White C.C. Copycat Beanie

My second knitting project this year is a hat for Gaby. As in that Bulgarian saying about having the button, so the only thing left is to make the coat, I had the white pompom (bought to round up an online order, you know how these things go :), so I had to make the hat.

A few year ago I made a white sweater for Gaby and I had quite a significant amount of sequin yarn left. I have also lots of white Italian bobbins of merino yarn, bought with the intent of dyeing it one day. And I have a very clear step-by-step instructions for the C.C. Copycat Beanie on my blog. All I had to do was take out the yarn, combine a few strands to get the right thickness and follow my own instructions. Easy peasy lemon sqeezy.

Although the fact, that I have the description of the hat was one of the main factors for choosing that design, it was not the major one - I simply adore the pattern and in my mind it has the best balance between slouchy, beanie-volume and visual interest. And it is so easy to knit!

Pattern: C.C. CopyCat beanie
Yarn: three threads, merino, polyester, sequins
Needle: 4.5 mm, 5 mm
Time to knit: 5 days 

A while ago I bought a collection of leather "Handmade" labels and I have plenty of white ones, but all white can be sometimes too much white, so in the end I chose a brown label for interest.

And I also made a simple cozy lining for the hat out of a piece of double-knit white fabric I had in my leftovers bag - Gaby prefers her hats to have a warm lining.

I used the opportunity that Gaby is visiting for Christmas to take a picture not only of the hat, but also of the jeans and the pink hoodie I made for her earlier this year. I'm really happy that she appreciates and wears the clothes I make for her.

Orange Hat

After some glorious spring weather, winter reminded us that it is not entirely gone and we are back to subzero temperatures and snow. Just the weather to show off my husband's new knitted hat. 

Orange is one of his favourite colors, but he wanted the hat to be a melange of orange, red and brown, so I overdyed some orange yarn I had left from an old knitting project. I'm really happy with the result and I think it came out much better than if it was just plain orange.

I didn't use any pattern, pure improvisation. I cast on 136 sts and knit 1x1 rib in the round for a long fold over brim, then switched to semi-brioche and continued until I reached the crown. Then I divided the stitches into 4 sections and gradually decreased until 20 stitches were left. I love the slouchy look of the hat and I think it suits my husband.

 

Project: Orange Hat (personal pattern)

Yarn: Zegna Baruffa Cashwool 80 g

Needle: 4 mm

Time to knit: two weeks

Husband wore the hat today for the first time and though he approved of its size in the course of knitting, he found it a bit loose while wearing it, so if I were to knit it again, I should consider making it a bit tighter. As the yarn is 100% merino, I'm wondering if putting it in the dryer for a little while might not help to make it just a bit smaller. I might risk it, if in the course of wear he finds its width uncomfortable.

Vali's Hat

My first finished knitting project for 2021 - a hat for Gaby's boyfriend.

I am quite conscious of the fact that not everybody likes handmade items and I really try not to foist my knitting and sewing on others, especially people outside my immediate family. Even if I might regard a handmade by me object precious, especially considering the time, effort and supplies it might have taken me to make it, for an indifferent person it could quite possibly be just an item not much to their liking and that's OK.

Still, I wanted to make a small present for Vali for this past Christmas and New Year to express my (our) appreciation and regard. So I made him a simple knitted hat, nothing too fancy and intrusive, plain black asphalt color, 1x1 rib and just a touch of orange for some interest and individuality.

The yarn is Italian bobbin 100% merino, 320 m / 100 g, very soft and squishy. I cast on 136 sts on 4 mm needles and knitted a long tube until I reached the crown. Then I experimented with the crown - first I made it with a long deep crown, but Gaby did not approve it; then I tried the squared method, but I did not like it and I finally made the crown shorter and more rounded with 17 decreases per round every other round and I think I nailed it. The hat is fully reversible and can be worn long and slouchy or beanie-like with a folded brim.

Gaby sent me a selfie of them both today, wearing hats, made by me and they looked so cute and happy, my heart melted :)

Pattern: Vali's hat (personal design)

Yarn: Zegna Baruffa Cashwool, 100% merino, 320 m / 100g, 70 g

Needle: 4 mm

Time to make: one week

Tumba Hat

Last year I found that I could make hats, combining the remnants of yarn from the Italian bobbin yarn I use lately. As this is yarn, that is produced for machine knitting, it usually comes in very thin threads - I've bought 1500 m / 100 g and even 3000 m / 100 g. The advantage of such remnants is that a small ball of 30 g of fine merino is about 400 m long - and that is a lot of length! Thus combining a few good for nothing balls of various yarns produces a melange of suitable thickness and length, sufficient for a hat.

