Have a Heart

 Plain Heart

Using your preferred cast on method, cast on 6 sts.

Row 1: Knit all sts

Row 2: K1, kfb, knit to last 2 sts, Kfb, K1

Repeat these 2 rows until you have increased up to 20 sts, ending after Row 2.

Knit another 2 rows with no increases, then break your yarn and slide your work into the middle of the circular, or the end of the working straight needle.

Repeat the process again to make a 2^nd piece, using the same yarn.

You'll end up with two separate pieces of knitting, which you will then join together, by placing both pieces side by side on your needle and knitting across all 40 stitches.

Row 1-3: Knit all sts

Row 4: K1, K2tog, knit to last 3 sts, K2tog through the back of the loops, K1

Repeat these 4 rows until you are left with 2 sts...

Knit these stitches together, break the yarn then pass the end through the remaining loop.

Intarsia Heart

Using your preferred cast on method and Yarn A, cast on 6 sts.

Row 1: Knit all sts

Row 2: K1, kfb, knit to last 2 sts, Kfb, K1

Repeat these 2 rows until you have increased up to 20sts, ending after Row 2.

Knit another 2 rows with no increases, then move your work into the middle of the circular, or the end of the working straight needle...

***Do Not Break Yarn!!***

Repeat the process again, using a different coloured sock yarn, Yarn B

You'll end up with two separate pieces of knitting, which you will then join together by placing them on your needle side by side.

Make sure your pieces of knitting are in the right order on your needle, with your working yarns at the beginning/same end, as when you reach the middle of the heart/changeover of Yarn A and B, you'll need to wrap Yarn A around Yarn B and continue to the end of the row in Yarn B.

Row 1: Knit 20 sts (i.e. to middle of the row, where the colours change) in Yarn A, wrap Yarn A around Yarn B and continue to the end of the row in Yarn B

Row 2: Knit 20 sts in Yarn B, wrap Yarn B around Yarn A and continue to the end of the row in Yarn A

Repeat these 2 rows once more then continue as follows:

Row 3: In Yarn A, K1, K2tog, knit to 1 st before the colour change and place a stitch marker.

(You will now be making an eyelet with a YO K2tog. You'll also find Yarn B is on the wrong side of the work, so you'll need to slip one stitch from your left needle to your right and move Yarn B to to the back of the work, then slip this stitch back onto the left hand needle. The K2tog also uses one stitch from the Yarn A side, and one stitch from the Yarn B side)

Continue Row 3 as follows:

YO, K2tog, wrap Yarn A around Yarn B and then with Yarn B, knit to last 3 sts, K2tog through the back of the loops, K1

Row 4: In Yarn B, knit to 1 st before the colour change and place a stitch marker.

(You will now be making another eyelet with a YO K2tog. You'll also find Yarn A is on the wrong side of the work, so you'll need to slip one stitch from your left needle to your right and move Yarn A to to the back of the work, then slip this stitch back onto the left hand needle. The K2tog also uses one stitch from the Yarn B side, and one stitch from the Yarn A side)

Continue Row 4 as follows:

YO, K2tog, wrap Yarn B around Yarn A and then work, in Yarn A, to the end of the row

Row 5: Knit to middle of row in Yarn A, slipping (but not moving) the marker, wrap Yarn A around Yarn B and continue to the end of the row in Yarn B

Row 6: Knit to middle of row in Yarn B, slipping (but not moving) the marker, wrap Yarn B around Yarn A and continue to the end of the row in Yarn A

Repeat repeat Rows 3 to 6 a total of 6 times, ending on Row 2, so you have 6 sets of mirrored eyelets.

Continue as follows, carrying on with the Intarsia pattern:

Row 7-9: Knit all sts

Row 10:  K1, K2tog, knit to last 3 sts, K2tog through the back of the loops, K1

Repeat rows 7 to 10 until you are left with 2 Sts...

Knit these stitches together, break the yarn then pass the end through the remaining loop.

Sew in your ends and then gently steam block your Heart.

Lace your ribbon through the eyelets and tie in a bow.

Special thanks go to my friend WoollyWormhead, for helping me to get this pattern out of my head, and onto paper in a legible way.

