Thursday 29 May 2014

My Shwook hat is ready for Wool Week

Here is a fun thing just for myself.

The Wool Week pattern from Jamieson & Smith, designed by Hazel Tindall came out a couple of weeks ago. The idea is to knit one and wear it at Wool Week in October. So I thought I would join in the fun - and maybe knit it now or it would never get done. It will be one for myself, I really like the pattern and the loose, slouchy fit. I can get it over all the hair. The handspun hat I have right now is getting a bit old and in need of a replacement.
  
 My handspun yarn is a bit thicker than J&S jumper weight so I had to think how to get it the right size - without knitting a swatch. Oops, you are always advised to knit a swatch. Anyway, I didnt, but luckily it came out right.
 
Love where the crown sits down the back of the head, shows it off really well. 

I knitted the small size for the number of stitches, and the next size up for the pattern but worked 1 plain row where the pattern said 2 plain rows. That reduced the number of rows sufficiently to get the 2nd peerie pattern in above the rib. With the thicker yarn and a bigger size needle, and thankfully, it knitted to the correct measurement for the size 2 hat and fits great.
 
I didnt change the colours too much. I did need more blue in it though, so a blue rib and the 2nd peerie pattern has a blue grund. Strangely I have less blue in the crown than was asked for in the pattern, but found that I had colours to shade through from the red to the blue.
 

This shows the slouch style of the hat

 
The yarn is all my handspun and from Shetland fleece. There are 2 natural colours - white and grey - with the other colours in natural dyed yarns. The dyes are logwood blue, 3 madder red shades dyed on fawn, mid and dark greys. For the yellow I found 3 colours, 2 yellows and an orange, which worked well together and as I did not have much of each of them (I was in a basket of clews for these), I just used all 3. The yellows are - lichen (dyed in Norway), and onion. The orange is from a mushroom (dyed in the US - we dont have any forest mushrooms in Shetland).
 
 
My hat is now ready for Wool Week and the winter. 
 
 
That done it is back to work - ah, more spinning and knitting. 

4 comments:

  1. Luv it! And all ur own hand spun yarn- I am totally in awe! :)

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  2. Oh I wish I was coming this year so I could see this for real! Lovely lovely hat! Susannah is coming to SWW again, but I really can't afford it :-(
    Thanks for 'friending' me on Ravelry Elizabeth, and I'll keep in touch via t'internet.

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    Replies
    1. Another year, and my hat will still be here. Keep in touch.

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