Tag: ravelry

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Christmas Knitting, Gifts and Free Knitting Patterns

free knitting pattern | Evie's Dream Scarf | faerwear

It’s no secret amongst my friends that I’m also an avid knitter, and there’s nothing like finding good free knitting patterns that endure. I’ve paid for plenty of patterns – I can tell you from personal experience that a LOT of work goes into one, even if it’s just formatting it for standards so you can post it on your own blog.

I had a crazy year though, and my knitting time was basically taken up by designing faerwear (that’s fine too – I love to knit and make jewelry, but knitting is one of those things that i do strictly for gifting and enjoyment as I am slow at it) – but it’s now the holiday season, and so I am knitting like crazy).

This is exciting because it offers the periodic excuse to visit a yarn shop (or Webs, or Jimmy Beans Wool, my two favorites for finding deals on commercially-produced yarns), have soft fluffy things in my hands for hours, watch a lot of period pieces (my favorite for knitting) and also because it means I just get to be creative, without worrying about whether something will sell.

Christmas gifts from me are generally hats, dishcloth sets and cowls – they’re all quick, easy, and always useful 🙂

That being said, I actually have several of my own patterns available, some of which are free and found right here on this website! If you’re on Ravelry, you can peruse all of my patterns together right here.

And yes, I do knit a lot of my own hat patterns as gifts – but I wanted to mention, also, two of my other favorite go-tos: the classic Felicity hat pattern, and Graham from Nutty Irishman Knits – both of these slouchy beanies knit up quickly and easily.

Eventually I will tell my very sweet and romantic story (the one that left me single-parenting all year) – but suffice it to say, that part of our lovely modern day love story saga is now over and my Canadian partner was granted a marriage visa this very morning! We will all be together as a family again in just a few short weeks – I’m so excited about the new life we are about to embark on, and all the creativity that is about to pile out of this household.

I have two more craft shows happening before Christmas – one this Friday and one this coming Monday evening (a “sip and shop” – lord help me, because I think that “sip” might mean “wine”, but that’s always a good thing when it comes to shopping). So I’m busy writing, making earrings, knitting, and mothering all at once right now and just reminding myself that January is going to be a big sigh of relief.

Happy Holidays!

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Free hat pattern – Ryan – knitting, one skein

Ryan | free knitting pattern | Ravelry | hat | faerwear

Ravelry to the rescue!

A Ravelry member got in touch with me recently and actually had this pattern printed out from ages ago – so… it’s been restored! Many thanks to this awesome community of yarn addicts and helpful people.

Warning:

I never gauged any of these free hat patterns. They were written when i was getting ready to birth my now seven year old daughter – I was pretty much too big to move much and kind friends were commissioning hats to keep me sane – I named the three free patterns I created after them.

Who was Ryan?

Ryan was a sweet, outdoorsy guy who wore a lot of stuff from Patagonia. He requested a fitted hat in gray and left me to my own devices. Wanting to keep myself interested, I came up with this rib and cable design. He wanted a form-fitting cap, and you can knit the straight rows longer just above the ribbing if you want a brim you can fold up to make it “skullcappy”. This hat is sized to fit an average adult male head of 24″ but because it’s really stretchy, it will fit an average woman’s head size of 22″ as well. As is the case with Shakti and Arrow,  this is a free pattern transcribed from my chicken scratch – however, it was originally written in 2010, and all reported errata has long since been edited into the pattern (the last reported errata was in early 2011). Knit as your own discretion as I cannot offer pattern support, but Ravelry forums are awesome.

Materials:

  • Yarn: The yarn I used originally was Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Alpaca Love, 80% Pure New Wool/20% Alpaca; 85g/132 yards; 1 skein (you’ll use about half!) – but it was discontinued! Try Cascade 220 regular or superwash, or Berocco Ultra Alpaca worsted 🙂
  • US8 dpns
  • US8 16″ circular needle (optional)
  • Stitch marker (1)
  • Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Stitches & Abbreviations:

  • k: knit
  • p: purl
  • k2tog: knit two stitches together
  • yo (increase): yarn over
  • sl1: slip one stitch purlwise from left needle to right
  • psso: pass slipped stitch over
  • C6B: slip three stitches purlwise to cable needle and hold in back; knit three stitches, knit three from cable needle
  • eor: End Of Round

Instructions:

Using the long-tail cast-on method, cast on 78 stitches, join for working in the round and place marker for end of round. Knit 10 rows of “twisted rib” as follows:

*k1-tbl, p1: repeat from * to eor.

When you’ve knit ten rows of twisted rib for the brim, knit five rows straight and begin stitch pattern.

