Make Your Hat Extra Cozy with Felting

I don’t write about felting your knitting all that often, which is weird because my first book was all about felting. It’s one of those things that I think was popular for a while maybe like 10 or more years ago and its time hasn’t come around again yet, but felting is a great way to make knitting warmer, more durable, thicker and more protective from the elements.

A great way to try felting is on a small project like the Felt Tip Toque pattern from Kiyomi Burgin. This simple wool hat is worked in super fine yarn and has a long brim that can be folded over once or twice to give different looks. cx

The pattern has three sizes, which come out after felting to something around 20, 21.5 and 23 inches, which should fit a range of kids, teens and adults. Of course you can always felt your hat a little more or a little less if you happen to have the head you’re trying to fit handy so that you can get just the size you’re looking for.

Using lightweight yarn means that even after felting this hat will still be lightweight and have a bit of flexibility, which is why the brim can still be folded and adjusted once the felting is done. It’s worked in the round from the bottom up and you can also adjust the pre-felting length if you like.

It also has a little bit of I-cord at the top, which adds a bit of cuteness.

Head to the project page on Ravelry to see different sizes of hats worn on the same head so you can decide how you would like to knit it for yourself. It also gives a lot of suggestions for yarn you can use (it needs to be animal fiber and not superwaash, of course) and recommends felting by hand.

You can get the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Kiyomi Burgin]

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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