Cowl Neck Scarf

This thing is yummy. And cosy. Why did it take me so long to make one?!

It’s the Burberry Inspired Cowl Neck Scarf (link to Ravelry) and it was seeing Debbie’s lovely version that made me dig out my knitting needles again. (sorry for the low-res phone pic)

The yarn is Cascade Yarns Eco Duo, Baby Alpaca and Merino Wool. It’s beautifully soft and warm.

I love the yarn, and I love the pattern. But I don’t love the combination of *this* yarn’s variegated colours and the cabled pattern. I need to find a simpler pattern for the yarn, and a solid colour for the pattern.

I wasn’t expecting the almost perfect repetition of colour, the yarn in skein form seemed – to me – to look more random.

While knitting this on my old plastic circular needles, of which I had 4 or 5 sets in the same size! (that happens when you work at summer jobs away from home during university and feel the urge to knit), I realized the truth that others have written about: Good tools will enhance the experience of creating something. So yes, I’m seriously considering getting some better needles, as those plastic ones were so stiff and contorted it was a struggle the whole way.

At least I learned how to wind a center-pull ball from a skein, thanks to some videos on Youtube. It was monotonous but fun to do! And I don’t quite know how I managed it, but it didn’t come out in a round, ball shape, but more of a dome shape. It’s great actually, as the bottom is fairly flat and it sits there without rolling around! Perhaps it came out like this because I wound it loosely, the second ball was wound a bit tighter and it’s more rounded.

I’ve got 2 more skeins in the same yarn, so I think I’ll look for a simpler pattern for the next one.

Thank you Debbie, and everybody else who’ve been showing their lovely knitted cowl neck scarves.

Winter Hat for Kids

The pattern for this hat was traced from a RTW hat I bought for Oliver last year, and which he seemed to really like. It’s basic. The outer fabric, as on the original, is a sweater knit (I up-cycled a sweater from Value Village!), and the inside is a lightweight soft fleece. I just decided to add the fringe along the top seam, so it’s kind of like a Mohawk – only now I think it could be a bit longer! (or different colours! the variations!!) There are a lot of pretty cool hand knitted kid’s hats around with great colours and designs.

 

Thank God I traced the hat last year, as it was quickly lost/misplaced this past fall! (No idea where it went, like the hood on his fall coat. How do kids loose so many items of clothing??!!) And yeah, it was the only hat that still fit him! The good thing about this hat though, is that it’s pretty quick to sew. I’m planning on scanning the pattern piece and putting it up here as a PDF for download. I’d hoped to have done this last month so it would already be available for everyone.

The original hat was constructed so that the back seam was enclosed in the lining, and then both layers were serged together inside along the crown seam (where the fringe is). It looked like a neat way to make it quickly, and I like that the back seams are flat inside so they won’t be bothersome.

Turns out it even fits me! (And it’s actually a bit long over the forehead, I’ll need to change that on the pattern.)

Looking at the way it sits on the head, I can see where some minor adjustments can be done. The ear flaps stick out from the head, when they should lie snuggly on the ear as it did on the original. And the crown is a bit too high, and the seam doesn’t come down far enough on the front and back; it seems to stick out a bit at each end. The fringe doesn’t help this though, there are 8 layers along the crown seam. Check out how high the presser foot is above the footplate!

It also just occurred to me that a pattern for this hat might actually be made with just head measurements. When Oliver gets home from school I’ll have to measure his head and compare to the pattern. Hopefully it won’t take long to test out on a bit of fleece.

Double layered neck warmer tutorial

[Update: 17-Oct-2016]

The last two times I tried to make a neck warmer I sewed the wrong seam first, and ended up with the tube running sideways! So, I made notes and took lots of pics …I’m not making that mistake again.

This neck warmer is made from a double layer of lightweight fleece, so all the seams are nicely hidden.

Finished dimensions for the neck warmer, which should basically go over your head without too much ease (W x H):

Small	Children, aged 4+	10 in x 8 in	25 cm x 20 cm
Large	Adults	11 in x 9 in	27 cm x 22 cm

Cut out a rectangle of fleece, with the maximum stretch running widthways, as follows: double the finished dimension, for both width and height, plus 1/2 in (1.2 cm). All seam allowances will be 1/4 in (6 mm).

Small	20 1/2 in x 16 1/2 in	51.2 cm x 41.2 cm
Large	22 1/2 in x 18 1/2 in	55.2 cm x 45.2 cm

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With the rectangle laid out widthways, fold the top edge of the rectangle down to bring the long sides together; in the pic to the right the fold is at the top (this will be the top of the neck warmer):

 

 

Using a 1/4 in (6 mm) seam allowance, stitch along the bottom using an almost medium width zigzag with a medium stitch length. The seam just needs to be stretchy enough so it won’t break when it’s stretched. Notice how the bottom layer is peaking out just a bit, this is just so I know where it is! It helped as I’m not using any pins to hold the layers together.

Put your arm through the tube, and grabbing the other end, pull it inside until it meets the other end, matching the ends of the long seam. Sometimes it helps to put a pin in at the top to stop the layers shifting around.

          

Starting just before the long seam, stitch the two round ends together leaving a 3 in (7.5 cm) gap so you can turn it right side out. I sewed the seam with the bottom layer peaking out a tiny bit again.

 

 

The pins in the pic below are only to show the opening, you can just eyeball it like I usually do, but you’ll need at least that much to be able to get your hand through and pull out the rest of the fabric.
            

Now the fiddly part, put your hand through the opening to turn it right side out with the opening on the outside (shown in the pic on the right).

          

[Update: start]

We’re almost finished. Next we close the opening on the inside side seam, this will be hidden. I forgot to take a picture of this, but it’s just an edge stitch along the opening using the same stitch settings as before, and making sure the seam edges are folded in.

 [Update: end]

You can see here how it still lies quite flat (ignore the bottom edge for now! I did it in the wrong order.)

 

 

Turn the neck warmer right side out so the stitched opening is on the inside.

Last thing, topstitch the bottom, and you do it in one of two ways; I think I like the second a little better. Roll the bottom seam around a bit so it’s on top (on the inside of the neck warmer), and still using the same settings, stitch 1/2 in (1.2 cm) from the edge.

 

The second way is to roll the seam on top by 1/2 in (1.2 cm) and topstitch over the seam. If you fiddle with the seam allowance layers on the inside you should easily be able to open them flat and reduce a bit of bulk.

 

This way gives a nice round edge on the bottom, as you can see in the comparison pic at right. The one on the left is the first way, and the one on the right is the second way.

 

 

And voila! Here’s the finished neck warmer ready to wear. All you need now is to sew your very own label on it. This whole process took less than 10 minutes, that’s how fast they go.

 

 

 

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You could make variations for different looks or for using different fabrics:

• make a single layer with heavy fleece,
• make a two-coloured neck warmer, with a different colour on the inside (this means a seam at the top which works very nicely too)
• make it taller, in a single layer of lightweight fleece, so it’s scrunchy

Have fun with this! It’s too easy to not make these for yourself …and everyone else.