Friday, February 29, 2008

Linda's Cuffed Earflap Hat and Brioche Scarf

This earflap hat has a cuff that can be flipped down over the earflaps for extra warmth or length. To attach the earflaps in a no-sew way, after I made the cuff portion, and 1 or two rows of the next color, I knit in the earflaps in the appropriate places by knitting 1 stitch of the flap together with 1 stitch of the existing hat. The scarf is done in Brioche stitch and is fluffy and soft.


Materials

Worsted weight yarn
- 1 200 yd skein tan
- 1 200 yd skein khaki green

Size 8, 16 inch circular needle (hat)
Size 8 double-point needles (hat)
Size 9, any length needle (scarf)

Size: Medium
Time: hat 3 hrs, scarf 3-4 hrs

See closeup of Brioche stitch scarf below.

Linda's Seeded Earflap Hat and Scarf

This set is knit from one of my favorite Plymouth worsted vari-colored yards. The colors are so bright and I just love the pattern of color coupled with the texture of the seed stitch.

No-sew earflap hat

This earflap hat is fun and easy to make and starts from the bottom up. I used a pair of double point needles and made 2 3-stitch I-cords to desired length. Then i slipped both on the same doublepoint needle and worked both ear flaps row-by-row at the same time. They always seem to come out the same size ( and same mistakes! ) that way.

To make the earflaps I increased 1 stitch on each end (2 stitches per row) on the even rows with and no increase on the odd rows. I increased to 21 stitches then seed stitched 4 rows. I picked up the circular needles and using cable cast on method, I cast on 20 stitches, then knitted on the first earflap, cast on 20 more stitches, knit on the second earflap, and join, with 82 stitches on the needle. The rest was just circular seed stitch for 5 inches with a slow decrease and a crochet loop on top. And last I added tassles to the end of the I-cords.

Materials

2 skeins Plymouth Encore Colorspun worsted

Size 8, 16 inch circular needles
Size 8 double-pointed needles
Size G or H crochet hook (for loop on top of hat)

Size: Medium
Time: hat 3-4 hrs, scarf 3 hrs

See closeup of seed stitch scarf below.

Linda's Checkered Scarf and Two-toned Beanie

This scarf is is double-knit using khaki green and tan worsted weight yarn and is thick and very warm. Front and back sides are in opposite color patterns. The hat is just a simple 1x1 ribbed beanie and is not doubleknit.

Materials

Worsted weight yar
- 1 skein khaki green
- 1 skein tan

Size 8, 16-inch circular needles
Size 8 double-point needles

Size: Small
Time: hat 2 hrs, scarf 6 hrs

See closeup of doubleknit scarf below.

Linda's Vertical Striped Scarf and Striped Cap

This scarf is fun to knit because no finishing is required! I cast on 200 stitches and knit vertically in garter stitch. Each row is done in a different color using 4 scrap colors I had. Just leave the tails long and you have instant fringe.

The cap is knitted in the round with a 1x1 rib for about 1 1/2 inches. The remainder of the hat was knit in garter stitch with a different color every round.

Materials

Worsted weight yarn scraps
- Black
- Khaki green
- Rust
- Tan

Size 8, 24 or 32 in circular needles (scarf)
Size 8, 16 in circular needles (cap)
Size 8 double-pointed needles (cap)

Size: Medium
Time: hat 3-4 hrs, scarf 3-4 hrs

See closeup of garter stitch scarf below.

Linda's Cammo Striped Beanie and Seeded Scarf

The photo looks black and white but this set is made using khaki green and tan yarn. The scarf is knit in the seed stitch using a strand each of green and tan held together and is thick and warm. The hat is a simple 1x1 beanie and uses only one strand at a time.





Materials

Worsted weight yarn
- 1 skein khaki green
- 1 skein tan

Size 8, 16-inch circular needle (hat)
Size 8 double-point needles (hat)
Size 10 1/2, any length circular (scarf)

Size: Small
Time: hat 2 hrs, scarf 3-4 hrs

See closeup of seed stitch scarf below.

Linda's Brioche Scarf and Striped Beanie

This is a simple set I knitted in January. The scarf is done using the brioche stitch, and the hat is a simple 1x1 rib beanie with two stripes of the scarf yarn thrown in.

Materials

Worsted weight yarn
- 1 200 yd skein rust
- 1 200 yd skein black

Size 8, 16-inch circular needle
Size 8 double-point needles

Size: Small
Time: hat 2 hrs, scarf 5 hrs

Close-up of brioche stitch scarf below.

The Crafty Creators and Operation Breakthrough



Your handmade hats and scarves
will put smiles on the faces
of children like these
and keep them warm in winter.


Crafty Creators are volunteers who
knit and crochet hats, scarves, and
other items for children at
Operation Breakthrough.

What is Operation Breakthrough?

Operation Breakthrough helps children living in poverty by providing day care, preschool, and before and after-school programs. Operation Breakthrough serves about 600 children from age 6 months to 18 years. Twenty-five per cent of the children are homeless, another 25% live in foster homes, and the rest live below the poverty line. These children don’t have the basics we take for granted to protect against winter weather – including warm hats and scarves.

“When it’s made from the heart, it’s extra special.”

Jenny Horsley, Director of Volunteer Services at Operation Breakthrough, told us how grateful the children and their parents are for the hats and scarves. “These children need so much, that when they get anything new it’s wonderful. When it’s made from the heart, it’s extra special.” The hats are distributed through the family case managers. “The parents and children are so excited because not only will they have warm clothes to wear but they have hats and scarves that match. And it’s neat because they can choose the items themselves.”

Visit Operation Breakthrough at http://www.operationbreakthrough.org/