Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Knit a Super Cozy Hat

by

I’ve talked before about how I don’t love wearing hats, but I will admit they’re fun and satisfying to knit. And honestly if I went outside more when it’s cold (I try not to whenever possible) I would probably like wearing hats more.

And if the hat happens to include a touch of mohair for even more warmth and coziness, that might just be the thing to get me over not liking to wear hats.

The Cheslie Toque from Kiyomi Burgin uses a strand of worsted weight yarn along with mohair, which doesn’t change the gauge that much but makes the hat warmer and gives it a bit of a halo. But it’s not too much to obscure the pretty eyelet pattern that runs up the hat in panels.

This hat is worked from the bottom up and has a fold over, ribbed brim. It comes in three sizes (which I would say are probably for teens, adult small and adult large) and is meant to be worn with 2 to 5 inches of negative ease to give you a snug fit and to help open up the eyelet pattern.

If you don’t like the mohair or just don’t have any on hand, you can use a worsted weight yarn by itself, just make sure to check your gauge before you get started.

The pattern is available on Ravelry.

Looking for more fun hat patterns to knit? Here is a collection of worsted weight hat knitting patterns that are perfect to make with leftovers from other projects. I also recently shared a bunch of hat knitting patterns for fall, and if you’ve never knit a hat before you can start with these flat hat knitting patterns that don’t require working in the round (and sometimes don’t need any shaping at all!).

[Photo: Kiyomi Burgin]

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.