Inspiration
Consider the Hap
Dear Ann,
I’m still in a happy post-hap cooldown. Knitting Gudrun Johnston’s Hansel, a “hap” –a traditional everyday wrap in Scotland’s Shetland Islands– has sent me down the rabbit hole of hap-dom.
An excellent starting point on the slippery slope is Kate Davies and Jen Arnall-Culliford’s 2016 collection of traditional and new haps, The Book of Haps. Of all the fine haps in that book, the one that calls to me the most is Kate Davies’s Moder Dy. (Look at all the great versions.) (I’ll admit that the blocking frame photographs may be a strong influence on me; I really want one of those things. Talk about a single-use appliance!)
Moder Dy is knit from the borders in; Hansel was knit from the center out. Hmm.
Hansel also recalled one of my favorite designs from Grace Anna Farrow: Dusk. With a similar construction to Hansel, Dusk has a lot more of the wavy border, and skips the traditional pointed edging. Hmm again.
I could see myself getting in a real groove on haps. They are so versatile: baby blanket, wedding gift, winter wrap, bedspread. One immediate ambition is to make another Hansel, but a bit larger. My Hansel, folded in half into a triangle, is not quite big enough for me; it barely wrapped all the way around, snugly, on my petite model. The easy solution for a blankety version would be to knit it in a heavier yarn; to switch up from Brooklyn Tweed Loft to Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, or another rustic worsted weight yarn. I adore the colors of the Brooklyn Tweed range, and the beautiful way they play together, so that is a big consideration. I also think an Icelandic wool like Einband, with the many gradations of shades available, could make a stunning hap.
I’m taking suggestions, for hap patterns and hap yarns.
For now, I’ll just rest on my Hansel laurels, while digging further into our Field Guide No. 2 patterns. Today, I cast on the Asterisk Cowl, in lovely Swans Island Rambouillet wool. Ahh.
Love,
Kay
P.S. Thanks to Kristin Stone for modeling my finished Hansel, and to New York City for cooperating with a moment of January sunshine.
Speaking of Brooklyn Tweeds, I would be remiss not to throw “Kelpie” by Jared Flood’s hat into the ring. I haven’t actually made it but have been stalking it for awhile. It would be scaling down rather than up for you, but maybe good as a little subway delight on the side…
Look at Lost City Knits’ Applecross Highland shawl. It’s larger and so gorgeous.
I don’t think you want to knit a hap (especially a larger one) in heavier yarn. Part of the magic of a hap constructed of traditional Shetland yarn (such as J&S 2 ply jumper weight) is its light weight but cozy warmth.
I have to agree, Mary (and Kay). A lot of the fun of knitting my Simmer Dim was frequently marveling at the lightness of something that wasn’t cashmere (my frame of reference for knitting lightness), and then draping the finished, blocked piece over fragile things to photograph it. When the Stopover knitters were talking about the light/open/warm fabric being created, it sounded much the same to me.
I would argue that the blocking frame isn’t actually a single-purpose device – it could double as a super oversized potholder-style loom, with which to weave huge blankets out of roving!
Or rugs!
That’s just what I was thinking!
The colors in that “Dusk” hap remind me of your Volt. Of all the haps I’ve seen, the one I most want to knit is Ysolda Teague’s “Hap blanket” from Whimsical Little Knits. It’s in bulky, but miniature, only about 700 yards in all, and two colors. Maybe not authentic enough for your current mood? But so pretty!
About 7 years ago, Jared Flood did a design, Tweed Baby Blanket. Done like the Hansel Hap, but in heavier yarn, that design has given me many happy hours–and I’ve knit at least 15 of them.(About half of those for a granddaughter, who literally loves them to shreds). And Dusk, done in a heavier weight yarn, produces a wonderful adult sized square blanket. The corner increases are done quite differently in that pattern, which is why I just had to do it. You could spend your whole life on all the variations of that particular theme. It has so many variants, so much potential!
Lovely shawl, Kay! Trying to resist the temptation for casting on. Reminds me if a receiving blanket I had that my mom let me play with when I was around four y/o. My dim memory of its origin is that it was Not hand made. Thank goodness, because my dollies and I got a whole lot of use out of it….
Also, this is to tell you (incase you haven’t yet heard) that this Sunday is National Polkadot Day. Enjoy!
LoveDiane
Kate’s blog includes directions on how to build your own blocking frame–stretcher.
I’m now thinking of spinning up the various 100g ‘bumps’ of fibre I seem to have accumulated and happing them.
What are bumps of fiber?
Usually 100g/4oz wound balls of prepared, comb fibre, ready for spinning. Every time I order some spinning fleece/fibre from World of Wool (a UK company) a 100g ‘bump’/pack of a specific sheep breed seems to jump into my online shopping cart and I must have more than 10 now, in varying brown, grey, almost-black and cream colours.
Has anyone ever come across a shawl/hap blocking service? As I have limited space I would gladly pay someone to block large pieces like the Moder Dy hap.
For lovely everyday wearability and practicality I am getting a lot of joy out of Ella Gordon’s hap cowl.
Your hap is stunning. Those colors are perfect for a prayer shawl…very soothing and calming.
I’m knitting the Hansel with heavier yarn…Clara Yarns Shetland as the main color and one of the contrasting colors. I wanted a larger hap to be used as a dual purpose blanket for a baby-toddler/warp for its Mum. It is very light for its size (even though several of the contract colors are worsted spun that I had in my stash) and I am in love with it. I’m using size 9 needles (after scouring others’ projects on Ravelry to help me plan for the larger size). I highly recommend it.
I second the votes for Kelpie and Tweed Baby Blanket. I haven’t knit either of them, but they’ve both been on my want-to-knit list for a long time, and are the first things I think of when someone says, “hap.”
Hmmm… I need to knit a baby blanket, and suddenly a hap seems perfect!
I made a larger Hansel (about 1.5x larger?) using a sport-weight, light, rustic yarn– Imperial Tracie and Tracie Too. It’s a throw blanket for my 10-year-old, and he loves it. :). –Bookaholic13 on Ravelry
I enjoyed making Ysolda Teague’s “Hap Blanket” as a baby blanket a couple of years ago. It’s a really nice pattern. With a little math, I think you can adapt it to whatever yarn you’re using. You just increase or decrease by a pattern repeat. Your hap is beautiful – such pretty colors. I look forward to seeing your next choice, and now I’m going to have to check out all of these other beautiful patterns (I really like making baby blankets for some reason).
I tried to shame Mike into making me one of those Hap Frames. Who does not love a Hap Frame? (an Hap Frame?)
Sharon Miller, who wrote The Book on Shetland Lace, has a book about haps and kits with proper Shetland yarn in her Etsy shop:
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/HeirloomKnitting?ref=pr_faveshops
This is a seriously wonderful rabbit hole to fall down.
I just finished knitting “Kelpie” in a worsted weight on a 7 needle. I love it, and it drapes beautifully.
I have had hap on the brain, and also just finished watching an old episode of Poirot, The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge. Poirot seems to be wrapped in a hap, when he is in bed with a cold: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ac/52/68/ac52681083f499799022bc31b84e11e4.jpg
Yes?
Check out the KnitBritish #hapalong if you want to keep going down the rabbit hole; Louise Scollay did a whole talk on haps, particularly from that KAL, at Shetland Wool Week last year.
I purchased the pattern for Hansel hap but I can’t figure out how to get it into my Ravelry library ! Not so tecky nana here !