"Hayley"

I designed this pattern specifically for use with handspun yarns, to show off the depth of colour you get with them, especially if you make a 3 ply. I thought a multi-textured fabric would be perfect for the yarn I spun for this hat, and as I wrote the pattern whilst sitting on my favourite Cornish beach, waves and the seaside figured heavily in the inspiration. You can also use any gauge of yarn, because as long as you knit a gauge swatch to find how many stitches you get per inch, and measure your head correctly…..you can’t go wrong with the fit!!! So, it translates perfectly into mill spun too, should you not be a spinner.

The yarn for this pattern was written specifically for the 4! Oz! Challenge! 2010, using hand dyed fibres from Hello Yarn, Spunky Eclectic and Southern Cross Fibre. It is worsted spun, to a DK/Worsted weight, and it self-stripes, which compliments the construction of the Hat perfectly.

Materials & Tools needed:

Approx 60-100g of handspun yarn/Millspun yarn (DK, Worsted or Aran weights are best)
A needle size up for the weight of yarn (1 x 40cm circular and a set of DPNs for the crown decreases, or alternatively, just one set of DPNs…your choice!!!)
3 Stitch markers: 1 to mark the beginning of your round, and 2 different ones to mark the sides of the hat, where you insert your short rows and do your crown decreases.
A tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Once you have worked out your stitch gauge, you need to cast on the nearest multiple of 4 stitches to the amount of stitches you need (this multiple of 4 also needs to be an even number when halved), allowing maybe a couple of inches for the knitting to stretch. For example, if you have a 22inch head circumference, you’ll need to cast on for 20 inches… say you can attain 5 stitches per inch with your yarn, you must multiply this by 20 = 100 stitches, so cast on 96 (as 96 gives an even number when halved), and the hat will fit!!!

Right, you are ready to start knitting!!!

Use a nice, stretchy cast on. I usually use the long tail cast on, and cast it on with a straight needle a couple of sizes up from the one you are actually going to knit the hat with. I then knit these stitches off the straight needle, (knitting the long tail and the working yarn alternately so you get a nice edge) onto my correct sized circular. This is always my preferred method for casting on bottom up hats. But, if you have your own preferred way too, just use that. Don’t forget to place a stitch marker when you join the knitting in the round, and be careful not to let your knitting become twisted.

Work 2 inches of K2, P2 rib, placing the two other stitch markers equally at the sides of the hat. So, divide your total stitches in half, and place markers where your ears would be, with the beginning of the round in between the two…savvy?

I designed this pattern repeat for texture, to show off the yarn and the colours, but I also wanted the front of the hat to be longer than the back. When I put on a hat, I have usually well disguised the beginning/end of the first round; I search for ages to find the “back”. Designing a hat with a recognizable front and back was one of my aims.

Then you begin the pattern repeat, which is worked over 7 rows, thus….

Row 1, 2 and 3: Work in Reverse stocking stitch (purling)

*On your first repeat, decrease one stitch at the end of the third row. This gives you an odd number of stitches for the moss stitch rows*

Row 4, 5 and 6: Work in Moss stitch (K1, P1 as if to rib, but the rib is uneven because of the odd number of stitches)
Row 7: Knit to 1 stitch beyond the 2^nd side marker, wrap the next stitch and turn your work, purling to 1 stitch beyond the 1^st side maker and turn your work again. Knit to the end of the row, picking up the wrapped stitch beyond the second side marker as you go.

*On the first row of the next repeat, you can either leave the wrap without picking it up, or pick up the wrap and purl it with the stitch. I have tried both, and there isn’t that much difference*

Continue with this pattern until the hat reaches 6 ½ inches long, or to whatever is your desired length and also make sure you are about to start to row 1 of the pattern repeat.

This is when you’ll want to transfer your knitting to the DPNs (if you’ve been knitting on a circular) as the decreases can get a bit tight towards the end.

Start decreasing for the crown…you will decrease 4 stitches every round for 7 rows (28 in total)

Row 1, 2 and 3: Work in reverse stocking stitch up to two stitches before the first side marker, P2 together, slip marker, P2 together. Work in pattern up to two stitches before the second side marker, P2 together, slip marker, P2 together, and continue in pattern to end of round.

