Skip to main content

Hand-Knit Swag: My Big Red Hats

A few years ago I set out to create patterns for hand-knit hats to show Cornell University's Big Red spirit. The result was a line of hats that flatter all ages and feature a Norwegian-inspired classic and an appealing rolled-brim beanie. All sport sans-serif lettering. 

Left: Norwegian-style hat Right: baby hat

I have had great results with Dale of Norway's Heilo yarn for the Norwegian hats, and it produces a crisp edges for the lettering. The baby hat uses a small amount of yarn so it is wonderful to choose luxuriously soft alpaca or cashmere blends.


But it's the cozy little baby cap that wins hearts, and I've now made that pattern available for purchase on Ravelry.


More Big Red hats:

Head gear














Hipster


A mighty emblem for precious cargo

Last, but not least: the "Sesqui Special".  This was a custom baby hat for Liz using a Cornell giving society logo.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Finisher: My Journey in Forensic Knitting

Treasured stitches: I have finished some four dozen hats and scarves, along with several sweaters, completing half-done projects and knitting up a vast stash of high quality yarns and fibers. One day a few months after our mother passed away, my sister and I loaded up my car with a bounty of my mother's uncompleted knitting projects and her abundant stash of luxury fibers. "It's your inheritance!" my sister joked, though we were both heartbroken. She is not a knitter—not yet anyway. I'm the one with the knitting gene, and my Mom always called me "the finisher." Here is a fraction of my Mom's projects and  yarn stash — all of which I brought home. Back home, I unpacked and took a long look at my new UFO's (unfinished objects). The dozens of half-finished and nearly done scarves, hats, and sweaters filling my living room were all gorgeous, all made with quality yarn, and all just a bit overwhelming. "What on earth ...

The Joys of Scrap-Yarn Knitting

Every knitter accumulates leftover yarn from projects.  It would be a shame to waste beautiful, high-quality wool and other fibers.  Over the years, these leftover balls and scraps grow into sizable stashes, especially when you inherit yarn from other knitters. So some knitters like me turn to scrap-yarn knitting. It's a fun, creative, and liberating process. You can let go of the rules and play, using only the most basic of patterns. Here's my first project, a scrap-yarn cardigan, circa 2009. Same sweater different scarf, as shown with my friend Becky. The 1985 book that riveted me. It was in the window of Homespun Boutique on the Ithaca Commons. From the richly textured stitches forming that sweater, I moved on to more color play after learning new techniques from  Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably  when they visited Cornell and led a weekend workshop. Kaffe's work caught my eye in the early 1980s, and the story of how this Big Sur, California...

My Affair with Martin Storey

First time experiences are so often memorable -- and not  just the big moments, but small-scale triumphs as well, like roasting a turkey, fixing the sink, rolling out a a pie crust, or repairing a bicycle tire.  Rowan Softknit Cotton As a child you leave these matters to the grown-ups and as a teen you start building some basic skills. But if you sew you still might leave those difficult buttonholes to your Mom. Or you might delegate the use of the power drill to your brother, defer to your Dad on the fallen bookshelf, or ask your sister to wire your sound system.  "Killarney" by Martin Storey And that only covers the household. Let's take sports and recreation. Whether child or adult, you may learn to ride a bike, swim the backstroke, ace an overhead tennis serve, ski parallel, paddle a kayak or master a back walkover--all of which I've loved.  Rowan Big Wool cowl But who can say what is the tipping point that leads you to step up to the ...