Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Wind Powered Fiber Mill

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After all the rushing and traveling for the out-of-state baby shower, I finally found time to catch up on my magazine reading. I am a poor traveler and could not focus while in the plane. (Read – not in control of my bus while flying). So, I picked up my copy of [tag]Vogue Knitting[/tag] [tag]Knit 1[/tag] and started to read the [tag]Green Issue[/tag].

I wonder how many people noticed the sidebar article on Hope Spinnery? From the Home page “Hope Spinnery is a wind-powered fiber processing mill nestled in the hills a few miles inland from the coast of Maine.

Our fiber comes from local farms, we are committed to chemical-free processing methods and use only natural dyes to create our beautiful and striking yarn, knit wear, and other products.“

How unusual, a single 80-foot tower standing atop a hill harnessing enough energy to power all the machinery to produce yarn with sometime additional power available to handle machinery in other parts of the building!

The article mentions that the yarn mill provides hope for the future of viable alternative energies. The owner started as a school teacher and now is into fiber arts. The mill started processing raw fibers, but also now manufactures its own yarn.

In keeping with ecology in mind the business is run with the same ethics that are applied to the owners life. Earth friendly soap is used for scouring, natural dyes (Indigo, Madder, Cochineal, Osage Orange, Native Flowers, etc.) for dying yarns and there is Low-Waste — the by-products of the processing is used for other purposes.

Hope yarn can be purchased at a few yarn shops in Maine, as well as from [tag]Hope Spinnery[/tag].

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Textured Hat Knitting Patterns

There are all sorts of knitting techniques you can use on hats, but some of my favorites are textured stitch patterns or cabled hats worked in a single color. Check out these great textured hat knitting patterns and find your next fall favorite. 

The K?pekapeka hat from The Practice of Fibre was the one that got me started thinking about textured hat knitting patterns. This one has a simple zig-zag pattern worked with purls. This hat uses centered double decreases for shaping to help keep the pattern going as you finish the top of the hat. It uses worked weight yarn. 

Little Totz Designs has this simple knit hat that uses worsted weight yarn and an allover knit-purl stitch pattern that’s easy to memorize. This one would be a great first hat in the round pattern if that’s something you haven’t tried before. 

The Fia Beanie from Honey and Grace Fiber Co is another simple stitch pattern that’s full of texture. It calls for bulky yarn so it should stitch up in no time in this great textured diamond design. 

Kalurah Hudson’s Cindersmoke hat is an interesting stitch design that uses double moss stitch and bands of slipped stitches throughout the pattern, which is where the decreases are worked, keeping the rest of the pattern as established. It uses bulky yarn and is sized for adults, and you can find it on Ravelry.

Benjamin Matthews has such pretty designs that often turn out to be simpler to knit than they look. The Snow Carved Beanie (find it on Ravelry) for example only uses knits, purls and slipped stitches, but it has a design that looks almost like cables. The pattern uses worsted weight yarn and has a foldover brim for extra warmth. 

While I wanted to keep the focus in this roundup on simple stitch patterns, basic cables are not that much more difficult than regular knitting, and the lattice pattern on this CrissCross Hat form the Purling Princess is so charming I couldn’t resist sharing. This hat comes in three sizes (baby, child and adult) and uses worsted weight yarn. It would be a great gift to knit if you’re thinking about that.