Hats - Red Cloche and Brown Beanie

Finally, here are the latest hats. :-)


Red Cloche

This is a deep dark red merino wool cloche hat - all my own design. The wool is a very soft 100% merino Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran yarn. It's warm and cosy and will keep your head warm all through the winter (even if we should have snow!). It can be hand washed, however, remove the ribbon first.


The top is crocheted in a spiral.


The brim is split and longer on one side than the other. It can be worn with the split at the front, either side or at the back. All versions look different and make this a very versatile hat.


I made loops to thread the organza ribbon through. It allows the hat (a medium size) to be adjusted.


Here's another view of the hat from a different angle.



Here's the felted flower in detail. It was needle felted in 2 different reds and black and it's a brooch so can be taken off. The hat looks just as good with just the ribbon.


Beanie Hat

This is my new style beanie hat. I saw lots of beanies with wider ribs and really liked the pattern BUT I didn't like the edge as they seem to get very raggedy with the wider ribs so I added a rolled up brim to the hat, which I think finishes it off nicely.


The beanie has been knit from the same Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran yarn as the red cloche. Below you can see the lovely quality of the wool. The colour is not as light as the picture below, but rather like the picture above. To get the detail I had to use a flash which 'distorts' the colour.




The red cloche will go into my Etsy shop, the other was a private commission. However, I am happy to make more of the beanie (or cloche) hats. I have several other colours available and can always get more. If you have a particular colour in mind, just contact me and I'll see if I can get it.

The cloche hat will be for sale at £25, the beanie for £14 (plus P&P).

Sea Foam Hat

For some reason I felt like making hats recently. According to Caroline I have a right little cottage industry going on. :-)

I've so far made 2 beanies and 2 cloche hats. This is the 2nd of the cloche hats. I am not quite happy with the first one yet, so it still needs a little work before I show it here. However, this one (all my own design) turned out well.

I've used the most gorgeous wool blend in sea foam colours. There's everything from a pale mint green to a teal to a leaf green to a sky blue to a dark British racing green in there:




The top of the hat has been crocheted and the brim has been knitted. I prefer it this way as the knitting adds a different texture, but also helps the brim to curl up nicely.


I've added a needle felted flower brooch for interest:



The flower is attached with a teeny round brooch back to the hat which makes it more versatile than it being sewn onto the hat permanently, and it also allows the hat to be washed:



This hat is a present, but I will make more which will go into my Etsy shop or you can order your own custom hat here. Just drop me an e-mail with your requirements and I am sure we can sort something out.

Yarn Addicts Anonymous

Caroline and I have been joking about the amounts of yarn we've bought recently and the number of projects we're working on at the same time. I have no idea how she manages to do all hers!

I am working on a shawl in green chenille at the moment, which will (when it's finished) include some Edwardian fringing (I found a lovely vintage pattern for this) and also some needle felted flowers. This will go in my shop.

I am also still trying to teach myself the magic loop method so I can make myself some wrist warmers in a beautiful teal bamboo with a pattern I bought on Etsy. Once I've got the hang of it I will make them in other colours and yarns too.

My latest finished project is a lovely knitted beanie. No photos yet, but soon, promise. It's really cute in brown with thin stripes in a mid grey, dark grey and dark chocolate brown. There will be others when I get round to it and they'll go in my shop. I just bought some more of the yarn I made the first one with. Ben decided he needs one too. :-)

I am also still working on my needle felted Zombie Fairy Cat, however, I have a design problem which I still need to solve. :(

The other project I am still working on is the Snowhite necklace. Part of it is finished but, again, I hit a design problem, although I think I've solved this. :)

I found several more yarns on the net I just had to have, so there'll be more knitting and crochet projects coming, e.g. more shawls, hats (beanie and cloche), wrist warmers and capelets and possibly necklets. Watch this space.

Now I am off to look at Caroline's blog to take a closer look at her new projects. ;)

My Lovely New Hat!!!

My gorgeous new hat finally arrived a couple of days ago. Another Etsy find. :-) Etsy is going to be my downfall... so many gorgeous things, so little time!!! ;-)

Presenting,

The Sweetheart Hat

It is absolutely gorgeous and can be worn lots of different ways - check out Terry Graziano's Etsy shop, she makes the most gorgeous, versatile hats. She also has a website and a blog, if you're interested in finding out more. The hat is made of sturdy denim with silky satin bows (one on the outside and one on the inside that allow adjustments to the hat) and a gorgeous silk lining in a delicious fuchsia pink.


The other hat I really, really liked was this one, called Maven... oh, and all the others!!!


The Sweetheart hat is the 2nd hat I bought on Etsy - I have real trouble finding hats 'off the shelf' as I have a small head and most hats are too big for me. The real clincher is that I love hats! Especially cloches.

The nice thing about buying things on Etsy is that you buy from the people who make the stuff you buy, which is far more fun than buying it from some high street shop and I found all sellers friendly and helpful. And it's so nice to have something that's been made just for you, especially if you have particular requirements...

The first hat I bought was from Boring Sidney - check her Etsy shop for pictures. Below you can see her Waves and Pretty in Pink hats. I bought the Black Velour Bow Cloche.



There is also a UK seller on Etsy who sells lovely little 'hatlings' - Kankalin Hats. If you have a good idea why I would need a hatling, please tell me, I am desperate for an excuse to buy one as they are sooooooo gorgeous. My favourite is the Shy violet project - flesh flower.



Enough about hats. Will post some jewellery soon, promise... Just have to get my head round finishing some of the on-going projects, but this horrible, rotten cold is making things very difficult...

Images copyright Terry Graziano, Boring Sidney and Kankalin Hats - used with permission.