Free Knit Pattern: Autumn Pixie Hood

I've been looking for a super cute pixie and I couldn't find a free pattern I liked. So my solution...Make one! This hat is super simple. It's knitted on a pair of strait needles and is essentially a large rectangle until you sew it up.

Onto the pattern!


Supplies:
US Size 10 Needles (6mm)
Chunky/Super Chunky weight yarn - My estimated guess of about 170 yards.
Any pair of circular needles for blocking. (You can probably even use string for this part)
Extra needle for the 3 needle bind off (does not have to be same size, you can even use your circular for this)
Squirt Bottle (for blocking)

Stitches:
K – Knit
P – Purl
K2Tog – Knit 2 stitches together.

Pattern: Brim
1. CO 86.
^My hat sits and drapes down my shoulders. You can lengthen or shorten the CO if your prefer shorter sides. (82, 78, 74 etc..) The pattern will work exactly the same for any stitch count.

2. 6 rows of 2x2 rib. (2K, 2P)
^Switch colors here for 2 color brim as seen in the photos below.

3. 7 rows of Knit.
^For a thicker brim color you can end your yarn color here if you wish.



Pattern: Hat continued...
4. 4K, 78P, 4K
^On every Purl row you will always knit the beginning and ending 4 stitches

5. Knit row (86K)
6. 4K, 78P, 4K
7. *4K, K2Tog, K76, K2Tog, 4K (84)
^Every other knit row (or every 4 rows) you will decrease in this manner.

8. 4K, 76P, 4K
9. Knit row
10. 4K, 76P, 4K

Repeat from * 5 times if you are using a super chunky yarn. (74 stitches remaining) For normal chunky yarn I recommend repeating 6 or 7 times or until desired width. Note: decreasing at this point is optional.

Block Hat:
Transfer knitting to a pair of circular needles.
Lay down knitting onto ironing board and pin in place. (you can stretch your knitting if you feel it needs it)
Spray with squirt bottle and let dry.

Finish Off:
*Note: Decide if you'd like your bind off stitch to be on the inside or the outside. The brown hat above has an inside seam, the red hat below has an outside seam. I find that the pointy pixie tip is more apparent with an outside seam, but this also depends on your yarn choice.

Starting at bottom of hat stitch up the side using a 3 needle bind off.
Finish off, tuck in, and secure yarn on inside of hat.

Fringe:
I cut 9-12 pieces of 22” length yarn. Weave 3-4 piece sections into 3 bottom corner sections of hat and braid down. Tie off with small piece of yarn. Trim yarn evenly. Repeat on other side.

Enjoy your new Autumn Pixie Hood! :)

For the Autumn Pixie Hood above I used Homespun yarn in Prairie for the brim and Earth for the remaining body. I mixed my yarn colors in the fringe for a more blended look.

For a Red Riding Hood look I used Loops & Threads Charisma yarn in red. It's super chunky and velvety soft. Because the yarn is chunkier than the homespun the hood came out a bit larger even though the pattern is the same stitch count.



I really hope you enjoyed this pattern! If you have an account on Ravelry I'd love to see your finished photos! :) Please use for personal use only.

(c) 2011 Tori Carroll/PosiTori.com

I'm Back!

It's been two weeks since I posted something. I've just been so busy since I've been back. I had an important launch last week and since its over I now have time to myself. :)

On my vacation I went to South NJ, Philadelphia, and NYC! The cities were beautiful! Everything is in bloom up north right now. Not all dead and dried up like Florida. Low 50s and windy. Just my kind of weather! I LOVED it!


I finally got to wear my Marbled Capucine Hat that I finished months ago! Winter in FL is super short so I won't get to wear it again until next year. But I did remember to pack for my day in NYC! The wind was constantly trying to blow it off of me!


The attempted this pattern 4 or 5 times before I finally got it right. The hat always came out waaaaay to small. I had to add some extra stitches and I posted my modified version in the Ravelry link above.

Hehe! Thats my mom in the photo above. Isn't she just the sweetest!

Cables!

I only learned to knit about a month ago, and I decided to take a stab at cables! I had a stash of chunky yarn lying around and I figured it was time for a new scarf. I used Kiersten Brandt's Backbone Bookmark Pattern and thought it would look awesome as a scarf. I used size 11 needles and the scarf ended up being a good 6" across. Perfect! Not bad for my first stab at cables! :D I also wasn't sure if I liked my yarn choice after I started knitting with it, but it's one of those 'the more you look at it, the more you like it' kinda things.

My First Knit Hat!

My first knit hat! Raverly Pattern is here. The finished product from my Noro Yuzen yarn review. I CO 96 when I should have done significantly less. Want to knit your own? This hat is a bit to big for me all around. Makes me look like a Rastafarian. lol! The color pallet certainly doesn't help. I do love the Noro though. The color variants are amazing! I'm going back to Fiber Arts later today! Today is the last day of their bogo sale!



I feel like a knitting machine! So many new projects in the works!

Needle Organizers are a great crafting project. Not only are they cute but they're incredibly useful. The photos listed above link directly to their etsy sellers and each one is shaped different. The hardest part is deciding what style case I want to make! Here's a helpful list of tutorials. Get crafting! It's almost the weekend!

Yarn Review: Noro Yuzen

I bought two skeins of Noro Yuzen at a yarn specialty shop. So far, this yarn has been a pleasure to work with. This yarn is semi-soft to the touch. It doesn't feel acrylicy at all making it ideal for hats, scarves, gloves, etc. I would not recommend this yarn for Amigurumi. The yarn weight varies quite often and it goes through spurts of very thick yarn and then very thin....with knitting the variation isn't that noticeable. I've heard people complain about knotting, but I have yet to encounter this problem. I also have only used Noro Yuzen. I have yet to test out other Noro yarns like the popular Silk Garden. Eventually though ;D

I love watching the color variations when using this yarn. You almost don't notice it happening until you see the results. I can't wait to finish this project! At first glance from the way the skein is packaged, you can't really tell just how beautifully it actually knits. I would buy more of this yarn! If theres no specialty yarn shop near you, you can order this yarn online. You can see some of the color variations here! But if your interested, order soon. I recently noticed that this yarn has been discontinued!

Hat Que

I wanted to share the current hat projects in my Raverly cue. I've been in a real hat mood lately. Maybe its due to Florida actually getting some cool weather. I'm really new to knitting, and so far every attempt at a hat, (specifically the last one listed above) has come out extremely small. Even when I use a needle thats 2 sizes larger. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. My gage is seriously off. I'm youtube self taught so far...so it just might be time to Q&A an expert knitter.

What are you currently working on?

Knitting!

So my new years resolution for this year is to finally teach myself how to knit! After a week of learning, Behold! My first completed project!



Its not perfect, my knitting is still a bit Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey ;)
The edges curl, but that'll get better over time with practice. But you can definitely tell its supposed to be the Tardis in the center! Success! :D Want to knit your own Timey Wimey Tardis? Find the pattern here on Ravelry!


I can almost hear the most beautiful sound in the universe right now :)