've noticed, but the beginning is the same, and if I'd had more yarn, it could have become a beanie.  I'm calling it a neckwarmer even though this tube can be used as a headband, and earwarmer, or an added layer with a hat. 

I used a cable cast-on (done on size 8 needles), started the ribbing with one motif repeat, and then added in the second motif repeat on the other side of the tube about 3 inches up.  I knit until I ran out of yarn; next time I'll make this long enough to pull up over the nose and mouth (combined with the beanie I knit for this set, the effect would be quite ninja-like).  This is long enough to tuck into a shirt collar and pull up to the chin.