Ici Paris Beret – KAL starting 1st December 2011

Today, the European Fiber Network (EFN) released my latest pattern, the Ici Paris Beret.

The pattern is available in both English and French!

They are organising a KAL for it starting tomorrow, 1st December. Here is the description from the pattern page:

Our December designer was inspired by her native home of Paris. And what could better call to mind this most romantic of European capitals than a beret!

In winter the Parisian sky is almost always grey, captured eloquently by the soft shades in this stunning yarn.
The iconic symbol of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, is reflected in the pattern of the whimsical lace.

Clever crown decreases are beautifully incorporated into the lace. The X’s and O’s circling the cabled brim are a nod to Corinne’s partner and the English custom of signing love letters with symbols for hugs and kisses.

This traditional, yet whimsical hat, even ties in to Corinne’s current home, Germany, by using the country’s most famous sock yarn, Wollmeise.

Come with us on a jaunt to Paris, and knit the Ici Paris Beret as a sentimental holiday gift or to stuff your own stocking!

Now, here are the essentials about the pattern:

Difficulty
Intermediate

Yarn
About 185 (280) m / 200 (310) yards of sock yarn
Shown in Wollmeise Sockenwolle 80/20 Twin, colourway Feldmäuschen

Notions
Needles: 2.5mm/US1 1/2 size circular needle or dpns, or size needles needed to obtain gauge
Accessories: stitch marker, darning needle, cable needle

Necessary Skills
Provisional cast on, simple cable, knitting in the rd, Kitchener st, picking up sts, k2tog, sl sts, yo, kfb

Gauge
28 sts x 46 rows / 10 cm – 4″ in “Eiffel Tower” stitch (mostly reverse stocking st)

Sizes
Women S/M (M/L): Brim circ: 46-58 (52-63) cm / 18-23 (20-24 1/2) inches
Crown to brim height: Beret 19 cm / 11 inches, Slouchy 23 cm / 9 inches

Cost: EUR 3.00

Buy from Ravelry:

Grow With Me Beanie

This hat was born out of necessity. I needed to knit woolly hats for my two boys and had a huge stash of sock yarn (I always do). I wanted the knitting to be fast and the hat to be warm so I decided to use two threads of sock yarn.

Also, I decided to make a hat that would last more than one season, hence the beanie. It fits a wide range of head sizes, from toddlers to teenagers (and even adults with small to medium head size). I have tried it on an 18-month old and it fits my small-ish woman head.

The length is simply adjusted by turning the brim, which provides extra warmth on the ears. It is perfect as a basic winter hat for children for every day use thanks to its simplicity and the hardwearing qualities of sock yarn.

Basically, this hat should fit any child, perfect if you want to knit for a child but are unsure of his/her head size.

Difficulty
Easy

Yarn
About 200 m / 220 yards total of 4-ply sock yarn
2 threads are used for this design so, if you use 2 different yarns, you will need 100 m / 110 yard from each

Notions
Needles: 5.0mm/US8 circular needle or DPNs or size needles needed to obtain gauge
Accessories: 4 stitch markers, Darning needle

Necessary Skills
Knitting in the round, SSK, K2tog

Gauge
19 sts x 30 rows / 10 cm – 4” in stocking stitch

Size
1 size should fit any child

Pattern Cost: $3.00

Check out the other projects on Ravelry:

Getting Ready for the Beach

In just under 2 weeks I will be on the beach! 😀

Of course, that means that I needed to knit myself a sun hat, to protect my head and face from the sun on the beach. I used the Witterings pattern from Anna Bell as a base and modified it quite a bit to suit my needs. I made a much shorter brim but I still have some issues with floppiness, if anyone has a suggestion to solve this problem, please let me know!

Here are some pictures modeled by my almost 6-year old, Connor

Spaceman Nicolino Pattern Now Free

My Spaceman Nicolino Hat pattern is now available for free.

Pattern can be downloaded here.

If you haven’t seen it before, here are a few pictures, click the link above for more information.

A Quick Hat

A few days ago I knit a Petra Hat. It was a very quick knit, it only took a few hours. The yarn is a felting yarn that I originally bought for something else, Filzwolle color by Rellana.

A Girly Baby Set

I just finished knitting a baby set for the upcoming birth of a friend’s baby girl. I was originally going to knit the Baby Surprise Jacket only, but I had quite a bit of leftover yarn. So, I first knit a pair of Becky’s Baby Booties. I still had quite a bit left and knit a Brick Hat with it. I had to play around with the colour arrangement as I didn’t have enough of the natural colour left.

