Hats, hats, hats

The problem with knitting adult jumpers is that they take too long. The VERY BIG GREY JUMPER was knitted over at least two years.

In between I knitted at least half-a-dozen jumpers for babies and toddlers. But I am selfish. I want something for myself. That I can finish quickly. That is not a scarf.

That is why my house is now covered in hats.

I initiallyused a pattern out of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Knitting. It is very simple and satisfying and great if you want to make a 12-ply yarn tea cosy.

It was relatively simple to adapt the pattern for a stocking stitch hat, but my hat knitting has really taken off now that I've learned to knit in the round. After the first few rows it is great to mindlessly knit the same stitch over and over again.

I then discovered the self-patterning 6-ply Opal sock yarn which means I can mindlessly knit a hat that LOOKS as though it is really complicated but isn't. The hat on the left was knitted using the roll-brim family hat pattern in the Spring edition of Southern Cross Knitting. I made the beanie followng the same pattern but knitting 30 rows of knit 2 purl 2 initially. As the yarn is thinner and knitted on smaller needles, I simply chose a larger size to get a finished product that fitted me.