Snowflake Hats to Wear in the Snow and Beyond

I may have seen enough snow for a while (after being snowed in for a week), but the snowflake motif is still a classic in knitting. I like snowflake hats enough that I’ve knit one in baby-size; I’m thinking about one for bigger people, too.

If you’d like to add some snowflakes to your next hat project, here are a few ideas for you.

The Snowflake Hat from Carissa Knits is a cute one, with snowflakes along the bottom and alternating colors in the top, which gives an extra layer of warmth inside. It’s also sized for 6 months to large adult, because she knit them for her whol family.

I love the bright colors in the Snowflake Hat from Newton’s Knitting, but of course you could go for a more subdued palette if that’s your style.

Evan Plevinski’s Snowflake Hat was designed for a Fair Isle knitting class, and it would be a great first project for stranded knitting. The snowflake motif covers the whole hat here, which is nice.

The earflap snowflake hat from Twisted Stitch OK was originally worked in cotton, but of course you could use wool or any other fiber if you need a warmer project.

And then there are the Ravelry downloads: I love Ikumi Kayama’s Snowflake Penguin Hat and may just have to steal her charts to make a wee version for my penguin-loving princess; the Snowflake Slouchy Beanie from Siobhan Brown is cute for a casual look; the Chunky Snowflake Hat from Silver Tabby Designs is another earflap warmer; and the Norwegian Fair Isle Snowflake Hat by Tim Doran is a bit more of a challenge but a beauty, for sure.

Next Pattern:

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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