Pattern: Leap Day Hat

Last month I was doing a little research on Leap Day, trying out a few ideas for a Leap Day knit. I discovered that gloves are a traditional Leap Day gift and at first I was excited, “Ohh I could totally design a pair of gloves!”. That is, until I read a bit further and realized why gloves are a Leap Day thing.

Apparently in some cultures Leap Day is sort of Sadie Hawkins-esque, where women are ‘allowed’ (‘scuse me?) to propose marriage to a man. Shocking, I know. Unclutch your pearls, dears. It’s about to get worse. Now, tradition says that if the poor spinster’s proposal is turned down by her lover, he must recompense by gifting her with a dozen pairs of gloves.  That doesn’t sound so awful… But why gloves, you ask?

The reasoning behind this innocuous gesture is really quite cringe-worthy. It’s designed to cushion the blow of rejection by allowing her to cover her hands, thereby concealing the fact that she has no engagement ring. To shield her from the scorn of the world knowing that she’s husband-less. It’s to cover her shame. (oh rly?)

And why so many gloves?  So that she has a pair for every month of a calendar year, because rejection is the humiliating sting that lasts. And lasts. Or so they say.  That little tale of woe kind of turned me off to the idea of Leap Day gloves. 😀  What can I say. I’m a rebel Dotty.  I unabashedly expose my naked ring finger for the world to see! I’m not saying that a husband is a bad thing, quite the contrary. I’m just saying there’s no shame in not having one either.

So in place of shame gloves- here’s a fetching hat! It’s unisex, too. It’s a fun little take on the standard 1×1 ribbed cap. The ribbed panel leans to the left while the ribbing continues in pattern over the whole of the hat.

$4.00 US for the downloadable pattern PDF on Ravelry.

Today through Sunday 3/6 get 29% off the pattern PFD at checkout with code: TAKEALEAP

Big huge thank you to the pattern testers in the Ravelry Pattern Tester forum! Besos!

Happy Leap day everyone!

As a bonus, here’s a little video showing how to do the m1pw (make one purlwise) stitch from our youtube channel, be sure to subscribe for more tutorials!

Pattern details-

Instructions included for both Beanie and Slouchy versions.

Beanie:
8.5in(22cm)wide, at bottom
8.5in(22cm)long
finished weight – 45g
Suggested Yarn
Woolfolk FAR(100% Merino)
shown in #4 Pewter
142yards (130m/50g) per skein
For project: approximately 1 skein
127-140yds(128m-45g)
Gauge in Woolfolk
13 stitches and 16 rows
per 2in(5cm)
k1, p1 ribbing un-stretched
swatch knit on US7(4.5mm)needles

Slouchy:
10in(25.5cm)wide, at bottom
10in(25.5cm)long
finished weight – 84g
Suggested Yarn
Purl SoHo Worsted Twist(100% Merino)
shown in Timeless Navy
164yards (160m/100g) per skein
For project: approximately 1 skein
140-145yds(132.5m-84g)
Gauge in Purl SoHo Twist
11 stitches and 13 rows
per 2in(5cm)
k1, p1 ribbing un-stretched
swatch knit on US7(4.5mm)needles

Notions
6 stitch markers
darning needle for finishing

Suggested Needles
US7(4.5mm)9in(23cm)needles
US7(4.5mm)double pointed needles

 

Free Pattern: Morel Hat

I actually cast on for this hat months ago… I bought the wool at Rhinebeck last fall, and I knew I wanted to knit it into a scrumptious, slouchy, textured hat. But then summer happened, and it got set aside. When Florrie came up with that delicious spicy mushroom dish a few weeks ago, an idea was born. We thought that it would be super fun to pair a knit with a recipe. We didn’t use morels in the recipe, but the texture of the wheat stitch in the hat reminded me of morel’s tall textured caps. The recipe is included in the pattern PDF for you to make and enjoy. Both the soup and the hat will warm you up on a chilly fall day. 🙂

Morel features an elongated wheat stitch with pretty eyelet detail at the brim. The ribbing along the brim will stretch to fit many sizes, but there are instructions for a small and large hat. The hat is designed to be unisex, but if you feel that the eyelet is too feminine, you can knit the yarn overs twisted to close them up.

