Happy Thursday! Last year for Christmas I decided to give some knitted gifts. I had the idea in May to knit my immediate family hats for Christmas. Did I start them in May? Nope, I started knitting in October. I ended up knitting four hats!
To gift all of the hats, I decided to make Lined Drawstring Bags. It was fun to pick out fabrics that fit the person, and some of them sort of matched the the hat. The everything (tutorial) size fit them perfectly. I enjoyed knitting these hats, and I look forward to more gift knitting!
For my Mom's hat I was extra sneaky. When she came to visit last Summer we looked through my yarn stash and I paid close attention to what she liked. She particularly liked a skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label in Chris Grey. So for her, I knit an Earl Grey hat by Clare Devine. It was my first time knitting cables, which was really fun! I ditched the cable needle after about two rows and much prefer knitting without one. This video was really helpful.
For my Brother's hat, I wanted something that had good texture, but wasn't too ornate. I ended up knitting the Kennecott hat by Caitlin Hunter using some Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Dr. Zhivago's Sky. It was an interesting knit. It had twisted stitches and a nice squishy texture.
For my Dad's hat, I wanted to stick with something pretty utilitarian. I knit the simple Bankhead hat by Susie Gourlay. It has a nice twisted rib brim, which I love the look of. I knew if it was a little big it could easily be cuffed too. It's hard to knit a hat for someone without knowing their head size!
Finally I knit a hat for Michael's Mom. I actually completed a Roobios hat by Clare Devine for her, but ripped it out because it was way too big. I ended up settling on the Kakano hat by Francoise Danoy. I used Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in Begonia Leaf for her hat. It's hard to capture the color in photos, it's a pretty dusty purple.
Happy Making!
Beautiful gifts! The hats are awesome on their own, but paired with those lovely bags? Perfection!
ReplyDeleteI love the lined bags I have those on my list of things to make.
ReplyDeleteI am so doing this next year. Glad to get an early inspiration.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME gifts!! Your lucky recipients must surely have been pleased.
ReplyDeleteThat's so nice! But why don't you know how big your dad's head is?
ReplyDeleteI didn't want to ask him to measure his head and ruin the surprise. Most hat patterns are sized based on head circumference!
DeleteI got my giant head from my dad, so I usually go with my head circumference with a little extra room (he often wears 2 or more of my hats when he's camping). Your hats are great!
DeleteBellissima idea abbinare i cappelli al sacchetto!
ReplyDeleteBuona giornata
Carmen
Oh Jeni I love love your draw string bag pattern so much. I have made several of them in different sizes!
ReplyDeleteI adore that matryoshka fabric! What sweet gifts :)
ReplyDeleteYour hats are wonderful. I made my brother one a few years ago for Christmas before we became estranged. I have a matching scarf started. I'll get it finished and gift it to someone. The patterns you chose are perfect for the yarns. I haven't knit cables in years. I often just used a double pointed needle to hold the stitches, if I really needed a cable needle. I usually found that with finer yarn, I needed a cable type needle more. I don't remember ever knitting twisted stitches. I'll have to try that after seeing your projects. I'm working on a potholder that uses "knit in stitch below." I like the pattern and figured a potholder wasn't a killer if I didn't the pattern or hated the stitch. Now I want to make a scarf with the stitch - I love it. Thanks for sharing your beautiful work and introducing me to new stitches and patterns.
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable gift idea! I love that you made the hats, AND the gift bags you presented them in!
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