Tag: Ann Budd

Milly’s Monkey Hat

Now that we’re into the New Year, I think it’s safe to reveal some of the things I made as Christmas gifts.

I don’t have photos of all the knitting because I wrapped and posted it as soon as it was finished. But I made a pair of socks and a pair of wristbands and a cowl and a pair of fingerless gloves. And a hat and mittens.

I do have a picture of Milly’s Monkey Hat and Matching Mittens:

Milly's Monkey Hat and Mittens

The pattern was one of Ann Budd’s basic hats, and I made up the ears as I was going along. The mittens are from a Ravelry pattern by Anke Klempner, designed for newborns. The pattern calls for 3.5mm needles, so I used 4mm to make the mittens slightly larger. I managed to get the hat and mittens out of one 50g ball of Sirdar Snuggly, and I used the leftovers to make the mitten string. The cream parts on the monkey’s face and ears are made from fleece, blanket stitched into place, and the eyes, nose and mouth are simply embroidered on.

I made the string for the mittens on my knitting nancy, and I think it’s probably long enough to last Milly until she’s at least eight. I was a bit worried that the hat would be too small, but it seems to be okay:

Milly's Monkey Hat

The ears do make it ridiculously easy for Milly to grab the hat and chuck it across the room, but apparently that happens to all hats at the moment – and she was far more interested in the crinkly wrapping paper anyway!

Baa Baa Black Sheep…

Ever wondered what an entire kilo of Colinette Point 5 looks like?

Colinette Point 5 - black

Well, now you know!

Colinette Point 5 jumper 

It used to be the most enormous jumper, one that I knitted for Paul a few years ago. It’s hardly been worn, so I decided it was time to reclaim the wool and turn it into something else. I’ve promised to sew a fleece for Paul instead, so at least he won’t get cold!

His main complaints about this jumper were that it was:

  1. Too heavy. Well, it did weigh an entire kilo! The style is supposed to be a funnel neck, but the sleeves are so heavy that they pull out the neckline sideways.
  2. Too hot. I suppose you would be hot, wearing half a sheep…
  3. Too cold. Yes, really. Colinette recommend that you knit this wool using 12mm needles. That’s fine for the thicker parts of the yarn, but wherever you get a thinner strand you also get a looser knit. This makes the resulting fabric a bit draughty in places, and Paul complained that the wind got through!

I must admit that I prefer to knit most Colinette yarns using smaller needles than suggested. I’m going to try a swatch of this on 10mm needles, and see how it comes out.

I’ve been looking for the perfect shrug/bolero/cropped cardigan pattern which would work in either Point 5 or Rowan Big Wool (which I also prefer to knit on smaller needles than recommended), and I haven’t found it yet.

I think it’s time to sit down with Ann Budd and a piece of graph paper, and work something out.