Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The Lumpy Bumpy Handspun Hat

I've finally knit something with some of this yarn I've been spinning. I took my husband's favorite skein so far and decided to knit up a hat for him. He wanted a basic hat that was long enough to fold back up over his ears. I wasn't sure how much yarn it would take, so I decided to start from the top down.

I wasn't sure what needles to use because the yarn was thick and thin. I had a couple pairs of US 6 (4 mm) out from the sweater I recently finished so I decided to start with those. I cast on 8 stitches and divided them between my two circular needles and knit the first row. I worked in a 1x1 rib and made evenly spaced increases every other row until I got something that looked big enough to fit on his head.

Then I just knit in 1x1 rib until there was only enough yarn left for the bind off. I used the whole skein in the hat. I think it could have been longer if I had more yarn and in retrospect the size 6 needles might have been a little small overall. But it works at keeping the top of his head warm and he is at least wearing the hat to walk the dog.

I really do like the lumpy texture of this hat. It is nice and soft. It would have made for a great scarf if there had been enough yarn. I also like the fact that there wasn't any yarn leftover. I'm definitely looking forward to more handspun knits!

17 comments:

Monika said...

It looks great! Lovely colors, and so much more special, since it's handspun!

Bezzie said...

Ooo! I like it!!

gilraen said...

What a fabulous hat! It suits him :)

Deb said...

Awesome - and he's wearing it too!

Anonymous said...

The hat looks really good. And if he wears it at all you have to think of that as a plus. Home spun - handmade --- when do the sheep arrive???

IrishGirlieKnits said...

I love it!! It looks fabulous on him too! Fabulous job!! And smart to have him reap the benefits of the spinning...he won't mind all that fiber around as much, right? :)

Lazuli said...

Awesome hat!! It looks great on your hubby. Isn't it great to knit with one's handspun (and have no random leftovers)?

Jennie said...

The colors are great! What a lucky hubby. :)

The Kelly Green Rogue said...

awesome! It looks great! How nice that he'll wear your handknits :)

Anonymous said...

it really looks amazing! Great job.

turtlegirl76 said...

Awesome! That hat turned out great!

Anonymous said...

I like the hat! Very nice and you spun the yarn yourself:) Good job knitting it top down, I'd have never thought of that.

Ang

mel said...

Yeah! Your own handspun, handknit!! Or, your husband's, but yours ;) It looks great. It was great to see you again last night, I'm so glad you've joined - isn't it a great group?

jackie said...

that looks great! i love how rustic it is--it looks soft and warm on his head. your spinning is going fantastically, man. making me feel tiny urges in that direction in spite of myself.

Batty said...

It looks awesome! So warm and cozy, and on a head, not lumpy at all!

Donna said...

There is nothing like knitting with your own handspun yarn. The hat looks great.

Anonymous said...

That hat looks great on him, but it looks like he's trying to hide the 3rd chin.