Tag Archive | newsboy caps

New Hat Photos

Yesterday I borrowed my daughter again, this time to model hats. I experimented with the backyard this time and discovered the late-day light is much better in the front. Still, I was pleased enough with the results. IMG_4913IMG_4914This is The Journey Hat. I love the look, but it came out really big. Part of it was me, accidentally knitting it longer than I was supposed to, but part of it was just…it came out big all around. How was my gauge, you ask? No idea. I don’t do that for hats, LOL! It’s still a good adult size, would be perfect for those with big heads or lots of hair, and it’s super slouchy. Plus, the yarn is divine. It’s KnitPicks Preciosa Tonal, two strands held together, and it’s so wonderfully soft and warm.

Here’s the gray newsboy cap, crochet this time!IMG_4962IMG_4964This pattern is called Newsie and it’s super fast. It was a little snug on my big-headed girl but fits me fine. I’ve also made this size for my niece (who’s 7) and it’s great for her too. If you’re interested in hers, find the Ravelry page here.

Another Slouchy Broken Rib Hat, Ravelry notes here.IMG_4957IMG_4952

And here are a couple of better photos of the hat I showed you yesterday. I’m calling it the Snowfall Hat. IMG_4922IMG_4925IMG_4934I’m quite pleased with this pattern, The Hipster Slouchy Hat. I love how it slouches in the back without being too poofy; I think it might be a better style for me to actually wear. I just need to find some appropriately purple bulky yarn.

I’m now down to seven WIPs and my goal is to finish at least one today. I’ve been out to lunch with friends the last two days, and while I had a wonderful time, I need a quiet day to rest and recharge. Knitting is the best way for me to do that. And it just so happens I can hang out in my pajamas and drink tea all day at the same time!

Back to the Hats

Today I am holed up in my bedroom because it’s 10 degrees outside and the heat pump in this house can’t keep up. My bedroom gets lots of lovely sunlight and somehow is the warmest room in the house, so here is where I will be until the temperature in my living room rises above 60.

After spending most of last week working on my book, I spent Saturday on the hard part: the query letter! Ugh. It’s so hard to condense it down to a really intriguing summary. I also worked on Twitter pitches, since I see lots of contests there, and that’s even harder! Once I had a good start on those, I decided to take a break and spend the rest of the weekend with yarn. I have already finished 11 projects this year, and all of it them have been from stash yarn! That’s a good start, I think, and it’s already been 18 days. Whew! Wonder how long I’ll make it before I weaken and buy yarn again.

Anyway, new hats! First one is a newsboy cap in gray acrylic. I ran out of yarn during the making of the brim but thankfully I had a tiny ball of the same yarn in my leftover bin. And that, my friends, is why I keep all the yarn leftover from a project. You just never know when it will save a project!  IMG_4829IMG_4827IMG_4828It was nice to switch to crochet, especially bulky yarn with a big hook. This hat worked up so quickly!

Second hat was another slouchy broken rib beanie with the rest of the denim blue KnitPicks Brava bulky. It took me exactly as long as Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire. IMG_4852After that, I wanted to use up the last of the pink Brava. I started a hat, got most of the way through, and realized I didn’t have enough yarn. I frogged and started over with a smaller size, and then Jack said I needed to cuddle with him instead of knit.IMG_4854Once he’d had enough, I finished, and had an adorable baby-size slouch hat!IMG_4856I wish I had a baby girl in my family to model it! Instead, it’ll go in my Etsy/craft show inventory.

Until tomorrow, friends! Wishing you all a peaceful Monday!

And the winner for Best Button on a Crochet Newsboy goes to…

Simple Black! IMG_2969

It was not the overwhelming favorite, but it came in second. (Granted, I only got like 10 votes. But still.) I liked the size, the color and the versatility. The anchor came in first, but I just wasn’t sold on the design. The fuchsia was my favorite, and what I would have done if it was for me, but the black will go with more things. IMG_2970 IMG_2971Now it’s off to see how many more owl hats I can churn out before the fair next weekend!

The Boon of Buttons: A Crochet Newsboy

Buttons are amazing. They can add a pop of color, a flash of drama, or a touch of whimsy. They come in so many colors and sizes and styles that there’s sure to be the perfect button for each project. That’s the blessing of buttons, but it’s also the curse.

I love buttons. Adore them. I have two boxes full, buttons I’ve saved from my own clothes as well as buttons I’ve bought at estate sales and garage sales and antique stores. I’ve got vintage button cards with all the buttons still sewn on. I covet the box of buttons at my mother’s house, which contains buttons from both her and her mother. When I’m making something I know will need a button, I can’t wait to dig through the boxes to find the right button.

But which one is the *right* button? Sometimes it’s obvious; I’ve known which button, or least which color, I’ll be using from the beginning. And sometimes all I know is that I need a button and I have a heck of a time picking just one.

