Whew, 2017 was a doozy, wasn’t it? Maybe it’s just me, but I was pretty excited at the prospect of starting anew in 2018. And of course I made a couple resolutions for this year; I’ve decided to keep a bullet journal to help keep me focused on tasks that need to be done, including posting regularly in this blog again.
So, for my first post of the New Year, I want to share an FO from the end of 2017 that I think is my favorite project ever!
This was my first ever stranded knitting project, Hogwarts During the Holidays by Emily Gaynier. It’s a free pattern that includes color charts for every Hogwarts house. Of course I had to have one to show my Ravenclaw pride, but I enjoyed knitting this so much that I almost want to make the other houses just for fun.
For this project, I used Patons Classic Wool Worsted; one 100g skein of each color was enough to finish the hat, add a cute pom-pom on top, and still have a little left over. I also altered the pattern a little. It called for one of those tucked brims, but I added visible ribbing instead. I liked the way it looked and it made the hat a little slouchier, which I thought was cute.
I was so excited to try stranded knitting for the first time in a project. I’ve done little swatches to practice the technique before so I had a little confidence in my ability by the time I started this project. It still came out better than I thought it would! Even the inside of the hat came out nice and neat!
If you are interested in stranded knitting, but aren’t sure where to start, I highly recommend the following videos:
VeryPink Knits Learn to Knit Fair Isle (3 part series)
Positioning the Yarns and Catching Long Floats by Knit Purl Hunter
I watched them when I was first dabbling in colorwork and again when I started to do this project. They really helped me wrap my head around what I was supposed to be doing.
I already have another couple projects lined up so I’ll be back soon with those!
Thanks for reading and happy new year! ā¤
Wow! Awesome job! I should watch those videos to get help with my stranded knitting.
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Good job! I really enjoy doing stranded knitting. According to Pottermore, I’m a Hufflepuff. š
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That’s awesome! I’ll have to make this hat!
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Those videos are great, thanks for sharing!
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Thanks! ā¤
And yes! They helped me so much when I was working on this. Hopefully they'll be useful to you too. š
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Thanks! Stranded knitting is weirdly addicting, isn’t it? Ever since I finished this project, I’ve been itching to do another project with colorwork like this.
The pattern had a Hufflepuff chart ready to go, just sayin’. š
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It’s brilliant!! I really want to try some colourwork, but I’ve not worked up the courage yet. Maybe I’ll have a look at those videos and we’ll see!
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It really is so much fun once you get started. I recommend working a couple two-color swatches to give yourself some practice before trying a whole project. That’s what I did, and it really helped me build the confidence I needed to attempt this project. I hope those videos will be useful to you too. š
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Oh my gosh Rachel, the hat is gorgeous. Iām up here skiing at Vail and they sell hats like that for$60!
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Oh wow! I didn’t know they sold for so high!
Hope you’re enjoying your vacation! š
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great job! i love the grey and blue.
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Thanks! š
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Beautiful! I love the look of knitted items. I plan to learn.
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Thanks! I learned knitting after crochet as well. It’s not much more difficult than crochet, just different. Good luck! š
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Thanks!
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