It’s a SNAP

Marled… Ombre… it’s a SNAP! What’s not to love?

This design was just a simple project that called my name. Once the idea popped into my head, despite all the many and various other things I was SUPPOSED to be working on, it would not shut up. It crooned ‘knit me, knit me, say that you’ll knit me’ (think The Cardigans – Lovefool circa 1996). And so, obviously, I had to knit it. What else could I do? I hope you’ll enjoy the Snap hat as much as I have!

This pattern is EVEN BETTER in the free Tin Can Knits app!

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This hat is a snap. There’s absolutely nothing complicated about it, it knits up in 2-3 hours.

The most joyous part (for me) was seeing how the colours combine! You’ll need a pile of odds and ends, but if you’re a knitter, I’m going to speculate that you probably have a basket of little lovely bits which you couldn’t quite bring yourself to throw away.

I used A LOT of colours. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been knitting for years, and I have many tiny balls of leftover sock yarn. But you could make an exquisite Snap hat in two colours as well: start with 4 strands of a single colour, and then gradually swap out one strand of the first colour for the second until all 4 strands are your second colour.

When creating marled combinations, you will find that you achieve different effects depending on the contrast between the colours. Lower contrast combinations will be more like blended solid colours whereas higher contrast combos are ‘sparklier’ or ‘specklier’ (both of those are totally words). We’ll talk about the technique of marling in more detail next week!

The joy of this pattern is that you can simply experiment as you go. And if the finished hat isn’t exactly to your own taste in terms of colour, you know there’ll be somebody you know who REALLY WANTS TO STEAL IT! If it’s not for you, let it go.

I photographed Snap on Nina and Max during last week’s cold snap in Edinburgh! This photo-shoot had the most extreme weather conditions we had yet experienced… intense blowing snow and icy winds. But Nina (our lovely model, friend, and the dyer behind Rainbow Heirloom) was a sport, as always! And we warmed up with cake and coffee after surviving the Arctic blast!

Excited for EYF:

I’m eagerly anticipating teaching two classes at this year’s Edinburgh Yarn Festival. I decided to forgo having a Tin Can Knits stall in favour of teaching, meeting up with knit designer friends travelling here from all over the world, and fully enjoying the marketplace and events! I’m particularly excited to show off my new sweaters and my ceilidh dancing skills… Are you coming along?

Throwback to the inaugural Edinburgh Yarn Festival in 2013! This was my very first show (note the highly professional hand-drawn sign that I made that morning, as folk were arriving). I was wearing my original Lush cardigan sample, before the book Handmade in the UK was even published!

This year I’m teaching ‘Off The Charts’, which is an ode to my love of charts as a design tool, and ‘Strange Brew‘ in which participants design their own colourwork yoke, using our recipe pattern Strange Brew. If you’re not coming to the show in person, I’ll be sharing the excitement on Instagram, so follow us or surf the tags: #EYF #EYF2018 #EdinburghYarnFestival

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12 Comments

Andrea @ This Knitted Life
March 12, 2018 @ 1:30 pm

Hi! I was hoping to include this post in my Spring Bucket List of must knits on my site (www.thisknittedlife.com) later this week. Is it okay if I link to this post and include a copy one of the photos from this post to include and attribute it back to you?

Thanks!
Andrea
- alexaludeman
  March 12, 2018 @ 1:34 pm
  
  Hi Andrea – absolutely, thanks!
wakemeupbeforeyoucocoa
March 12, 2018 @ 5:24 am

Yes, brilliant, fab hat pattern idea! And of course re the basket of ends. So excited to start this!
Bindy
March 9, 2018 @ 9:42 pm

Those are some seriously cute hats…and children. Great idea for leftover sock yarn. And my love of your Lush Cardigan lives eternal. I’ve just cast on a different cardi…but you’re totally tempting me anyway. Thanks for so much lovely knitting inspiration!
Lorene Schlie
March 8, 2018 @ 12:43 pm

Hi – I do not knit socks and have no sock yarn. Can I use worsted or aran?
- alexaludeman
  March 12, 2018 @ 1:38 pm
  
  Hi Lorene – you bet! You just want to hold enough strands together to get gauge, I would recommend 2 strands of worsted, or maybe 3 strands of DK
M-R
March 8, 2018 @ 10:53 am

Oh, I have loved ceilidh music since seeing “Local Hero”, back in … the ’80s ? – something like that. Lucky anyone who can actually get to one !
Susan Aitkin
March 8, 2018 @ 10:03 am

great hat! you could use any weight yarn just so that it would add up to worsted weight . right? just wouldn’t get the wonderful shading. correct?
- alexaludeman
  March 12, 2018 @ 1:39 pm
  
  Hi Susan – you would want it to add up to a chunky/bulky weight, yarn you would use on a US 10.5 needle. Lots of combos will work!
Sheree
March 8, 2018 @ 8:11 am

YUM! Love the idea of creating something so exquisite from left overs! Just bought the pattern and as soon as I finish this note, I’m off to find yarn to start the adventure. YAY! Thanks.
Jennifer
March 8, 2018 @ 7:46 am

Great hat! I’ll get the pattern after work today :)

I wish I could go to Edinburgh – maybe another year – have fun !!
Margie
March 8, 2018 @ 6:23 am

What a fun pattern! Wishing you safe travels and loads of fun at Edinburgh!!