Round 1: knit.
Round 2: *k2tog; repeat from * to eor
Round 3: *k1, p1 in each st; repeat from * to eor.
Round 4: knit.

Repeat above four rows 10 times and begin decreasing for crown:

Round 41: knit
Round 42: *k2tog; repeat from * to eor
Round 43: *k1, p1 in each st; repeat from * to eor
Round 44: *k1, k2tog; repat from * to eor. 52 sts.
Round 45: knit
Round 46: *k2tog; repeat from * to eor
Round 47: *k1, p1 in each st; repeat from * to eor
Round 48: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * to eor. 39 sts.
Round 49: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * to eor. 26 sts.
Round 50: k2, *k2tog; repeat from * to eor. 14 sts.
Round 51: *k2tog; repeat from * to eor. 7 sts.

Cut yarn and with tapestry needle, thread through remaining stitches on the needle. Weave in ends. Block if preferred.

As always, this pattern, as with all content on this weblog, is protected by copyright. If you like this pattern and choose to knit it, I’d really love it if you’d add it to your Ravelry projects.

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Free one-skein knitting pattern – Shakti hat

Shakti | free knitting pattern | Ravelry | hat | faerwear

Who was Shakti?

In this particular case, I’m referring the person this pattern is named after, a brilliant and beautiful Australian friend of mine. Because she lives “down under”, I had to knit this during the summer. I tried several other things, ripping back several times, until I let the design simplify and knit itself, based solely on a stitch pattern from an old Tricot stitch pattern book.

Like Arrow, this one features a twisted rib brim and a simple stitch pattern (in this case, Spiral Stitch) that looks fancy, but it’s easy enough for a beginner who’s comfortable working in the round. The Ravelry pattern page is here. There’s also a handy-dandy little “print-friendly” button at the end of this post so you can print or PDF this pattern easily.

This is not a “professional pattern” and is being offered up for free (and as such, nope, I didn’t gauge, because I hardly ever do when I whip up a hat since I use the same needle size almost every time and  I know myself). Many people have knit it in the past 9+ years with beautiful results, and any errors that may have been encountered in the original pattern were worked out long ago by enthusiastic and courageous knitters like you. 

Materials:

  • Yarn: Patons Classic Wool, 100% Pure New Wool; 100g/223 yards; 1 skein (you’ll use less than half!)
  • US8 dpns
  • US8 16″ circular needle (optional)
  • Stitch marker (1)
  • Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Stitches & Abbreviations:

  • k: knit
  • k1-tbl: knit one stitch through its back loop
  • p: purl
  • k2tog: knit two stitches together
  • yo (increase): yarn over
  • kfb (increase): knit into the front and then the backof the stitch
  • eor: End Of Round

Instructions:

Using the long-tail cast-on method, cast on 72 stitches, join for working in the round and place marker for end of round. Knit 12 rows of “twisted rib” as follows:

*k1-tbl, p1; repeat from * to eor.

When you’ve knit twelve rows of twisted rib for the brim, knit the increase round:

*k1, kfb; repeat from * to eor. 108 stitches. Begin stitch pattern.

Round 1: *p3, yo, k4, k2tog, k3; repeat from * to eor.
Round 2: *p3, k1, yo, k4, k2tog, k2; repeat from * to eor.
Round 3: * p3, k2, yo, k4, k2tog, k1; repeat from * to eor.
Round 4: *p3, k3, yo, k4, k2tog; repeat from * to eor.

For a more fitted hat (as shown), repeat the above four rows 9 times for a total of 36 rows (not including brim). For a slouchier hat, add additional repeats (per personal preference) of these above four rows.

Begin decreasing for crown:

Round 37: *p2tog, p1, yo, k2tog 4x, k1; repeat from * to eor. 72 sts.
Round 38: *p2tog, k2tog, yo, k2tog 2x; repeat from * to eor. 45 sts.
Round 39: *p1, k2, yo, k2tog; repeat from * to eor. 45 sts.
Round 40: *p1, k2tog 2x; repeat from * to eor. 27 sts.
Round 41: *p1, k2tog, k1, k2tog; repeat from * to last 3 sts, p1, k2tog. 18 sts.
Round 42: *p1, k2tog; repeat from * to eor. 12 sts.
Round 43: *p1, k1, k2tog; repeat from * to eor. 9 sts.
Round 44: *k2tog, k1; repeat from * to eor. 6 sts.

Cut yarn and with tapestry needle, thread through remaining stitches on the needle. Weave in ends. Block if preferred.

