Projects
Minty Fresh Pom Poms
Dear Kay,
Reporting in on my hat-making efforts.
It’s going well.
Hat-making is one of the great moments in knitting. Hats have such a defined beginning, middle, and end. You can see the finish line from the starting line—it’s a 50-yard dash. These Jaunty Beanies from Field Guide No. 17: Lopi are keeping me off the streets. I mean, everything is keeping me off the streets these days, but I’m so engrossed with these beanies. More jauntiness!
Mary Jane Mucklestone’s five stranded-color motifs are interchangeable. For this hat, they are also stackable. You can get up to four repeats of the motif, depending on which one you choose.
You can use one motif one time.
Understated. Classy. This is the Lanterns motif.
You can repeat a motif three times.
Here’s the Beads motif, stacked three times. Whimsical!
And you can repeat it four times, which results in a trippy zigzaggy thing.
This is the Mountains motif repeated four times, with changing colors for each repeat. I’d like to give this idea another go. Halfway through, the light bulb went off about the zigzag phenomenon. But I’m not about to rip out any of this. Keep moving!
Then there’s the pom pom. So much to think about. Should it contrast? Should it match? Should I have one at all?
The answer, I’m discovering, is yes. Yes to pom poms.
I’m using the Loome Tool invented by Vilasinee Bunnag.
She recommends a sturdy string or dental floss to tie up my pom pom.
So minty!
If you’re looking for a great little video tutorial on making pom poms, Vilasinee has created pretty much the Library of Congress of video tutorials on all things Loome Tool. Her YouTube channel is amazing.
The Loome Tool is good for five different crafts: pom poms, weaving, tassels, friendship bracelets, and woven cords. We’ve got two sizes of Loome Tool in the Shop.
The small-scale fun of this is what I’m loving. And finishing something—feels so great.
In Other News: Knitalong Coming!
Get ready for the great knitalong that begins on Monday, March 22.
We’ll be knitting Mary Jane Mucklestone’s designs starring in Field Guide No. 17: Lopi. Thanks to everybody who has already ordered up their yarn and book—it’s looking like an epic knitalong is on the horizon. If you’d like to get ready, our One-Stop Shop for Field Guide No. 17 has everything you need to climb on the Léttlopi bandwagon!
We’ll be Zooming and talking in the MDK Lounge, and there will be random prizes for projects that are posted on Instagram and in the Lounge. Use the Instagram hashtag #lopikalmdk so we’ll be sure to see your project.
Love,
Ann
Dental floss for tying is brilliant! I missed that in the Loome directions — proabably b/c I tend to skip directions, often to my detriment.
Dental Floss! What an amazing thought! And yet it has everything you need!
Wow! I have hated making poms because of the tying. Great idea! Thanks.
Dental floss sounds like a good idea. My favorite for tying up a Pom Pom in a tidy manner is a good, sturdy piece of linen, saved from another project.
Latecomer to the KAL but I just ordered my yarn and I can fill in the time making hats! who does not need a few extra hats? The weather is still dipping into the thirties here in Long Beach so hats will be made. I am making my cardigan in the colors I used for my hat so I can call it a swatch. Also pompoms. I am thinking of making mine detachable so I can switch them up. Mood pompoms. If you are of a certain age you will get this reference, cheers
I have a gauge question: The patterns for hat and mittens both specify a gauge of 16 sts over 4″ (on larger needles). The beanie uses size 9 needles for the stockinette portion (size 7 for ribbing), and the mittens use size 7 needles. Am I reading something wrong, or is there a typo for either gauge or needle size on one of the patterns… or should there be two sizes of needles for the mittens? Thanks!! I have a small stash of Lopi yarn from a trip to Iceland, which I can’t wait to turn into scarf and hat. I LOVE every pattern in this FG!!
Your blog has the same post as another author but i like your better.–**”
Enjoy ones site as its directly to the point but not technical. I’m keen on gadgets as well as anything tech connected thats the reason why i posted right here.
aluminum curtains rods are much lighter than those steel rods that we previously used**
Merely a smiling visitant here to share the love (:, btw great design .
Thanks for the information… appreciated… been reading for awhile, and just wanted to let you know I continue to enjoy your writing.