Urchin Hat

It's hard to go into a shop that sells wool and not come out with just one ball of something. Thankfully I'm married to a man who is a crafty enabler of the highest order. And this hat is his fault. I wanted a hat that kind of matched my Miss Winkle, something that picked up on the grey/black. I wanted to make this fairly quickly so I asked him to find me some bulky. We went to Inspirations in Exeter and between us we picked out a ball of Rowan Cocoon in stunning, steely-grey shale.

From my shale I made an Urchin, the amazing Ysolda Teague hat from Knitty's Fall 2007 issue. It's a really cool knit, worked flat and shaped with short rows. I have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with garter ridges and I love the way they look here. Paired with he smushy wool/mohair blend I get an amazingly soft, deceptively warm hat.  I wear it down over one ear when I'm feeling rebellious, off the back of my head when I'm feeling more vintagey and hold it down with bobby pins during these ridiculous storms.