My latest hat is a man's hat with double hem of 1x1 rib and semi-fisherman rib crown, made out of 27 g of Harmony Lana Gatto, a remnant from my green Koto sweater and 33 g of Filpucci Ascot, a remnant from my blue Starry Night sweater. I overdyed both yarns in green and held the fine Lana Gatto merino double. To my utter amazement the two resulting yarns had almost the same length - the difference was less than 5 cm. What were the odds, less than winning the lottery!

Pattern: Tumba hat (personal pattern)

Yarn: Harmony 95067 Lana Gatto, 100% merino, 1500 m / 100 g, 27 g,
Filpucci Ascot, 550 m / 100 g, 33 g 

Needle: 3.75 mm (hem), 4 mm (crown)

Time to knit: 4 days

Although my handsome husband is modeling the hat just for a few photos, it is intended as a Christmas present for another member of the family. I hope the recipient will like it, the combination yarn is 85% fine merino, 7.5% angora and 7.5% Cashmere goat - super soft and pleasant to touch and wear.

Brown C.C. CopyCat Beanie

In the heat of July I was suddenly visited by an inspiration to knit a beanie :)

The yarn is a recycled 65 g of Filitaly Macas, 60% Baby Alpaca, 20% Merino, 20% Nylon, 650 m/100 g in three threads. It is very soft and luxurious and was the remnant from a gorgeous poncho I knitted for Gaby. Back in 2016 I made her boot cuffs to go with the poncho, but they proved unpractical, the yarn was too soft for such items and kept breaking and Gaby wore them only a couple of times.

This summer she went through her knitted wardrobe and retired a few of the items, the boot cuffs among them. I unravelled the boot cuffs, straightened the yarn and overdyed it with black to achieve this deep chocolate color, which I love so much.

I didn't even consider any other hat pattern, I knew I wanted another C.C. CopyCat beanie - my fourth! One day I might return to other hat patterns, but I'm still fascinated with this simple beanie and I can't get enough of it :)

Pattern: C.C. CopyCat beanie
Yarn: Filitaly Macas, 65 g, in three threads
Needle: 4.5 mm, 5 mm
Time to knit: 3 days

Purple Copy.Cat C.C. Beanie

I made another CopyCat C.C. Beanie for Gaby. Last winter I made one pink beanie for her, using the remnant ball of yarn from her pink sweater. She has a purple winter jacket and a purple coat and she wanted a new purple hat and didn't mind it being another CopyCat C.C.

Pattern: CopyCat C.C. Beanie
Yarn: mixture of Italian bobbin yarns, 63 g total, overdyed in purple
Needle: 4.5 mm, 5 mm
Time to knit: 3 days

I decided to take three small remnant balls from two of her sweaters and overdye them all purple. Thus with almost good for nothing balls of 11 g Zegna Baruffa Merino, 1500 m / 100 g, 30 g Zegna Baruffa kent, 100% merino, 900 m/ 100 g and 30 g Pecci Filati Pacchero, 500 m / 100 g I made a hat.

As the yarns had some original color, they all took the purple overdye differently and the resulting mixture is a deep and melanged purple color, which I like a lot. I will definitely use this approach to small remnant balls of yarn in the future again.

Her two Copy.Cat C.C. Beanies - the pink from last year and the purple one. Last January I wrote down my notes for the pink beanie and now it was so easy to copy the hat, I should keep better notes of my projects!

C.C. CopyCat Beanie - Bulgarian translation

Поради големия интерес към шапката, реших да направя отделна публикация на български с моите бележки по модела. Оригиналът на шапката е машинно плетен от акрил и се продава от фирмата Colorado Chick като C.C.Beanie. Емили Ингрид е публикувала в Ravelry безплатна своя интерпретация на шапката под името CopyCat C.C. Beanie. Нейното описание на модела на английски може да се прочете в блога й.

Аз направих два варианта на шапката с две различни по дебелина прежди и с мои модификации. Първата ми версия е плетена с Pecci Filati Pacchero, италианска бобинна прежда в две нишки. Дебелината на преждата се получи 250 м / 100 г, плетох с игли 4.5 мм и 5 мм.