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Free one-skein hat knitting pattern – Arrow Hat

Arrow hat | free knitting pattern | faerwear

Arrow: a quick favorite hat

Please note – this is and has always been a free pattern – i shared it only because I loved my own results, but there’s no gauge, there aren’t any row counts, and I am crap for support questions (you get what you pay for, lol – Ravelry forums are *awesome* though). If anyone wants to have a go at that, by all means, it just can’t be me. I was nesting like crazy when i knit this hat (I was 7 or 8 months preggo in the photo above), and the egg is now a lanky seven year old with teeth everywhere.

Arrow’s a quickie and uses less than 200 yards of yarn. The stitch pattern is simple enough for a beginning knitter who feels comfortable working in the round.  The pattern starts at the twisted-rib brim.

To get the cool stripey thing, i used Plymouth Encore’s Colorspun worsted in “Emeralds” (colorway 7148) and had about a third of a skein left over. Feel free to use whatever worsted weight yarn you want, preferably a wool or wool blend.

The Ravelry pattern page is here if you wanna queue it up, add it to your faves or any of that fun stuff. There’s also a “print friendly” button at the end of this post – click it, and you’ll have a nicely-formatted, printable option for, well, printing, or PDF.

Note: Make sure you’re doing “k1-tbl, p” for the twisted rib.

Materials:

  • Yarn: Plymouth Colorspun Worsted, 75% Acrylic, 25% Wool; 100g/200 yards; 1 skein
  • US8 dpns
  • US8 16″ circular needle (optional)
  • Stitch marker (1)
  • Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Stitches & Abbreviations:

  • k: knit
  • p: purl
  • k1-tbl: knit one stitch through the back loop
  • k2tog: knit two stitches together
  • yo (increase): yarn over
  • sl1: slip one stitch from left needle to right
  • psso: pass slipped stitch over
  • M1-F (increase): “front” raised increase: insert your left hand needle from front to back under the running thread between your left and right hand needles then knit the stitch.*
  • eor: End Of Round

* I made this abbreviation up – in a “normal” situation, you knit into the back of this stitch in order to tighten this stitch and lessen a “hole” – however, I’ve knit into the front specifically to make this hole visible as a design element.

Instructions:

Using the long-tail cast-on method, cast on 78 stitches, join for working in the round and place marker for end of round. Knit 12 rows of “twisted rib” as follows:

*k1-tbl, p1; repeat from * to eor.

When you’ve knit twelve rows of twisted rib for the brim, knit the increase round:

*k2, M1-F; repeat from * to eor. 117 stitches.

Knit 10 rows straight and begin stitch pattern:

Round 1: *k2, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k5; repeat from * to eor.
Round 2 (and every alt row): knit
Round 3: * k3, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k4; repeat from * to eor.
Round 5: *k4, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k3; repeat from * to eor.
Round 7: *k5, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k2; repeat from * to eor.
Round 9: *k2, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k2, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k1; repeat from * to eor.
Round 11: *k1, (yo, sl1, k1, psso) twice, k2, yo, sl1, k1, psso; repeat from * to eor.
Round 13: *k2, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k2, k2tog, yo, k1; repeat from * to eor.
Round 15: *k5, k2tog, yo, k2; repeat from * to eor.
Round 17: *k4, k2tog, yo, k3; repeat from * to eor.
Round 19: *k3, k2tog, yo, k4; repeat from * to eor.
Round 21: *k2, k2tog, yo, k5; repeat from * to eor.
Round 23: *k1, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k1; repeat from * to eor.
Round 25: *k2tog, yo, k3, (yo, sl1, k1, psso) twice; repeat from * to eor.
Round 27: *k1, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k3, yo, sl1, k1, psso, k1; repeat from * to eor.

When you’ve completed these twenty-seven rows, knit 2 rows. If you’d like a longer/slouchier hat you can knit more rows here. Otherwise, continue on:

Round 30: *k7, k2tog; repeat from * to eor.
Round 31: knit
Round 32: *k6, k2tog; repeat from * to eor.
Round 33: knit
Round 34: *k5, sl1, k1, psso; repeat from * to eor.
Round 35: *k4, sl1, k1, psso; repeat from * to eor.
Round 36: *k3, sl1, k1, psso; repeat from * to eor.
Round 37: *k2, sl1, k1, psso; repeat from * to eor.
Round 38: *k1, sl1, k1, psso; repeat from * to eor.
Round 39: *sl1, k1, psso; repeat from * to eor.
Round 40: k2tog around.

Cut yarn and with tapestry needle, thread through remaining stitches on the needle. Weave in ends. I didn’t block my hat since it’s mostly acrylic – but you can make that choice depending on what you use for yarn, personal tastes, etc…

As always, this pattern is for your personal use and, as with everyone else on this weblog, is protected by copyright. If you like this pattern and choose to knit it, I’d really love it if you’d add it to your Ravelry projects. It’s been fun seeing this hat continue to pop up over the years.

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