New pattern release: Runner's Watchap
I'm happy to announce that my latest knitting pattern, the Runner's Watchcap, is now available for purchase! As I mentioned before, I designed this hat to wear running in the wintertime, so it had to meet a few specific needs:
- It needed to fully cover my ears and forehead
- It had to be warm
- It could not be too bulky/hot
- It had to be fitted enough to stay on my head even in the wind
I knew immediately that sock yarn was the way to go because it's thin enough yet warm enough, and using 100% wool ensured that I would be warm without being too stuffy (aside: I do not get runners who run in synthetic fleece!). Deciding to stick with ribbing gave me the idea to play with different ribs and to throw a horizontal textured stripe in there, and the rest is history! This was one of those projects that worked pretty much perfectly the first time, the only ripping I did was in the crown decreases to get the ratio perfect for a really snug fit.
The simple ribbing works really well with outrageous handpainted yarns like the Koigu color you see above (the color number is P506B in case you're curious), but I actually prefer the semi-solid gray hat I knit first:
This one is made in Prism's Merino Mia which is just a touch thicker/fluffier than Koigu, but the resulting hat is pretty much identical. I've been wearing this one all the time, especially when being active outdoors. I'm giving the green one you see above to my friend Shana because the colors are just so her . . . luckily she has a huge head so it fits her perfectly too!
The pattern comes in two sizes, small and large. My head is 22.5" around and I of course made the large size for myself . . . but the small size will fit a normal person's head, don't worry! And for either size, you only need one skein of sock yarn. What a great way to showcase that special skein you've been hoarding, now you can show it off on your head instead of inside your shoes!
Only after I finished the hat and wore it for the first time did I realize that this is a perfect unisex hat design. I can definitely see a guy happily wearing this thin, fitted hat in a subtle semi-solid like the gray above. Bonus! It's so hard to find pleasing hats for men that are still interesting to knit . . .
The pattern is available as an immediate PDF download for $4.00. You can buy it from my shopping cart or through Ravelry: 
Shana
January 13, 2011
It’s not necessarily my head that’s huge. More like all the hair on top of it!