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Submit Your Winter Accessories for a Chance at a Design Contract

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uncommon goods contestHere’s a really fun competition you might be interested in getting in on if you’re a designer. Uncommon Goods, which is a really awesome online/catalog store featuring handmade, sustainable and otherwise really good items, is looking for some new, unique winter accessories to sell this year.

They’re hosting a contest for unique, handmade knit, crocheted, sewn or woven hats, gloves, scarves and mittens, and the winner will receive $500 and a design contract with the company.

Design hopefuls can send up to five different items, or five pictures of one item. You’ll have to provide information about the materials used and the story behind the item, and can include links to sketches, videos and other materials as you like. They want items that are safe and animal-friendly, which means no leather, feathers or pearls (but I did read somewhere that wool is OK).

Entries will be accepted via web form through the end of July, at which time semifinalists will be selected. The Uncommon Goods community will choose the finalists, and the top five projects with the most votes will be considered by a team of judges. The winner will be contacted by Aug. 21, and other finalists may also be offered vendor contracts.

This sounds like a lot of fun and a great way to get thinking about design and the stories behind the things you make and the things you buy. If you want more information check out the official rules (PDF).

I’ve been thinking about entering but I’m not sure I have time right now. If any of you enter I’d love to hear about it!

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Knit a Hat with a Flock of Chickens

It’s well known (among knitters, anyway) that knitters seem to love chickens as a motif and a subject of our knitting projects. The Emotional Support Chicken and all the other chicken knitting patterns are just the beginning of our devotion to farmyard friends. 

For example, there’s Farmer Dennis’ Chicken Hat. This free pattern from Stacy Black is a simple worsted weight beanie sized for adults and decorate with a couple of little rounds of colorwork fences and a flock of chickens strutting around the body of the hat. 

You don’t need a lot of any of the colors for the chickens, their facial features or the fences, so this is a great project for using little leftover bits from other projects. The main color for the body of the hat is less than a skein using the yarn suggested, so you might just have everything you need in your house to start stitching up this hat right away. 

The colorwork is presented as a chart, with a 16 stitch section that repeats around the body of the hat. All the color changes are shown on the chart but I think it would be easier to knit the whole chicken in the chicken color and add the eye, beak and other features using duplicate stitch when the knitting is done. That way you don’t have to carry those yarns around the whole hat for just a few stitches. 

As the name suggests, the original hat was given to a farmer who shared their eggs, but anyone who raises chickens or just has a thing for the fowl is sure to love this cute hat. It wouldn’t be too difficult for someone new to stranded knitting or reading charts to make, either, so if that’s you, give it a try. 

The pattern is available for free on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Stacy Black]

Knitting Patterns for Little Chicks

Tiny Hens to Knit