С помощта на спомагателен конец и куки 4.5 мм нанизах 86 бримки и плетох 30 реда пресукан ластик 1х1. След това прехвърлих живите бримки на втори обръч, махнах спомагателния конец и съединих първия и текущия ред бримка в бримка лицево. Минах на обръч 5 мм и оплетох още един ред лицево.
След това три пъти повторих следната комбинация:

6 реда опаково
2 реда лицево
6 реда полуанглийски ластик
2 реда лицево

След третото повторение на комбинацията изплетох
още 3 реда лицево (общо стават 5 лицеви след полуанглийския ластик),
1 ред свивки - всеки две бримки се плетат като една лицево - остават 43 бр.,
3 реда лицево,
отново 1 ред свивки - всеки две бримки се плетат като една лицево - остават 22 бримки.

Отрязах конеца и го прекарах няколко пъти през бримките, като затягах и накрая прибрах висящия край в плетивото. Приших помпон и кожено етикетче. Шапката тежи 65 г.

Втората шапка изплетох с Lanoso Alpacana. Дебелината на тази прежда е почти два пъти по-голяма - 130 м / 100 г, затова и се наложиха модификации към първоначалния модел.

С помощта на спомагателен конец и куки 4.5 мм нанизах 72 бримки. Плетох 23 реда полупресукан ластик (1 лицева пресукана, 1 опакова непресукана).
Съединих първия и текущия ред лицево и оплетох още един ред лицево с куки 5 мм.

След това изплетох 2 повторения на комбинацията

4 реда опаково
1 ред лицево
4 реда полуанглийски ластик
1 ред лицево

След второто повторение изплетох още
4 реда опаково
3 реда лицево
1 ред свивки - всеки две бримки се плетат като една лицево - остават 36 бр.,
2 реда лицево,
отново 1 ред свивки - всеки две бримки се плетат като една лицево - остават 18 бримки.

Накрая прекарах конеца няколко пъти през бримките, като затягах и прибрах висящия край в плетивото. Приших помпон и кожено етикетче. Шапката глътна точно 100 г.
Получи се много въздушна, но топла шапка, определено е любимата ми за този сезон.

Denim Beanie

My last project for 2018 - a quick beanie, using a recycled yarn and a version of Copycat C.C. beanie I adapted for bulky yarn.

A few words for the yarn. I bought it at the end of 2011 and knitted a beanie, that was supposed to be slouchy, but I ran out of yarn - the ball was only 130 m. I did love and wear the hat for probably a month and then the brim loosened and the hat kept falling over my eyes, so I put it back in the yarn box for reknitting.

A year later, in the winter of 2013 I reknitted it. I used an additional yarn for the inside of the double brim and I made it in a different style. It was a very uncomfortable hat - neither beanie, nor slouchy, too heavy to drape and too big to stay put on my head. I tried to wear it a few times and it quickly ended back in the yarn box, awaiting new restyling.

And it stayed there for almost 6 years. A week ago, after I had finished the Copycat C.C. Beanie for Gaby, I took it out, frogged it and glazed the yarn in dark denim. I think the original color was too loud with the contrast from white to black, the new glazed yarn is more subtle and the colors are better pulled together, IMHO. And the tag and pompom add a more contemporary vibe to it. Now I hope I can wear it, finally :)

Pattern: Copycat C.C. Beanie, adapted for bulky yarn
Yarn: Lanoso Alpacana, wool alpaca acrylic blend, 130 m
Needle: 4.5 mm, 5 mm
Time to knit: 2 days

Double Hat

Last week I finished my double hat / cowl, I started back in December. This project went through many stages - first it was going to be a stokinette stitch double beanie, then I decided to make it a cowl, then I added a second layer to the cowl and turned it into a double hat / cowl. Because I wanted to use up both yarns - 75g Alize Superwash I dyed last year and 75 g Cashwool merino, the hat turned very long and I find its form a bit funny and not particularly flattering.

Pattern: Double Hat / Cowl (personal pattern)
Yarn:  Alize Superwash 75g (156 sts), Cashwool Merino 75 g (130 sts)
Needle: 2.25 mm (st st), 4 mm (1x1 rib)

Here are a few pictures we took today of some of the ways this huge tube can be worn:

:Black with a colored brim:

 : Color out, double layer of black inside

 : Long and slouchy, black outside

 : Long tubular cowl

 : which could cover most of the face in harsh weather:

 : Double folded cowl, sort of a neckpiece

I'm not sure I'll keep this as it is, as I like the black part a lot and I'm not that fond of the superwash sock yarn worn around the neck/head. I'll test the hat this autumn/winter and I suspect I might redo it next year.