And Finally! A Soft Hat and Cowl

My daughter suggested that her husband would appreciate a new hat as long as it was really soft!

So of course I had to feel the wool before I bought it.

I discovered some wool that sounded suitable in a shop called Closs and Hamblin in Winchester. I didn’t realise but they do have other stores.

The yarn was Rowan Brushed Fleece a a chunky yarn that is 65% Extra fine Merino wool, 30% Baby Alpaca, 5% Polyamide The shade I bought was called ‘Tarn (254)’.

I had originally intended to get some yarn the same colour as his current hat but this was half price and just as suitable. Yay!

It was beautifully light and soft.

I chose this pattern – https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/clinton-2 that I found on Ravelry. However I adjusted the size according to the measurements my daughter had given me and when I changed from rib to stocking stitch I knitted twice into each stitch and put every other stitch on a piece of yarn so I could later knit an extra layer inside. (Basically a repeat of the outside, just a row or two shorter.)

So here it is!

After this I had a rather tantillising amount of yarn left. Not enough to abandon but not enough for anything I knew of. So back to Ravelry!

It is possible to search by how much yarn you have and doing this I managed to find this pattern – https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-amazing-50yd-cowl

Yes! a paid one this time and I knew I would need to adapt it for a larger person as the pattern in question was for a woman. So a few false starts but eventually I had this. (And next to no yarn left!)

A good choice for anything with a V neck or a zipped coat not done up to the neck. A couple of old buttons from my button jar that I thought added something.

It was reported that my son-in-law finds the hat really warm and cosy and has worn the cowl as well. I even saw him wearing the hat when I joined the family for a day in London to try out the new “Sherlock” escape room. Devised by the same people who wrote the series on the BBC!