Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

A Simple Hat with a Handful of Purls

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I am not generally a person who minds doing a bit of ribbing at the beginning of a project. Whether it’s a cuff up hat or top down socks, a little bit of ribbing sets the stage and often plays an important role in ensuring a project fits right and stays where it’s supposed to.

But not all ribbing is essential, and sometimes a curled hem on a stockinette stitch project is a wanted touch, not a frustration.

Still, a little bit of purling can give a project a bit more personality, as it does in the Purl Joy Hat from Kamaca Champion. With just six purl stitches per round, this hat gets a fun wedge shape that continues into the decreases at the top of the hat. 

It’s a cool effect that works well if you wear the hat with the stockinette side or the reverse side out.

The hat is worked in worsted weight yarn, and as shown uses only about 50-80 grams of yarn, or 108-135 yards, 99 to 123 meters. You could definitely make it with some leftovers from another project, or throw in stripes or color blocking if you want to use more of your leftovers.

If you check out the project gallery on Ravelry you’ll see that it looks pretty great in a multicolored yarn, too. You might even grab a couple of lighter weight yarns to hold together for a totally different look. So many options!

The pattern is available on Ravelry.

If you’re looking for more hat patterns to knit for that colder weather that you know is going to be here before we know it, I actually did a whole roundup of hat knitting patterns using worsted weight yarn leftovers (though of course you can start them with a fresh ball, too, if you’ve got one handy).

[Photo: Kamaca Champion]

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Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.