Here are some pictures, the jacket is still missing buttons, I ordered some super cute buttons, but they have not arrived yet. The hat is too big on the doll model though…

Another Spaceman Nicolino for Nicolas

Last year, I gave the prototype I knit for my Spaceman Nicolino to Nicolas, who gave his name to this pattern. He was a newborn then. His mum liked it so much that she asked if I could knit him one for this winter as the first one is way too small now. So, here it is, modeled by my 6-year old (hopefully it won’t be too big for Nicolas).

Eastbourne – A Summer Hat

Eastbourne is a slouchy, airy summer hat, ideal to protect your head in the sun, while letting some air through. I designed it for me, to have a hat to wear on the beach during my holidays in Eastbourne (UK), hence the name.

Difficulty
Intermediate

Yarn
125(145)m/137(158)yards of 10-ply cotton yarn (aran or worsted)

Notions

Needles
4.0mm/US6 circular needle or DPNs or size needle needed to obtain gauge

Accessories
5 stitch markers
1 darning needle

Necessary Skills
Knitting in the round, Kfb, slipped stitches

Gauge
16 sts x 24 rows / 10 cm – 4” in 1×1 ribbing (in the rd)

Sizes
Women S/M (50-56cm/19.7-22”) – L (58-65cm/22.8-25.5”)
Size S/M will fit most women

Pattern costs: $3.00

You can see other versions on Ravelry here:

Meet “Eastbourne”, my New Hat

The pattern is being tested, I will publish it on Friday, so only 3 days to wait. It’s now ready for me to take on the beach in Eastbourne, hence the name!

Summer Hat Finished, Blocking and Being Tested

I just finished my summer hat, wrote the pattern and started recruiting testers. It is now blocking and I can’t wait to publish it! It should be up in about 4 days…

Here it is, blocking

Working on a Summer Hat Pattern

This one will be for me, we are off on holidays by the sea on Saturday and I need a hat to protect my head from the sun on the beach.

It is made with 100% cotton yarn, I’m using Schoeller+Stahl Record 210, I love this blue-green mix!

It is still in progress, I’m about to get started on the crown decreases.

Here’s a little preview…

Finished a Birth Present Set

And, to keep working on my crochet skill, I crocheted it all, in Bernat Baby Jacquards, “I’m a Big Boy” colourway.

I made a hat, a pair of booties, a blanket and a little kitty. All of it going to my friend Lisa for her baby boy who should be born in about two weeks.

A Quick In-Between Project

Yesterday, I made a little cap in crochet as a test for the designer, it’s a really quick project, it took me about 2 1/2 hours to make. The pattern can be found here. I made it in a 100% cotton yarn.

Here it is, modeled by my 4-year old – he enjoyed the photo shoot 😉

A Photo Shoot for Spring Has Sprung Hat

Today, I finally had a decent photo shoot for this pattern. Thanks to two lovely children, Marta and Kelvin, who played along and let me take lots of pictures of them wearing the hats.

Here are our best shots, aren’t they cute?!

Pattern can be found here and costs EUR 2.50

Pictures of Loki Baby Set

It’s now blocked and, here is what it looks like:

I’m working on the sizing and will write the pattern shortly.

Spring Has Sprung Pattern is Available

I wrote this pattern especially with bamboo yarn in mind. I wanted to design a spring hat with a girl and a boy version and bamboo yarn makes me think of spring. It has a lovely shine to it that reminds me of sunny spring days.

The body of the hat is identical in both versions. The girl version includes a little bracelet, just for fun!

Note: this pattern is for both boy and girl versions

Pattern costs $3.75

Necessary skills
Knitting in the round, Kfb, picking up stitches, Kitchener stitch

Pattern in 2 children sizes:
Small: 2-4 years – Circ 38-48 cm (15-19”)
Large: 5+ years – Circ 42-56 cm (16½ -22”)

More details on the pattern are available on Ravelry:

Introducing Loki Baby Set

I have finished the hat to match my baby vest and decided that that would be it for the set: a vest and a hat. I am naming it Loki, after one of my friend’s baby boy born last September.

Here are the first pictures, it still needs blocking, but it should give you a good idea. I now need to work on sizing and pattern writing before getting it tested.

This version is size 3 months

Hat to Match the Vest

A little preview, still in progress…

Spring Beanie Pattern Soon to be Published

My testers are hard at work and, thanks to them, I should be able to publish the pattern very soon, I’m hoping before the week-end. Here are some of their versions, the boy version is not finished yet:

And we Have a Hat

The baby set’s hat is just finished, I can now get working on the vest. I decided that the vest would be in a plain colour matching the booties and hat as I think it would be a bit too much to have three pieces in this same yarn.

Here are a few pics, I don’t have a baby at hand for modeling, so this baby does a lot of the modeling around here!