I’ve been designing again this week! I love coming up with new ideas for knitted goodies – my notebooks are full of sketches of hats, scarves, headbands, wrist warmers… lots of knitted accessories, basically! The real task of designing, of course, comes when translating those sketches into knitting patterns. I aim to keep the patterns as straightforward as possible yet making sure that the end result is a stylish and individual piece of knitwear.
There is something very satisfying about bringing a sketch to life through carefully counting cast-on stitches, picking a pretty stitch pattern and working out any necessary shaping. After I am happy with the pattern on paper, the next step is to create a test piece to check my numbers! Patience is definitely required at this stage as the new design gradually grows on the needles. At the moment, I am testing a beanie hat pattern using lovely Rowan calmer – a very soft and stretchy cotton and polyester blend.
The hat is knitting up a treat on my bamboo needles. If you follow my blog, you will know that these 5mm bamboo needles are a recent purchase, together with the pair of 4mm rosewood ones I used for the ribbed section. I am so pleased that I have managed to find a project which requires use of both new needle sets – as you can see, I used the rosewood needles for the ribbed section and swapped over to the bamboo ones for the main body of the hat. So yes, I am still in love with my new bamboo and rosewood needles!
I am really looking forward to trying this hat out when it is finished – the yarn feels so gentle against the skin! This pattern – and the Rowan calmer in particular – will create a lovely Spring-time or Autumn beanie to keep warm in those April showers or crisp blue sky days when the wind-chill still manages to creep in. Spring is so late for us in the west of Scotland this year – even though it is now May, I’m sure I will find use for this lovely bright beanie before summer arrives! Better hurry up and finish though, as I am hoping the summer sun appears soon!
Mrs D xx
by Mrs D 