Row 4, 5 and 6: Work in moss stitch up to two stitches before the first side marker, P2 together, slip marker, P2 together. Work in pattern up to two stitches before the second side marker, P2 together, slip marker, P2 together, and continue in pattern to end of round.

*The Moss stitch decreases will not be perfect…but as you are only doing 3 rows, and they are at the sides, they are virtually unnoticeable to anyone*

Row 7: Knit up to two stitches before the first side marker, P2 together, slip marker, P2 together. Work in pattern up to two stitches before the second side marker, P2 together, slip marker, P2 together, and continue in pattern to end of round.

Then, knit again to first side marker and cut yarn.

Do a crochet cast off from the second side marker, and then when you reach the end, you can use the cut yarn to weave in the remaining stitch. Or alternatively, you can graft the top closed from the first side marker, it is really up to you. No blocking is necessary, just don your hat and be proud!!!!

You are free to make hats from this design for charity, but if you want to make them for resale, please contact me to ask if it okay.

Copyright © Sarah Hughes 2010

Cable Twist Handspun Beanie Pattern

Cable Twist Handspun Beanie

I designed this pattern specifically for use with handspun yarns, because as long as you knit a gauge swatch to find how many stitches you get per inch, and measure your head correctly…..you can’t go wrong with the fit!!!

Materials & Tools needed:

Approx 60-100g of handspun yarn
Correct needles for the weight of yarn (1 circular and a set of DPNs for the crown decreases, or alternatively, just one set of DPNs…your choice!!!)
Stitch marker, to mark the beginning of your round
A tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Once you have worked out your stitch gauge, you need to cast on the nearest multiple of 8 stitches to the amount of stitches you need, allowing maybe a couple of inches for the knitting to stretch. For example, if you have a 22inch head circumference, you’ll need to cast on for 20 inches… say you can attain 5 stitches per inch with your yarn, you must multiply this by 20 = 100 stitches, so cast on 96, and the hat will fit!!! 96 stitches will give you 12 pattern repeats.

Right, you are ready to start knitting!!!

Use a nice, stretchy cast on. I usually use the long tail cast on, and cast it on with a straight needle a couple of sizes up from the one you are actually going to knit the hat with… I then knit these stitches off the straight needle, onto my correct sized circular.

The cable twist pattern is worked over 8 stitches, 5 knit stitches and 3 purl stitches, thus….

Row 1: *left twist, Knit 3, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 2: *Knit 5, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 3: *Knit 1, left twist, Knit 2, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 4: *Knit 5, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 5: *Knit 2, left twist, Knit 1, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 6: *Knit 5, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 7: *Knit 3, left twist, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 8: *Knit 5, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round

The left twist stitch is worked thus…
Put your right hand needle into the second stitch on your left hand needle through the back of the loop, and knit it. Without slipping this stitch off the needle, slip the first stitch purlwise onto your right hand needle, and let the second stitch slip off too.

Continue with this pattern until the hat reaches 6 ½ inches long, or to whatever is your desired length and also make sure you have come to row 8 of the pattern repeat…
This is when you’ll want to transfer your knitting to the DPNs, if you’ve been knitting on a circular)

Start decreasing for the crown…

Row 1: *Knit 2 tog TBL, Knit 3, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 2: *Knit 4, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 3: *Knit 2 tog TBL, Knit 2, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 4: *Knit 3, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 5: *Knit 2 tog TBL, Knit 1, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 6: *Knit 2, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 7: *Knit 2 tog TBL, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round
Row 8: *Knit 1, Purl 3, repeat from * to end of round

From now on, you’ll be missing out the even numbered non- decreasing row, and decreasing for every row until you have 4 stitches left…

Row 9: *Knit 2 tog TBL, Purl 2, repeat from * to end of round
Row 10: *Knit 2 tog TBL, Purl 1, repeat from * to end of round
Row 11: *Knit 2 tog TBL, repeat from * to end of round

…keep repeating the Knit 2 together TBL until you have 4 stitches left on your needles, then cut your yarn, thread the needle onto it, and run this through your remaining crown stitches. Weave in all your ends, and voila…..you have a new hat!!!

Enjoy!!!