That’s where I am right now. I crocheted another newsboy cap last night, this one in some bulky gray Premier Yarns Serenity. It needs a button. This morning I went through my button stash, thinking it needed black. Well, I have a lot of black buttons. While digging, I found a few other options that are kind of nifty. So…which one do I pick?? The hat isn’t for anyone specific. It’s for my craft fair on the 11th, so I want it to have a broad appeal. It’s sized for teens/small adult. Here are the options.

Fuchsia

Fuchsia

Purple

Purple

Ivory

Ivory

Matte black

Matte black

Simple black

Simple black

Glossy black

Glossy black

Black anchor

Black anchor

Detail of black anchor

Detail of black anchor

Little black

Little black

That’s a lot of choices, I know. Now it’s up to you. I need your help. Which one(s) do you love? Which do you hate? I know which one is my favorite but I’m not saying yet!

Crochet Hats for American Girl Dolls & Their Girls

The hats have arrived so I can finally share some photos with you! I made three sets of hats for a girl and her doll, and two sets of cowboy hats and boots for the dolls.IMG_2640 IMG_2619I started with the doll hats while I waited for measurements. I found a great pattern by Carol Ballard on Ravelry here and she’s also got a blog called Cobbler’s Cabin. The first hat went quickly. It was awfully cute, even though the family thought it looked more like a fedora than a cowboy hat. With some shaping and tacking, I got it to look pretty close to a cowboy hat, I think.

IMG_2621 IMG_2638The boots were tricky. I used a Lion Brand pattern for baby cowboy booties, thinking that surely it wouldn’t be too hard to modify for a doll size. Ha! I crocheted and frogged the first boot at least three times while I figured out the right stitch counts. I finally got a good pattern and after that, the boots flew off the hook…until I got to the brown and tan pair. Brown was the requested color, but I used more on the hat than I expected, so I had just a tiny ball left for the boots. I tried to crochet as fast as possible, but it didn’t work, and I still ran out of yarn too quickly. The second boot didn’t match the first, and I am just OCD enough that it bothered me a lot. First boot was frogged and redone, and I finished the second with brown yarn to spare.

IMG_2630 IMG_2643

Owl hats were next. I found this great pattern by Kathy Russell for the doll size, and I had a blast making up the little eyes and beak and the little tufty ears. Plus I love buttons, so getting to add button eyes was a treat. The girl size was done using an awesome pattern by Sarah at the Repeat Crafter Me blog. She does some super cute stuff, and this hat is so cool. So easy to modify for size or design, you can make any kind of hat you want!

IMG_2634 IMG_2626

I used the same patterns for the Minnie Mouse hats, adding round ears and a flower instead of a face.

IMG_2633 IMG_2629

Almost done! The last request was for a set of newsboy caps in blue-green. I found some great yarn at Michaels and a couple of great patterns to go with it. The doll pattern came from Posh Patterns, and you can find plenty more of her patterns on her Etsy site. The last hat ended up being my very favorite. The yarn worked perfectly with the pattern, and the sizing was great, and it’s just as cute as can be. The pattern is called Newsie by Heidi Yates, and she includes a handy size chart in the pattern so you can easily modify the pattern for sizes from newborn to adult. It’s the same pattern I used for my Tart Newsboy

IMG_2649 IMG_2645All the hats fit their girls well and were a huge hit. She’s already asked for two more sets, so I’ll have more to show soon. I hope I’ve inspired you to start hooking your own wee hats, but if you’d rather, I’d love to do it for you! Visit me on Facebook and send me a message.

 

 

 

A Crochet Newsboy Cap, just because

I sent off that box of girl and doll hats yesterday. It had three sets of matching hats for a girl and her doll, and two sets of cowboy hats and boots for a doll. I had so much fun getting back into crochet to make those, and I didn’t want to stop. The last few months I’ve been so absorbed by knitting that I’d forgotten how much I love the rhythm and speed of crochet. The last hat I made for my friend was my favorite; I fell in love with the pattern and needed to make another one. I was at loose ends last night, with nothing that *needed* to be worked on, but I still wanted to play with yarn. I grabbed a single skein of bulky Premier Yarns Serenity Chunky yarn and got busy while I watched America’s Got Talent. Since I can’t show you the gifted one yet, I’ll show you that one.

IMG_4672 IMG_4673I do love bulky yarn, and this is a lovely soft one. The random stripes of blue and brown were kind of strange, and not my favorite, but at least it went back to the pink quickly. I ran out of yarn halfway through the last row, which was the finishing edge, so I just pulled back and edged the brim. This was a perfect one-skein, one-evening project. If you’re interested, here’s the pattern. It’s easily modified for any size from newborn to adult.