Letters
Slip-Stitch Hat: A Mania Begins
Dear Kay,
It’s ridiculously early for me to begin my gift knitting. It usually happens only after we manage to put up a tree and I notice with horror that there are no gifts under it. December 12 or so.
This year? It’s all different.
I feel so ON IT—such knitterly pride to crack open my copy of MDK Field Guide No. 8: Merry Making and sit down to make one of Thea Colman’s hats. In November, for heaven’s sake.
The yarn is Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Chunky—glazed layers of color, slightly mottled in the best way, deep and rich when knitted up.
Karida Collins’s color sense is fantastic.
(These are the most accurate color representations—apologies for my own pix below which were taken on a spectacularly gloomy Nashville day.)
I brought home a batch of leftovers from the sample knitting for Field Guide No. 8.
I spent a fair amount of time fooling around with what colors I should pair for the Slip-Stitch Cap.
My conclusion: it doesn’t really matter. They’re all going to be exuberant.
Hat No. 1
I call this my Pom Pom magazine Tribute Colorway.
A saffron/millennial pink combo. Karida’s color names are the streets and neighborhoods of Baltimore, Maryland. Here, the saffron is Oliver; the pink is Cross Street Market.
I made this in one evening.
The pattern is such a groovetastic easy thing.
As I cranked this on my size 10 needles, I listened to HMS Surprise, book 3 in the Patrick O’Brian series of novels about the British Navy. I will forever associate this saffron/millennial pink hat with Captain Jack Aubrey’s mission down the coast of Brazil. The doldrums! He was literally in the doldrums!
Within ten minutes of finishing this hat, I cast on another one.
Hat No. 2
Chocolate brown and the most delicious tomato orangey red. In Karidaspeak, these are Ramblewood and Bolton Hill.
I’ll go until I run out of leftovers. At which point I reserve the right to steal all the remaining inventory from MDK World HQ. We have all eight shades in the MDK Shop at the moment, but they’re going fast.
Possibly because of me.
Love,
Ann
In my family we know these as Tea Cosy hats
I can see it perfectly, a tea cosy. Such a great idea, thank you!
Ooooh . . . no. 2 is delish!
It’s early for me too but this year I’m ON IT. I have Ramblewood (chocolate brown) and Cross St. Market (millennial pink) all queued up and ready to wind.
Those colors are wonderful together. I knit my neighbors border terrier a sweater in brown and pink. It makes me want the same colors in something.
I just finished my first – am using stash yarn – but it’s a great pattern. Just have to get the pom pom maker .
YouTube pompom making, you can make a pompom maker.
Long ago and far away…before YouTube and Amazon Prime…I made pompoms use cardboard cut in the shape of a doughnut. Worked great and cost nothing!
Oh, but the Loome tool is way too much fun! Give it a try! I am hooked on pom poms, seriously silly way to use up leftovers.
I am feeling a wave of tassel-making coming on–my Loome tool makes tassels as well as pom poms. Seems sort of jaunty or something.
I’m Baltimore born and raised. I love all the closure names! Nostalgia overload. I grew up on Ramblewood Road. I need to get down to Neighborhood Fiber Company’s space and load up on their amazing yarn!
I am such a slow, relaxed knitter, but I did manage to finish one these delightful hats for my husband ,just last night. I have enough of this delicious yarn to knit 3 more. Great pattern!
This pattern had me more psyched for stash busting than I have ever been! But then you show all this delicious yarn and colors – I can visualize this hat in literally every combo of 2 above – and now my stash seems a little lackluster…
I would love to learn!
I learned how to knit at a local craft store, back in 2004. Apartment Therapy has some excellent suggestions for learning-to-knit resources. https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/knitting-for-beginners-great-resources-to-get-started-239894
I knit a pair for some small neighbors; now am deciding whether the next pair (new babe + sibling) gets this design or the other FG#8 hat…
I make PomPoms just for fun. Last Christmas I made a few dozen of various sizes and took them to Family Gathering for the children to use as snowballs. It was a hit, pun intended.
I love this idea! No more bruised faces from icy-packed snowballs. Our teens challenge the neighbor teens every year to a snowball fight. Every year someone gets an accidental face-hit with a snowball that was packed too tight in all the excitement. Poms would allow the friendly competition to continue without fear! And make them two different versions they can be counted easier instead of relying on memory.
Hi its nice can you sent to me vidio of that thanks.
The Ramblewood/Bolton Hill one is fantastic!
I am also on it this year, thanks to Field Guide #8. I’m on my third pair of giftable Appleseed Mitts! I also have to finish my bestie’s annual Christmas Socks, so I probably won’t cast on one of these delicious-looking hats till I’ve finished the Christmas Knitting. It will be my reward!
Where can I purchase the Field Guide #8? I’ve tried numerous times, and I’ve emailed you about not being able to put it in my cart, so how can I get an eBook? I love knitting slip stitch patterns and would especially appreciate the pattern from #8 for the slip stitch hat, not to leave out the cowl or the patterned hat. So what do I need to do to get a copy?
Hi Joan–so sorry to hear that our system isn’t working for you. I’ll contact you directly to fix this!