Every year around mid-November, I go into panicky-present-knitting-mode. There's never enough time to knit something for everyone, yet starting too early just doesn't feel right. Knitting scarves and wool gloves in July is not okay--nobody wants to sit with a hot ball of wool in their lap in 92 degree heat (hot balls=bad).
So this year, I started at least my internet pattern scouring a little early. I knew what I wanted: free knitting patterns using yarn I already have on hand. I've got an embarrassing amount of worsted-weight yarns just lying about. Most of my worsted-weight is leftover oddballs from other projects, so I was hoping for small -scale projects that I could get rid of my oddballs with.
Enter The Finnish Hat.
Is it not the cutest thing you've ever seen? 9/10 of my friends randomly sampled agree...and want one too. It knits up quickly on circular or double-pointed needles using just about any worsted-weight yarn (I'd go for something not fluffy, so you can see the stripeys). For mine, I used my
Boye Needlemaster--greatest knitting invention ever (if you don't know what one is, check it out in the Amazon.com webstore at the bottom of the page). The yarn I chose was ella rae Classic yarn in "berry" (color 113).My friend, Roxzanne, was especially demanding about getting one, so I started on hers first. About 45 minutes later:
Seriously one of the easiest hats I have ever knit. You can click the picture to see a close-up. I didn't block it before this picture, but you get the idea.
The original pattern calls for a crochet flower (I can't crochet). I checked around on the net and found a super-cute flower pattern--took about 10 minutes to make on straight needles, and then another 2 or 3 to sew it on. Of course, any flower will do. I may try some others for future hats.
These patterns are completely free, and can be found below. The hat pattern itself is written in Finnish. Since I assume you do not know Finnish (just a guess), make sure you scroll down to the English version at the bottom.
