(practically) instant coziness...

My new Wavicle Hat and Cowl pattern is live!

(Samples shown in size Small)

Both hat and cowl are written for two sizes, with tips for further customization. Available as a Ravelry download for €3.50 here. 

More information -

Gauge: 
13 sts and 20 rnds = 4”/10cm in St st on US10/6mm needles†, washed and blocked; 13 sts and 19 rnds = 4”/10cm in Wavicle pattern on US11/8mm needles†, washed and blocked

Sizing: 
• Hat - Small (Large): 20”/51cm (23”/58cm) circumference and 8.5”/22cm (9”/23cm) deep 
• Cowl - Small (Large): 20”/51cm (22”/56cm) circumference and 11.5”/29cm tall

Yarn requirements: 
• Hat - About 98yd/90m (114yd/105m) bulky/12ply yarn 
• Cowl - About 115yd/105m (127yd/116m) bulky/12ply yarn

Additional materials: 
• Hat - US11/8mm short circular needles or DPNs†; US10/6mm short circular needles and/or DPNs†; US9/5.5mm short circular needles†; darning needle; 1 stitch marker
• Cowl - US11/8mm short circular needles†; US10/6mm short circular needles†; darning needle; 1 stitch marker 
†Or size needed to obtain gauge

Important notes before you begin: 
These patterns are written for a yarn with plenty of drape. Please be sure to swatch before you begin to get a feel for your finished fabric. If the fabric seems stiff (even if you get gauge), you may wish to go up a needle size, or try a different yarn.

General description: 
A cozy, quick-to-knit hat and cowl set with smart details. The “Wavicle” slip-stitch pattern used in both pieces is dense, warm, and scrunchy.

The cowl is tall and quite close-fitting, and offers substantial neck coverage despite its stylish scrunch. One opening is flared to provide a fit that lays flat against your shoulders and tucks down neatly into a coat or sweater collar.

The Wavicle pattern covers only a quarter of the hat’s circumference, giving the illusion of waving up and over a simple welting pattern. Carefully planned crown decreases integrate seamlessly with the patterning.

(No Ravelry account required for this button...)

Finishing School

About six months after I started "really" knitting, I began working on Melissa Wehrle's Emerald Isle Cardigan*.  It was well after my one year knitaversary and the weather had warmed back up by the time I finished, but I was really proud of myself.  It fit like a glove, the buttons buttoned, and the seams were smooth.  I'd even managed some minor modifications without incident.  It wasn't until the end of the summer rolled around and I started wearing it again that the gaping button band really started to bother me.

The cardigan fits pretty snugly - I knit it with zero ease - but the major contributor to the gaping was the fabric itself.  For the first and only time thus far in my knitting career, I had used the yarn recommended in the pattern.  In this case that meant a 100% alpaca yarn: Classic Elite Inca Marl.  It's incredibly soft and warm, but has very little structure on its own.  The button band couldn't support the weight of the buttons without deforming, and the button holes were getting stretched all out of shape.  I chalked it up to a learning experience, but still wanted to save the sweater - I liked everything else about it so well.

So I decided to adapt a trick I had seen used in some commercial knits, and heard about on the Knitmore Girls podcast - lining the button bands.  The Knitmores' tutorial involves grosgrain ribbon, but being the cheapskate - ahem - resourceful person that I am, I repurposed some fabric from one of the Hubbo's ratty old button down shirts.  After removing the buttons from the cardigan, I cut two strips of fabric just longer and narrower than its button bands.  Then I pinned and hand-sewed (whipstitch, I think?) the backing fabric on, being careful to first get the sweater fronts into their original, unstretched shapes.  Buttons were reattached, this time with backing buttons to support them and thread shanks.  Finally I opened up buttonholes in the backing fabric and stitched around those to secure them.  The whole shebang took a couple of hours - time well spent, if you ask me.

I didn't think to take action shots, or sad before photos for that matter, but here are the results:

A little wrinkly here,
but you get the idea.

Final verdict: this has become my favorite sweater, especially now that it's getting cold here in Germany.  It still has a few alpaca-related issues (pilling, shedding), but nothing that I can't deal with.  If I were to knit it again I would probably use merino or a blend - something still soft enough to wear with a short-sleeve shirt, but with a little more integral oomph.  And I really would consider knitting it again - it's a great pattern.