first ever beanie attempt

probably the proudest moment behind my renewed knitting passion... and the all aspiring drive behind my chosen direction of knitting beanies and booties...

this handcrafted piece of knit wear was born out of a pure need to keep my 8 month bubba boys head warm coming into his first winter

i live in a inland regional town where clothes for little people is limited to the Country Target store

but we have one of those great old fashion craft and wool supply shops that had the sweetest kids hand crafted beanie in the display window, which i instantly wanted to purchase for my boy

after inquiring about the beanie within the store and being told it was not for sale, i began poking around the wool section and thinking 'surely it must not be too hard to knit my own...?'
10 minutes later, pattern leaflet, wool and needles purchased i enthusiastically headed home to begin knitting


fortunately for me, my mum (who was one of those avid 1970s high-speed knitters) was visiting and she reintroduced me to the basic of knitting

before this all important crash course, my previous knitting history encompassed a couple of days as a 10 year old knitting a very colourful and wonky garter stitch scarf

so anyway, the specs of this beanie are as follows...i used the HAT C pattern from the SIRDAR 3149 LEAFLET (minus the ear flaps). the decorative stitches went a little pear shaped, and instead of a nice regular stitches i ended up with random stitches, which were formed by purposefully choosing to knit different stitches for a bit of experimenting and fun

all in all i am both happy and proud of my first attempt at knitting a beanie

4ply
100% baby wool
marl blue
# 2 3/4 + # 3 1/4 needles

stripes are go! bubba beanie

i saw this navy and white stripe idea knitted into a ladies floppy beanie on a great site called PURL BEE

so cute, and looks and feels divine in a small, fine baby wool

i adapted the design from a 8ply baby hat pattern

4 ply
100% baby wool
# 2 - 3/4 needles
navy & white

basic gals beanie

knitting for the extended family begins...

this gals beanie is a very basic design knitted off the #3 Hers PATONS 7010 LEAFLET

it has the classic upturned brim and can have a tassel or pom pom added to the top

the colour of this JET wool carries the tones not too similar to that seen in peacock feathers

12 ply
# 9 needles
PATONS JET
100% wool (merino & alpaca blend)

topnotch elfin beanie

created as a gift for a friends bubba boy...

i used the same vintage wool as in the 1st booties project. this is perhaps my favourite wool of the moment. the colours are wonderful and blend beautifully with almost every item of clothing in my little boys wardrobe.

the design is adapted off a 8ply beanie in the SHEPHERD BABY SHOWER BOOK 1007

4ply
vintage 100% wool
3.25 needles

basic guys beanie

made out of shear love was this beanie...

for my partner who wears a weekly #0 hair shave, and has a liking to natural hues, i needed a very thick and natural looking wool to get him through winter

he chose the style from the PATONS LEAFLET 7010 and i chose the wool colour

100% wool (merino & alpaca blend)
PATONS Jet colour #1
DK (12ply)
5.5 needles
to fit 59cm head circum

essential red beanie

every brown-haired gal needs a red beanie in her wardrobe!

this beanie came to fruition because i wanted to knit myself a beanie for winter that was going to be a good basic style, yet have some edge to it

the design carries my signature 8cm ribbed brim finished off in stocking stitch

i did not use a pattern, instead took on the challenge by guessing my head circumference and needle size based on what appeared to be wool size varying from 8ply through to some very chunky sections

100% eco hand-spun wool
# 9 needles
size to fit 56cm head circum.

booties for little feet

these little treats were a created out of necessity...my little boy had cold feet, even with socks on, so i set about making his feet toasty warm by learning to knit him some booties

adapted off a 8ply sock pattern, i added vintage buttons from my own collection and had to master button holes in a self taught crash course

8 ply vintage
100% wool
3.25 needles
size to fit 9 months

booties beanie bubba set

don't know if this is a bit kitch... having matching hat and shoes when your less than a year old (or any age for that matter)

lucky the booties are for my boy and the hat for a friends bubba boy :)

4ply
vintage 100% wool
#2 3/4 & #3 1/2 needles

basic gals beanie version 2

another variation on the gals basic beanie...

this time i have gone with a 8cm in length ribbed brim that is NOT meant to be turned up...

i personally much prefer the look that this longer brim has on the gals plus it has the added bonus of keeping the ears warmer as the rib stitch is double thickness compared to the stocking stitch above the brim

12 ply
# 9 needles
PATONS JET
100% wool (merino & alpaca blend)