Add Easy Texture to Your Hat

I am not really a person who wears hats, but there’s something about the depths of January that makes me want to knit hats. They’re great fast projects and actually are really helpful to keep you warm (I’ve lately taken to wearing one inside the house when I’m super cold, which is often when it’s actually cold outside).

If you’re in the market for a new hat to knit this year, allow me to offer Winter Dusk by Andrea Tong.

This DK weight hat is worked from the bottom up in the round and uses puff stitches to add easy texture, and it comes in four sizes. A DK weight hat would actually be great for wearing in the house (or office, or wherever you happen to be these days) because it’s not too heavy. Or if you have a lot of hair and don’t like to wear full hats, you can leave off the very top of the hat and make it a messy bun hat instead.

The pattern is available on Ravelry, or you can check it out at Two Sheeps. Apparently this pattern was part of their yarn calendar last year (which I did not know was a thing; this year’s calendar is a PDF only but you can check it out here).

You can also buy a kit from Two Sheeps that includes the pattern and the yarn. The yarn is from Hidden Pond Yarn and it’s called Ski Lodge at Dusk. It’s a baby alpaca, silk and cashmere blend, which sounds just like the sort of thing I’d like to have on my head right about now.

No matter where or how you buy it, the proceeds from the pattern sales will be donated to Knit the Rainbow, a charitable organization that provides handmade garments to unhoused LGBTQ+ youth. You can learn more about that organization here.

[Photo: Andrea Tong]

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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