Tag Archives: stephanie pearl mcphee

Knit the Look: Emily Weiss’s beanie for beginners

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How to knit Emily Weiss's grey roll brim beanie

So many monochromatic looks lately in Knit the Look, I know, but I love how chic Emily Weiss of Into the Gloss looks in this all-black outfit with the simple grey beanie. And I mean beginner simple. Consider this the Knit the Look installment of my beginners series, because even if all you know is the knit stitch, you can make this hat. Beginner or not, you can use Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s free Roll Brim Hat Recipe and any yarn/weight you like. To get the mini-roll look of Emily’s hat, you could knit it in any sport weight or lighter yarn, but I’d go with something special so it doesn’t wind up looking too plain, like maybe Blue Sky Alpaca’s beautiful Metalico in Silver.

Every knitter should know how to turn a body part measurement and a stitch count (taken from a gauge swatch) into a cast-on count, and this is a perfect place to start. For the true beginners: If you haven’t already, you’ll need to learn to knit in the round on a circular needle (which you can do from this little video, and which will change your life). You’ll just knit every stitch, around and around and around. And by the time you start getting bored with that, it will be time for you to learn the most basic of decreases, which is simply to knit two stitches together (aka “k2tog”). And, once you’ve got too few stitches to stretch around your circular, you get to try your hand at double-pointed needles. All incredibly valuable, foundational skills, acquired one at a time, and at the end, an awesome hat!

Meanwhile, check out Vanessa’s recommendations for recreating the rest of Emily’s look.

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Street style photo © Vanessa Jackman; used with permission

New Favorites: Big textured mitts

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Big textured fingerless glove patterns

I unexpectedly found myself with a full day to devote to my Acer yesterday. Such a gift! Alas, rather than resuming from where I’d left off — months ago — with the lace/body, I noticed three missing yarnovers in the same row from my last pass at it, did a pair of exploratory compensation rows, which were surprisingly successful, ripped it back anyway, went out for a walk and lunch with my husband, then re-knitted the ripped rows. Just as I was lamenting that the day was gone, with no progress made, and double-checking my last row of cables to make sure they were all twisting the right direction, I made a shocking discovery. (Did nobody else spot the missing cable in this June photo? How could I have missed it?!) So it’s worse than zero progress; I’ve got a repair to make that’s eighteen rows deep. I’ve used this surgical cable repair method before — thank you Yarn Harlot! — and will be attempting it again, but not until next weekend when I’ve got a chunk of headspace and daylight for it. So screw monogamy! I’ve got a few nights to spend on something else.

Obviously my mind goes immediately to its happy place: fingerless mitts. Maybe one or the other of these big, long, textured dazzlers—

TOP: Fumior by Julie Hoover

MIDDLE LEFT: Ripple Effect by Jill Zielinski

MIDDLE RIGHT: Basketcase Mitts by Amy Miller

BOTTOM: Sophia Mitts by Nell Ziroli

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The ICYMI post this week, because it’s on my mind again, is The next big hat trend — but what’s it called?

Knit the Look: Jemma Baines’ big black cable beanie

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how to knit jemma baines black cable beanie - vanessa jackman photo

I’m over the moon for the look of Jemma Baines’ oversized black cabled beanie and want to knit it immediately — because it’s adorable and because what’s more fun to knit than cables? I’d go with Eveli Kaur’s Bulky Hat pattern (free), knit in Blue Sky Alpacas’ Bulky Alpaca Naturals yarn in Black Bear, pictured above. Lengthen the ribbing a little bit, and add a pompom at your discretion. For a slightly bulkier hat with a little more complex cabling, try Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s An Unoriginal Hat knit in Cascade Magnum in Black.

See Vanessa Jackman’s post for the rest of Jemma’s outfit.

(Note to beginners: If you haven’t knit cables before, Kaur’s pattern would be a fantastic place to start. You’ll die when you realize how simple a basic cable is.)

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Street style photo © Vanessa Jackman; used with permission