Finished Measurements
Small (Large)
7in (9in) / 18cm (29cm) wide at brim, laid flat
18in (22in) / 46cm (56cm) circ. gently stretched
8in (10in) / 20cm (25.5cm) high, laid flat
Finished weight of large hat 3.5oz/98g
Gauge
8 stitches & 8 rows per 1 inch in wheat stitch.
Needle
1 pair US5(3.75mm) 16in/40.5cm circular needles, or needles to obtain gauge.
1 set US5(3.75mm) double pointed needles
Suggested Yarn
Miss Babs Northumbria DK (100% Bluefaced Leicester Wool) 240yd/3.5oz (225m/100g)
For project: approximately 235yd/3.5oz (215m/98g)
Colorway: Candied Pecan
Notions
Darning needle for finishing

Download the FREE pattern at Ravelry

Free Pattern : Steinway Hat

Note 01/03/2014: There has been a wee bit of confusion with a few readers on how to get the pattern so I am making it the link super clear at the top of the post.

Please click   **HERE**  to download the pattern directly.

If you would like to go to Ravelry and save it to your library click **HERE** .

If you are still having technical issues,  please feel free to send me an email at florriemarie@gmail.com and I will get the PDF emailed to you right away.

But please try downloading it first.  Thank you so much!

Please read on if you would like instructions for the optional PomPom.

Oh, Hi Steinway Street!  Since I was making this hat for myself to replace the one that I had lost, I decided to name it after a place in which I find myself frequently.  The Steinway St. stop on the R & M line is my little slice of the MTA.  Twice a day, five days a week, and sometimes more! The blue of the yarn I used also reminded me of the blue tiles and pillars.

I have long admired the accordion-like ‘Mistake Rib’ stitch. Its squashy, springy, and very forgiving if you can’t get your gauge just right. Its like regular ribbing on steroids. Its super stretchy, and knit in a worsted weight wool its even stretchier. It creates a lovely, thick, warm fabric, with deep valleys and high peaks made by alternating rows of knit, purl and a surprisingly simple combination of each.  Excepting the decreases at the crown, the pattern is only two rows. It honestly doesn’t get much easier than that.

Now that we are getting deeper into November and the winter winds have begun to blow in earnest, a warm squashy hat is something that we all need. Especially me since I had left my old one in a cab!  This hat is very versatile because its pretty much unisex. The texture of the ribbing adds interest but its not overtly masculine nor feminine. It can be glammed up with color to make it more bold, or made in a subtler hue for more conservative types. 

But my favorite part of this pattern? Its got interchangeable… POMPOMS!  You can make pompoms in whatever color suits your mood, matches your outfit or makes you grin! And when you want to shake things up, changing it out is as easy as opening and closing a safety-pin.

All you need is a darning needle, and a small safety-pin.  When you make your pompom (I used a clover 65cm pompom maker) and are ready to tie it off,  just cut a length of yarn that’s about 12 inches long. After tying it, don’t trim the ends. Instead thread them through a darning needle.

Use the needle to thread those ends through the little hole at the top of the hat. Pull them all the way through and flip your hat inside out. 

I tie my ends off into a big bow, just the loopy part, I skip the first overhand knot to make it easy to untie later. Then I pin the pompom to the hat, making sure I get the pin through both the hat, and through the middle of the knot. You don’t want that baby falling off mid commute. 

And there it is! You can pompom it, or wear it plain. Make matchy pompoms or contrasting pompoms. Big silly pompoms or multiple little ones. Its really entirely up to you.

The Blue Sky Worsted is such a fat snuggly yarn, I can’t even describe how warm it is! It’s nearly the perfect wool.  If only alpaca didn’t make my nose tickle. lol At least it only does it while I’m knitting. You can download your copy of the pattern on Ravelry

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE PATTERN.

Happy knitting!  -Marie

Hat Weather

I left one of my favorite hats in a cab two weeks ago when I went to my friend’s wedding in the Bronx. I made it up as I went along in a mistake rib, in a fat and squishy Blue Sky Worsted. Such a sad thing. I really, really loved that hat. It was equal parts simple, pretty and warm. OH! It was soo sooo warm.

When I came across the same yarn in this beautiful navy blue the other day when I visited Webs in Massachusetts and knew I would re knit it. This time I’m taking notes and I’ll publish it as a free pattern. This worsted wool knits up so quickly, it won’t be long now.
-Marie