I usually think of balaclavas as being for the coldest part of winter. I knit my husband one (one of the rare things I’ve knit for him because I knew he would actually use it) and he wears it for shoveling snow from the driveway or other needed outdoor things when it’s super cold outside.
But you might want a similar head-hugging design even when it’s not the dead of winter.
In that case, you’ll need Nick Davis’ Socklaclava (let’s not talk about how much time I spent playing with pronouncing that work, OK?). As you can probably guess from the name, this is a balaclava style knit hat that’s made with sock yarn.
And much like the little garter stitch shawl I shared earlier this week, it’s actually intended to be made with leftovers from other projects, giving it a scrappy, color blocked look. But go ahead and use a whole skein of the same yarn if you want. I won’t tell. It calls for 330 to 400 yards, or 302 to 366 meters, of yarn, so you can play with your stash to make a unique topper or two.
The pattern is more like a hood than a face mask style balaclava, which is also probably better when the temperature is a little warmer. The ribbed section at the bottom can cover the neck or it can be folded up to look like the brim of a hat. The top of the hood is worked in garter stitch with some stockinette stitch stripes for contrast, so it’s a fun knit in terms of giving you lots of different things to do, and a fun way to bust a little bit of stash.
It comes in two sizes so it should fit teens, women and men.
You can get the pattern on Ravelry.
[Photo: Nick Davis]
