Melt - a slouchy hat for all seasons

Can you think of a better yarn for Ruby Submarine to play with than Cephalopod yarns?  

I was lucky enough to receive a sweet little box of mini-skeins of Bugga! from Cephalopod to design something. 

This was quite a long while ago, I am afraid, and my ideas for a design kept changing (at one point I was sketching colorwork mittens), and the little colorful skeins kept getting neglected.

Then we moved across the country. I used bags of yarn as soft, cushiony barriers for some of the fragile items, so unpacking became a fun game of "Oh, hello again fiber!" 

Finally, in Chicago, the Melt slouch hat was born.

(As you can see, two of the colors didn't make it into this version. They're still waiting for their day in the sun.)

This hat is roomy and meshy and soft, perfect for keeping the wind off your ears. It's an all-seasons hat that I have been wearing a lot just to keep my crazy hair under wraps. It can accommodate a lot of hair! 

It was really lovely working with this yarn. (If you're fresh out of mini-skeins you can use leftovers from Bugga socks!)

(Modeled by my lovely friend since childhood, Eilee.)

Experimenting with a different color combination now. I'll post finished pics soon!:

 I hope you enjoy this quick, simple lace knit as much as I have.

Melt slouch hat knitting pattern PDF

$5

Kitefish Shawlette

While visiting the Aquarium of the Pacific this spring, I was overloaded with inspirations for new projects. The colors of the water, plants, and sea life were just too much for my little brain to handle. I eventually came up with...

This pattern was inspired by a fish (I know, you are simply stunned!) named Monodactylus argenteus. I wanted to name the pattern after the fish, but it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, so I chose one of the common names -- kitefish. With its silvery gray body and vividly bright yellow dorsal fin, it translated nicely into an abstract shawlette pattern using short row shaping.

I have been a little obsessed with the "grellow" combo for a while. I am not the only one. The amazing, hand-dyed Baah! La Jolla yarn was the perfect choice, the colors so closely mirrored the kitefish's coloring I couldn't have dreamed up superior shades. Mira of Baah! was very excited to see what I came up with using her gorgeous yarn.

Since the pattern's debut at the Knit Culture booth at Vogue Knitting Live Los Angeles, I have made another version with another set of bright, tropical colors, using Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga! which is heavenly (colors-- Sea Urchin, Adonis Butterfly and Starry Night Cracker). Ooh la la.


If you'd like to make one for yourself, join the Ravelry Knit-A-Long here!

You can also purchase a kit which includes the pattern and the Baah! La Jolla gray/yellow yarn here.

Kitefish Shawlette Knitting Pattern PDF - $6

Intermediate level (must be comfortable with short rows)

Materials needed

Yarn: Fingering or Sport weight. Approx. 250 yards MC and 175 yards CC

Needles: Size 4 32" (or longer) circular. I used Size 5s for the Bugga! version.

One locking stitch marker and one ring stitch marker

Row counter

Crochet hook

Tapestry needle