We’re on holiday at my parents’ house this week, in all senses of the word. No cooking, no laundry, extra sleep. Extra time to play with the Bean. Extra time to crochet. And, in theory, I’m supposed to be taking a digital holiday too, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to share this:
A beanie for the Bean.
A soft yet chunky, boyish yet beautiful beanie. I’m so pleased with how it turned out, despite the monumental fudge that went into completing the ribbed brim (need to practice that one). Best of all, I learned a new stitch and some very neat tricks along the way, such as how to do a Chainless Starting Double Crochet (Treble in UK terms) and the Standing Double Crochet (UK: Treble). How I wish I'd known about these before I started all those squares...
The pattern is by Tamara Kelly and you can get it for free from her rather awe-inspiring blog, Moogly. Though there are lots of patterns for crochet hats to be found on ‘t Interweb, what I liked in particular about this one is that it’s not “novelty”. It’s stylish enough that you could make it for an older child or even an adult and indeed, the pattern comes in a range of sizes.
I made the “toddler” size and it’s perfect for the Bean: big enough to leave a little room for growth, but not so big it’ll end up over his eyes. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, with links to further tutorials included in case there are any stitches or techniques you’re not familiar with. I just made two changes to Tamara’s pattern: I used two colours instead of three, and to make the brim I switched from a 6 mm hook to a 3.5 mm one, to make it a little more snug and neat.
A soft yet chunky, boyish yet beautiful beanie. I’m so pleased with how it turned out, despite the monumental fudge that went into completing the ribbed brim (need to practice that one). Best of all, I learned a new stitch and some very neat tricks along the way, such as how to do a Chainless Starting Double Crochet (Treble in UK terms) and the Standing Double Crochet (UK: Treble). How I wish I'd known about these before I started all those squares...
The pattern is by Tamara Kelly and you can get it for free from her rather awe-inspiring blog, Moogly. Though there are lots of patterns for crochet hats to be found on ‘t Interweb, what I liked in particular about this one is that it’s not “novelty”. It’s stylish enough that you could make it for an older child or even an adult and indeed, the pattern comes in a range of sizes.
I made the “toddler” size and it’s perfect for the Bean: big enough to leave a little room for growth, but not so big it’ll end up over his eyes. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, with links to further tutorials included in case there are any stitches or techniques you’re not familiar with. I just made two changes to Tamara’s pattern: I used two colours instead of three, and to make the brim I switched from a 6 mm hook to a 3.5 mm one, to make it a little more snug and neat.
The yarn I used is truly beautiful: a mixture of wool, microfibre and cashgora in dark grey and dusky blue - exactly the right kind of non-babyish colours for a toddler. I may in fact be a little more attached to this yarn than is strictly healthy, because it’s by a brand that also calls Milan home: Lanar. I last visited their store when I was pregnant with the Bean, on the very first day of my maternity leave. It is, let me tell you, the most amazing place to while away a few very hormonal pre-baby hours (although my yarn stock is now sufficiently depleted that I may need to eke out at least one post-baby hour to go again soon!).
image credit: Emporio Lanar
So there may be some more gorgeously soft beanies in the pipeline. Though first I need to persuade the owner of this particular one to wear his! Perhaps it's all down to it not being cold enough yet, and has nothing to do with toddler stubbornness ;-)
