Letters
Hat’s Off (to the Races)
Dear Ann,
I can’t remember the last time I made a hat. With hats, I tend to knit a dozen in a row—in a fugue state of hat manufacturing—and then swear off hats entirely for a while.
But when I saw—and felt—the photography samples for the Striped Marl Hat, I knew I had to take the risk of falling down the hat-knitting rabbit hole for a while.
The yarn is Tynd by Woolfolk. For the hat, the shades are 18 and 20. The skein shades are 27 and 5.
We’ve established that I’m mad for marling, but what drew me to the Striped Marl Hat (Ravelry link—look at the projects!) is the dense, luxurious texture of the fabric that is created by knitting two strands of Tynd, a silky 2-ply merino that feels like cashmere, to a firm gauge of 6 stitches per inch (2.5 cm). This hat feels special, fancy—like a souvenir picked up at a bespoke hat shop in Rome or something. It’s lush enough for the pickiest handknit recipient.
I’ve almost reached the crown decreases, and I’m savoring the Tynd. I made a few unintended modifications to the pattern—details that don’t matter very much in the scheme of things, such as not casting on in two strands of A, for a solid-tipped edged, and then making the marled section between the two solid stripes longer by 4 rows.
Confession: After casting on, I knit by memory, and then read the pattern afterwards! But I like my little changes. (In case you’re worried, I’m going to knit fewer rows before starting the crown shaping, to end up with the correct size.)
At this gauge, the Striped Marl Hat is not a project that I can crank out in quick multiples, but I do have yarn for a second one, so that will be happening immediately after I finish this one. I will always be the queen of Can I Ride This Ride Again, and have I mentioned that I’m mad for marling? I can’t wait to see what 27 (deep gold) and 5 (inky) will look like in a marl.
Prepare Your Leftovers
Naturally, I’ve got fingers crossed that I’ll have enough Tynd leftovers for a third hat, using all four colors. If I don’t have enough, I’ll wait until I’ve made my Swarf (Ravelry link, and again I commend you to look at the marvelous projects knitters have created)—which is also in Tynd–and my third hat will be a grand slam of mashed marls! People: if you’ve got the Swarf in your queue, get ready: January is going to be Swarfin’ Time in these parts.
Hey Look at This
We interrupt this hat reverie with breaking news! By popular demand (you know who you are—and we thank you for the nudge), we’ve cooked up a handy Wish List, to provide much-needed assistance to the people in your life who may be shopping for you this holiday season.
MDK’s Chief Doodler Hannah Jones blinged hers up with annotations—but a ballpoint clicky pen will do the job.
Just print out the PDF, check off your most-wished-for items in the MDK Shop, and place in a location (or locations) where your beloveds cannot miss it. It’s the most efficient way to drop a heavy hint that we know of.
Love,
Kay
Thank you for adjusting the font size in your emails. (God, that makes me feel old,)
The hat is looking lovely, Kay. I especially like the solid band near the ribbing. It adds more interest to an already interesting fabric. Can’t wait to see #3, a marled mixture of four colors.
Kay, do you think you’ll be able to tear yourself away from marling? Will you be allowed to just sit in your corner, marling away, through the publications of the next booklets? Sounds like a good plan, doesn’t it?!
I think marling will become a way of life, for sure, but the people keep poking at me when I sit in my corner!
Tynd is sooo dreamy! I Swarfed it already and will hat it and pet it and make the things with it!
Urgent question for you, Dawn: did you have leftovers? I can’t wait.
I could only make one complete hat with 2 skeins of Tynd.
“The queen of Can I Ride This Ride Again?” Like minds, Kay, like minds!
The queen of “Can I Ride This Ride Again?” Like minds, Kay, like minds!
Hey, how’d that come through twice?
Gentle suggestion: state the MDK web address on the Wishlist PDF. Saves time and frustration for gift-giving muggles.