Tag Archives: hats

Inspired by others

04 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in Knitting, teaching classes

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It is difficult to see why lace
should be so expensive;
it is mostly holes.
[Mary Wilson Little]

Marianne's Lace Hat

Marianne (inset photo) knit this lace picture hat.

Other knitters inspire me to knit, to design knitting patterns, and to teach knitting classes. Some would call that ‘peer pressure.’ I call it ‘great fun.’ Here are examples that make my point.

Marianne contacted me from her home in Tennessee to ask questions about a lace picture hat pattern I’d designed for the book, A gathering of LACE (Swansen, 2000). We spoke on the phone several times while she was knitting the hat, and a knitting friend of hers sent photos to me. I was thrilled that she enjoyed the project so much, and that I could be of help to her. We didn’t know each other before, but I was inspired by her enthusiasm.

Michele took my twisted stitch knitting class a couple of years ago. Last year, she contacted me for help designing a sweater using the same technique. I encouraged her to buy the Schoolhouse Press translation of the classic book Überlieferte Strickmuster (Twisted Stitch Knitting) by Maria Erlbacher. Then we met and I helped her pick patterns and plan her sweater. You can imagine how thrilled I was to see her results. Her attention to detail was impressive—the way she blended the patterns as she decreased the sleeves is a good example. I was inspired by her perseverance well as her thorough grasp of the technique.

Michele Barton's Sweater

Michele designed and knit this breath-taking sweater.

Free Knitting Pattern: Basic Hat

17 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Free Pattern, Knitting

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If a woman rebels against high-heeled shoes,
she should take care to do it in a very smart hat
[George Bernard Shaw]

Our autumn is so sparkling and fresh that I can’t imagine needing a hat, but I know the cold winds will come so I thought I would offer a simple hat pattern. Two of my favorite people agreed to model the two variations. Josh, on the left is wearing the regular watch cap. Rachel is wearing a cloche version. Both take about 220 yards of yarn, are knitted in short-row wedges and joined with a 3-needle bind off. The cloche is joined unevenly allowing a step cuff to be pinned up with a broach.

Select this LINK to download this free printable PDF pattern.

Blocking Hats (and attitude)

23 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Knitting, Ongoing Projects, Thoughts

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Grab your coat, and get your hat,
Leave your worry on the doorstep
Just direct your feet,
To the sunny side of the street.
[Dorothy Fields]

I knit the hats in the photo when I designed the pattern for a lace book a dozen years ago. When the publisher shipped them back to me after the photo shoot, they weren’t in the boxes I provided for their protection. They were all crushed together in a little shipping carton. I was dismayed and chucked them into my store room.

When I was cleaning up after Christmas, I found them, and decided I would try to salvage them. I removed the ribbons and silk flowers, and then I re-blocked them by pinning them out moist on a board and with a hat form. The process worked well. The three in the back of the photo haven’t been re-decorated yet and there is one left to do. It is of white linen and will be decorated for a bride.

An odd thing happened during this process. I was dismayed all over again when I found them but, during the restoration process, I’ve finally moved past being irked. There has got to be a lesson in there somewhere.