L & B Yarn Co. | The Spin

Aspen Hat

Although this hat would look extra adorable on the ski slopes, I think it looks pretty cute worn around in an everyday setting, too!  Using size 17 needles and just one skein of  Twinkle Soft & Chunky, this hat can be knit in an afternoon–it contains only about 20 rows of knitting.  Twinkle is one of our favorites for hats, because the super soft virgin wool makes a great against-the-skin yarn.  The pattern can be found in “Big City Knits: 31 Chunky-Chic Designs,” a book of patterns by designer Wenlan Chia.  She did a good job with the name: it looks like something right out of an Aspen boutique!

The chunky brim is created by knitting flat in garter stitch for 10 rows.  After overlapping the brim by a few inches, you get out your double pointed needles and join in the round.  From there, it’s just a matter of 10 decrease rounds before you’re done!  The button on the hat is not functional (so you don’t have to worry about buttonholes); instead, the button serves as a funky accent to top off the look.Accents are a fun way to display your creativity.  If I made more of these hats, I would experiment with maybe adding a couple of different buttons, or maybe even a crocheted flower with a sparkly button in the inside.

This hat would be a good project for beginners who have knitted a basic hat, and want to expand their repertoire.  Not only is it a quick knit, but it would be a good project to learn how to go from knitting flat to knitting in the round if you’ve never done that in the same project.

This is the first post of the New Year, also–we look forward to another great year of fun and fiber at L & B!  Happy 2011 from all of us at the shop!

-Elizabeth