Are you ready to take your skills to the next level with designing your own colourwork hat pattern? Great for knitters looking to personalize their knits, creating custom pieces that reflect your interests and style, our online SOS course taught by Andrea Rangel is here to help! Join us as we learn the step-by-step process, plus helpful tips, for creating beautiful, custom-designed colourwork hats.
GET COMFORTABLE WITH COLOURWORK DESIGN
We’re so delighted to welcome Andrea Rangel to the list of talented and knowledgeable instructors at the School of SweetGeorgia. Andrea is the author of KnitOvation and AlterKnit stitch dictionaries, and is an absolute expert in colourwork design.
In her new course at the School of SweetGeorgia, Design Stranded Colourwork: Hats, Andrea takes us step-by-step through the entire design process. From finding inspiration and developing our idea, all the way through to sampling and understanding calculations (whether using paper and pencil or digital tools). By the end, you’ll have brought your colourwork vision to life in the form of an original hat pattern.
Along with video lessons, a downloadable workbook, and friendly community forum space to help answer any questions you may have along the way, you’ll get all the support you need to confidently create your own colourwork piece. Enjoy the opportunity to unleash your creativity and make a hat that’s uniquely you.
ANDREA’S WILDFLOWER BREEZE HAT PATTERN
Also included in Andrea’s course, and exclusive to SOS members, you can find the Wildflower Breeze Hat pattern, knit in SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk Fine. A cozy and quick-to-knit project, we love the sweet floral motif along the bottom edge of the hat, perfect for keeping warm in any season. This pattern is the perfect way to get comfortable with your colourwork knitting skills while crafting a beautiful accessory. The motif is meditative and delicate, so the knitting is irresistible.
To make your colourwork really pop, choose a main colour (MC) and contrast colour (CC) that are very different from one another, such as in Andrea’s sample (above). Alternatively, you can choose yarns that are similar in shade, resulting in colourwork which is more subtle. Check out Felicia’s Choosing Colours for Stranded Colourwork Knitting blog post for further tips on selecting your colourways, which also includes a helpful, downloadable PDF guide.
CREATING CUSTOM KNITS FOR FRIENDS & FAMILY
Incorporating the lessons from Design Stranded Colourwork: Hats, SweetGeorgia team member Greta knit three fabulous hats using two of the motifs from Andrea’s Knitovation book: Distant Trees and Check.
Knitting with the same SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk Fine yarn as in the Wildflower Breeze Hat, it allowed Greta to use this pattern as a template. She worked with the same gauge and needle size, knitting with the colourways Deep Cove and Foggy Dew. Although, for knitters working with different yarn bases, the course teaches how to adjust and sample for different yarns and gauges.
We love this idea for creating custom gifts and items that perfectly match the different hobbies and interest of family and friends. Creating pieces that are one-of-a-kind to truly highlight any special occasion.
LEARN MORE AT THE SCHOOL
We hope you’ll join us over at the School of SweetGeorgia to dive into learning colourwork design. We also have a range of knitting courses for knitters of all levels. If you’d like to brush up on gauge, swatching or colourwork basics, we recommend checking out: Mastering Gauge with Tabetha Hedrick, Modern Colourwork Knitting with Felicia Lo, and Stranded Colourwork Mittens with Caitlin Shepherd.
Explore our online courses and community of fibre arts makers at the School of SweetGeorgia! Use the code: EXPLORETHESCHOOL to save 15% on an All-Access monthly membership!
You can also find Felicia’s chat with Andrea as part of The SweetGeorgia Show podcast here where they talk about Andrea’s start in knitting and design.
Wildflower Breeze Hat in SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk
Equipment
- 1 Circular Knitting Needles Size 2 / 2.75 mm, 16″ / 40 cm long
- 1 Double-Point Needles* Size 2 / 2.75 mm *or preferred needle for small circumference knitting
- 1 Circular Knitting Needles Size 3 / 3.25 mm,16″ / 40 cm long, for colourwork *OPTIONAL
Materials
- 1 skein SweetGeorgia Yarns BFL+Silk Fine Birch
- 1 skein SweetGeorgia Yarns BFL+Silk Fine Cast Iron
Instructions
- To knit the Wildflower Breeze Hat, download a copy of the pattern which is available exclusively to SOS members at the School of SweetGeorgia.
- Using your circular needles and the CC yarn, cast on the number of stitches as listed in the pattern for your desired size.
- Follow the directions to switch to the MC to continue knitting the brim.
- Incorporating your CC yarn, switch to the larger needles in the colourwork section to maintain your gauge. Otherwise, continue following the colourwork directions using the same needle size.
- Return to smaller needles, or keep using the same size, for knitting the remainder of the single-colour body. Knit until the hat measures the preferred dimensions as listed in the pattern.
- Changing to double-pointed needles, or magic loop method, as stitches decrease, work the crown shaping instructions.
- Weave in all ends and wet block the finished hat. Lay flat to dry or dry on a hat form. Trim ends and enjoy!
Notes
Link to Pattern
Link to pattern
