Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Stitch Up Some Bold Texture with the Hilly Hat

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I am a huge fan of Malabrigo Rasta yarn. It’s such a big, bulky, colorful yarn that it’s just about unmistakable.

I say just about because I’m not 100 percent sure that’s what yarn was used on this sample Hilly Hat from New England South Knits, but I’m pretty sure it is. And I’ve got a skein of just that yarn that would be perfect used in just this way.

The lattice cable texture on the hat is a lot of fun, and I even like the faux-fur pom-pom for a contrast in texture.

The pattern is $5 and available on Etsy.

[Photo: New England South Knits.]

Have you read?

Knit Back at AI Patterns with the AIlephant

Lots of craft designers are understandably frustrated about the proliferation of AI “designed” patterns and photos of projects that have no basis in reality. People who don’t know how to tell if a project is AI are often also frustrated when they see a picture for something but there’s no pattern because it’s not real, or they buy a pattern that doesn’t actually explain how to make the thing or ends up looking totally different from the picture. 

Some designers have taken it upon themselves to try to make some of those AI patterns that we see online, often with hilarious results. 

Katherine Foster was inspired by a famous AI elephant to make what she calls “AIlephant,” which is now a free knitting pattern on Ravelry. 

Her prototype uses worsted weight yarn, but you can use whatever yarn you like to make different sizes of elephants. 

The elephant features a cable running down the trunk and a different cable pattern on the back. It’s worked in pieces that are joined and stuffed as you go. It uses German short row shaping on the body and includes written instructions as well as a chart for the cable patterns. 

Reading through the pattern, it sounds a little fiddly, which makes sense because it was designed to look like a pattern that isn’t real. But it’s doable, as evidenced by the handful of projects you can find on Ravelry. The ears on her version aren’t quite as big and round or maybe don’t sit in quite the same place as the AI version (which if you haven’t seen it there’s a photo of that on the projects page, too). But it’s a pretty honest replica of a dishonest photo, and a really cute elephant in its own right. 

If you make this one I would love to hear about it!

You can grab the free pattern on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Katherine Foster]