hat – Black Isle Yarns

9th February 201829th December 2023 Julie

I thought it might be fun to highlight some of the patterns which I love and which will work well with the yarns going into tonight’s update (7pm GMt Friday 9th February).

The Callachy Hat and Mitts that Emily Williams designed for Black Isle Yarns were intended for Shetland DK *, and the patterns and yarn were available at Loch Ness Knit Fest and Nottingham Yarn Exp selling out before I could make them available online. However, both Zwartbles BFL Blend and Zwartbles Cheviot Blend would work well for the hat and mitts. I think the Zwartbles BFL is particularly suited to the hat and Zwartbles Cheviot to the mitts. You can buy the patterns directly from Emily’s Ravelry shop here – Emily has a very good reduced price if you buy both together.

Two skeins of Bluefaced Leicester Suri Alpaca Blend 4 ply would make a wonderful one-colour Eathie Shawl – the original shawl used just 180g, so with 200g you could add a few extra repeats and end up with a beautifully long drapey shawl. Or a single skein would quickly knit up in Clare Devine’s Lode Shawl……my version, in one skein of last year’s Longwool Blend , is shown below (another yarn that I hope to bring back this autumn!). I find it is such an easy, comfortable shawl to wear and it is getting a lot of use at the moment.

I do love knitting hats so have another three to suggest to you (all of which would be good in any of my DK weight yarns but I think, especially, Gotland DK). All will work with less than one skein of yarn and are fun but relaxing knits. The photo shows myself and my two daughters on a walk this winter, when I suddenly realised that we were all wearing hand knit hats – needless to say that made me very happy!

On the left I am wearing my Acai Hat by Clare Devine (knit for me as a very kind gift, in my Shetland DK, by the lovely Lorna). In the middle, Katie is wearing her Wildflowers Cap, a pattern by M J Mucklestone. I knit this in Silver Grey Gotland DK with naturally dyed Gotland DK for the flower and pompom. And on the right, Islay is wearing her Chamomile Hat which is (another!) Clare Devine pattern. I knit it several years ago with West Yorkshire Spinners BFL DK and some leftover yarn scraps but, again, I think it would be lovely in Gotland DK. I think you could have a lot of fun with these last two patterns (or indeed, many other hat patterns) using Gotland DK with one skein of Cream or Silver Grey as the main colour and a mini skein gradient set for accent colours. **

And finally, if you are looking for a bigger project I can definitely recommend Renee Callahan’s Angelus Novus cardigan. I have progressed quite a lot since I took the photo below and can’t wait to wear this stylish cardigan. One of the fascinating things about this cardigan is the construction, you start off as if knitting a shawl and then, later, it morphs into a cardigan shape. So clever!

* Another batch of Shetland DK (and 4ply this time too) is being spun by The Border Mill as we speak – I’m really looking forward to having this beautiful yarn back in stock, it was very popular last year.
** For info, amounts of yarn used per hat as follows (including pompoms): Acai 76g, Wildflowers 71g and Chamomile 69g.

31st January 201829th December 2023 Julie

I have just realised that I didn’t share these two fabulous patterns by my friend Emily (flutterbyknits). Emily designed the Callachy Hat and Mitts in my Shetland DK, to make the most of just one or two skeins of this lovely yarn (they use less than 100g each). While they do work especially well in my Shetland DK these simple and cosy accesories they will be great in most of my DK weight yarns. If I don’t have any Shetland yarn, or other substitutes, in stock in my shop when you look please do contact me as I may be able to make you up a custom order (the stock isn’t always stocked between yarn dyeing sessions etc). My email address is mail@blackisleyarns.co.uk .

As Emily says ”Some things are best kept simple. When you have one skein of perfect yarn, you need a pattern that shows it off without too much fuss. The Callachy hat uses a classic cable combination and careful details to make a comforting slouchy hat that’s as soothing and beautiful as the beach on a grey day. Paired with the matching mitts, it’ll be your new favourite. The fingerless mitts are so rewarding: simple and quick to make, but very practical. Callachy Mitts have no unnecessary complications, just beautiful details to warm your hands and your spirit.”

9th January 201729th December 2023 Julie

I chose a favourite hat pattern for this sample using the Autumn 2016 Zwartbles~Alpaca Blend – the pattern is Reminisce by Libby Jonson of Truly Myrtle. I’m not one for anything too fussy and this hats fits that bill perfectly, a little detail to stop it being boring but nothing over-the-top.

The Zwartbles~Alpaca is lovely to knit with and results in a very squishy and cosy hat. I had intended it to be kept purely as a sample for shows and so on however I have been wearing it quite regularly this winter as it is so cosy!

black-isle-yarns-zwartbles-aplaca-blend-toffee-fudge — This photo best shows the warm Toffee Fudge colour of this yarn

Yarn Details: Black Isle Yarns Zwartbles~Alpaca Blend

Colour: Toffee Fudge (undyed)

Metres/100g skein: 160m/100g approx.

Weight: DK

Pattern: Reminisce Hat by Truly Myrtle

Full project notes can be found here on Ravelry

12th October 201629th December 2023 Julie

It was a tricky to decide which of the Black Isle Yarns Autumn 2016 yarns to knit with first but in the end the Zwartbles Mohair blend was selected – ‘eeny meeny miny mo’ can always be relied on in the case of indecision! I settled on the Hackberry Hat pattern by Ginny Sheller. I love the simple but elegant design and know I’ll wear the hat a lot (as well as, of course, bringing it along to upcoming yarn festivals as a sample!).

The pattern was beautifully straight forward and a pleasure to knit. The Zwartbles Mohair blend is really lovely to knit with, smooth and soft, but with a definite feeling of strength, and I didn’t have the nose tickling problems which are sometimes associated with mohair. There’s a real character to this yarn and a definite drape which works well with what Ginny describes as the ‘fun pseudo-slouchy style, more of what I call a “poof” hat’ – although it possibly isn’t the best yarn choice to show-off the textured design to full effect (the dark Steel Grey colour is also probably to blame here…….but, even if it does hide texture, it is such a pretty and wearable colour!).

Katie very helpfully modelled the hat for me (only a small amount of bribery involved!) – as her head is smaller than mine, it doesn’t show the yarn over increases after the ribbed brim to their full effect but is infinitely better than me trying to take selfies.

Yarn Details: Black Isle Yarns Zwartbles Mohair blend (50%~50%)

Colour: Steel Grey (undyed)

Metres/100g skein: 190m/100g approx.

Weight: DK

Pattern: Hackberry Hat by Ginny Sheller

Full project notes can be found here on Ravelry

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Black Isle Yarns

Tag: hat

Pattern Ideas for February Shop Update

Callachy Hat and Mitts

Black Isle Yarns Zwartbles Alpaca Blend – Reminisce Hat

Black Isle Yarns Zwartbles Mohair Blend – Hackberry Hat

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