The Rachel Hat

Look, if you are able, past the adorable dog, and you will see the Rachel Hat.  Intensely practical as I tend to be when designing, I have long focused on hats that protect the head from winter’s harsh weaponry.  It wasn’t until last summer that it dawned on me that there are many climes and many times in which a hat will be useful for something besides protection from the cold.

Enter the Rachel Hat.  Might you be kayaking on a lake in Maine one late summer evening, or punting on the Thames in a diffuse, golden light ?  Will you be biking down the Main as beautiful Frankfurt whizzes by?  Look fresh and debonair, as if you have a hat for every sort of activity, all the while keeping your tresses under wraps without trapping too much heat near your cranium.  The Rachel Hat is worked in the round in a lattice-like pattern that spirals around the head.  The original is made from The Fibre Company’s Canopy Fingering in Açai which has a magical, iridescent sheen to it, but the simple pattern will knit up beautifully in any fingering weight yarn.  200 yards is all you need.  The twisted garter rib brim also adds a bit of visual interest as well as a snug fit for keeping the hat atop your head, wherever your adventures might take you.

Twisted Stitches

I developed a pattern for an ear-warming headband adapted from the calf gusset of an Austrian Stocking pattern in Maria Erlbacher’s Twisted Stitch Knitting (Schoolhouse Press.) Oddly enough, something designed for the human calf also fits the human head quite nicely.

Exhibit A: a plump, well-formed Austrian calf sporting an exquisite hand-knit stocking as seen in the Volksmuseem, Innsbruck.

Exhibit B:  The very same shaping applied to an earwarmer wrapped snugly around a human head of contemporary American vintage.

Observe how my face expresses the toasty warmness of my ears.

This book is breathtaking and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Although I am drawn to so many of the traditional forms of knitting, I return again and again to the delicate, sculptural quality of Bavarian Twisted Stitch knitting.  The style features knit stitches that are twisted on every row, causing them to stand in relief against a purl background.  And although Bavarian knitting contains some plump cable patterns akin to Aran knitting, its defining motifs are composed of sinuous, interlacing lines of twisted knits in variations of chains and lattice work.  The names of the motifs are delightfully rustic, much like the names of Shetland and Estonian knitting motifs.  Alpine Path.  Fish Bones.  Clover Leaf. Plum Pit.

The green headband was knit for a dear but distant friend and so I chose the Burning Love motif as a knitterly expression of affection. (This pattern in #42 in the book, Brennende Liab narrow.) The grey band uses #12 Kleines Fenster. Both were knit on size 5 needles.  The green headband took less than one skein of Karabella Boise. The gray headband is made of Punta Yarns Mericash; at a generous 262 yds per skein there is plenty left over to make matching fingerless gloves or a plush neckwarmer. These bands are dense and toasty warm, the perfect accessory for skiing and ice skating, or a raw windy walk when your ears need a safe haven.

A note on technique.  Twisted stitch knitting is usually best showcased with tightly spun yarns made of 100% wool.  For these headbands I chose to break with tradition, using loosely spun,  single-ply yarns.  Both yarns are very soft and produce a soft halo when knit.  I think the effect of the twisted stitches was still successful while the softer yarns added a touch of luxury to the final product but for those who are interested in a more traditional approach see the picture below of stockings knit with 100% merino wool.  Since merino is still quite soft but has good structure, this produces an excellent compromise but crunchier wools will shine in this style as well.

To Knitbot, With Love