1 Pattern and 2 Projects

Here is a picture of the hat that I made using the pattern from this blog post. 

I used Vanna's Choice in Olive to make this hat.  It is a very comfortable and very warm hat.  


The craft fair over the weekend was a huge success.  We all had a really great time and made A LOT of sales!!  My kids had so much fun that today when I picked up my loom, my daughter said to me "Mom, are you going to make more hats so we can go sell them again?  That was so much fun!".  How cute is that?  I not only sold a bunch of hats, but I was able to trade a few hats for some beautiful jewelry made out of antique silverware.  I was also able to find out about other craft fairs to look into and I had a lady ask me to consider putting some of my hats in her store.  

I plan to work on getting more items in my etsy store this week.  I will also be lowering prices and even offering an etsy sale code.  I am hoping to have at least 10 more items listed by Friday, so please feel free to check back in. 



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Headband/Ear-Warmer with Bumps

Pattern for Headband/Ear-warmer with Bumps

Supplies needed:  loom with even number of pegs.  I used the purple loom for the one I made in the picture.  

                                      knitting hook

                                      yarn needle

                                      Yarn of your choice.  I used Vanna's Choice in Chocolate

You will need to know how to e-wrap, purl,  knit (not e-wrap), and how to do the super stretchy bind off to make this pattern.

Row 1.  Using two strands of yarn as one cast on the loom using the basic e-wrap.

Rows 2 and 3 .  k2, p2 * repeat around the loom

Rows 4 and 5. p1, (k2,p2) last 3 pegs k2, p1

Rows 6 and 7. p2,k2 *  repeat around the loom
Rows 8 and 9. k1, (p2,k2) last 3 pegs p2,k1


Keep repeating rows 2 -9 until the ear-warmer is the length you want. 

You are now ready to cast off.  Use the super stretchy bind off method.  Wrap your yarn around the loom 4 times and then cut the working yarn.  Do NOT remove the loops on the pegs until the very end.  Put your yarn needle on the yarn and sew up through the 2nd peg, then down through the 1st peg.  Go up through the 3rd peg and down through the 2nd.  You will continue doing this around the loom.  You will be done with this bind off when you bring the yarn up through the 1st peg and then down through the last.  You are now ready to take the headband/ear-warmer off the loom.  Go ahead and make a knot and leave enough yarn to sew and hide.  

I used the pattern above to make a hat and really love the way it turned out. Check out this post to see it. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Rainbow Rib-It with Pom Pom

Yesterday when I was working on getting all my hats finished I found a hat in the pile that I was not very happy with.  My daughter loved the colors, but it was just way too long.  When I made it last winter I made it so that either a child or adult could wear it.  But, the more I looked at it the more I did not like it.  For a while I left it thinking that maybe someone would like it and buy it anyway.  We left for soccer practice and by the time I got home and I looked at it again, I starting taking it apart. 

Before Picture

I wanted to figure out a way to make it better.  I was also hoping to not have to "frog" the whole hat.  The first step was taking a long piece of scrap yarn of a completely different color.  With my yarn threaded I then worked my way around the hat making sure that I picked up all 48 stitches.  I was then able to take the hat and using the loops that were threaded put them back on the loom.  It really didn't matter if I picked up the stitches in the same row, I would be able to take care of that later.  Once my purple loom had loops on every peg I was able to see if I needed to work backwards and take any yarn off to get the hat to match up.  I will not lie.  This whole process did take longer than I thought it would.  Once the hat was ready I was able to gather the hat again.  

I already knew that I wanted to make a pom-pom with the yarn that was originally on the hat.  So, with the pink, yellow, and orange yarn I made a large pom-pom using my Clover pom-pom maker.  Below is a picture of the finished hat.  I am very pleased with the way it looks now.  And, even though it took an hour of "frogging" and re-working, I am very happy with it.  

Rainbow Rib-It with Pom-Pom After

2 Headbands and 1 Skein of Yarn

The past few days I have spent working on getting all of my hats finished.  I can officially say that every  hat that needed to be finished is 100% ready to be sold.  If I had to leave right now for the craft show, I would be good to go.  :)

In my last post I wrote about wishing that I would have made a few more headbands/ear-warmers.  So, that is the other thing that I have been working on.  I used another skein of Vanna's Choice yarn in Chocolate and made 2 more headband/ear-warmers.  


If you are a regular reader or have looked through my blog you will notice that I knit a lot of my projects with Caron's Brand Simply Soft.  I have found that when making the headband/ear-warmers that the Simply Soft is too soft.  They end up stretching out too much in my opinion.  The texture of the Vanna's Choice is perfect for a great ear-warmer.  The other thing that I like about the Vanna's Choice is that it is not as scratchy as some acrylic yarn.  Below you will see both headband/ear-warmers that I made.  I will post later today with a pattern..  

Ribbed Headband/Ear-warmer

Headband/Ear-warmer with Bumps Pattern

* If you click on the link under the picture it will take you to the blog post with the pattern. 

1 Skein of Yarn and 2 Projects

The first project that I made using Vanna's Choice yarn was a hat.  It was supposed to be a pumpkin hat and still might be, but for now it is a simple hat.  I used the green loom and a stitch pattern that I have never used before.  The hat came out very tight and won't fit either one of my kiddos.  I am disappointed about this, because when I started the hat I had planned for it to be a hat for a child.  Instead it will fit a baby, but due to length will have to be rolled.  I mentioned that I used the green loom to make this hat, but I also used a long loom and loom clips.  I was able to shape the crown by doing a decrease.  It may have been easier to just use a long loom, but I didn't decide to shape the crown until I was close to the end. 

The second project that I made with the left over yarn was a ear-warmer/headband.  I used the long pink loom for this project and used the figure eight stitch.  I love using the figure eight stitch for my ear-warmers/headbands because the pattern is beautiful and reversible, but also I love how thick they turn out.  They will definitely keep your ears warm in the winter.  

When I cast off this project I tried something new.  I made it so that I could bring the first row up and over, so it eliminated the need to sew it together.  This link will take you to a picture tutorial of how I made the headband/ear-warmer. I am very happy with the way it turned out.  For one reason, I kind of stink at the sewing part.  And two, it made an area that will be hidden  a little narrower.  This makes it very comfortable.  I plan to use this way of casting off from now on. My daughter was very happy to model the finished project.  I took a picture of it being worn both ways, so you can see the reversible pattern.  

I Have a Confession

I have been working all week trying to get as many items finished as possible for the craft show next weekend.  I have done ok, but I still have projects that I wish I would be able to add.  I really should have spent some time on fingerless gloves and headband/earwarmers.  Instead I made hats, lots and lots of hats. 

My confession that I have is  - I make hats and then I don't finish them.  For example:  I have a total of 16 hats that still need me to cut the extra yarn.  This also means I need to hide the yarn from the cast on row.  I wish that I would just finish them before putting them away.  I have got to get better at this.  

The good news is that I have a total of 50 items that I will be able to sell at the craft show!  I had no idea how many hats and other random knitted items I actually had.  I am crossing my fingers that people are in the buying mood and will want to purchase items that I have made.  

After the craft show I will need to get on top of things and get my items listed on etsy.  I also plan to offer a coupon code for the fall.   Be looking for it and pass the code on to friends.  :)  I started a facebook page for my blog and hope that could be another way of getting word out about my items for sale.  There is nothing added to the page just yet, but I am working on getting more info and pictures added this week.   Feel free to "Like" my page and suggest it to your friends.

Garter Stitch Ear-flap Hat

I finished another hat late last night.  I made an ear-flap hat using the garter stitch.  I love the colors and think that it came out looking really nice.  This morning I had both of my kiddos try it on to check the size.  This caused a small argument over which one was going to be able to keep the hat.  I had to tell them that unfortunately neither of them would be able to keep this hat.   I need to add it to my inventory for the craft show next week.  And, if it doesn't sell at the craft show it needs to be added to my Etsy shop .  I would be happy to post instructions for this hat if anyone is interested.  Just leave me a comment and I can put a post with instructions. 

Garter Stitch Ear-Flap Pattern

The other hat that I finished this week is a Grey Honeycomb Hat.  This hat is actually more of a beanie style.  It was made using a pattern from the book "I Can't Believe I'm Loom Knitting" .

I have already put another project on the loom.  Last night after taking the ear-flap hat off the loom, I immediately put some orange yarn on to make a pumpkin hat.  I am using Vanna's Choice yarn.  This is my first time using this yarn and I am liking it so far.  I will post pictures of the hat once it is finished.  

**  I was asked to add the pattern for the Garter Stitch Ear-flap hat.  If you click on the link under the picture it will take you to the post.  :)