The Shetland hat

My newest knitted design and some thoughts on saving money.

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My latest design, the Shetland hat, is a red and white bobble hat. It was inspired by Shetland, a TV show based on the books of Anne Cleeves. A thoroughly enjoyable crime thriller show starring Douglas Henshall, it is, unsurprisingly, set on Shetland. Shetland is very cold and very windy, so there was a lot of knitwear, much of which was stunning. A second series is coming soon – check it out.

A very important part of a Shetlander's wardrobe is, of course, a cosy hat. This one is knitted in Erika Knight’s bulky-weight Maxi Wool in Marni (red) and Canvas (white). The wide ribbed band keeps the hat firmly on your head, while the denseness of the reverse stocking stitch will ensure you stay warm. And the gorgeous red pompom just finishes the whole thing off!

The Shetland bobble hat in Erika Knight Maxi Wool.
I really like this colour combination,
and the weather's definitely turned, so I'm
sure to get plenty of wear out of the hat.
Photo by Idoru Knits.

 The chunkiness of the yarn means this is a very quick knit; it’s simple too – ideal for pub knitting. The yarn itself is lovely; soft to the touch and a joy to knit with. It isn’t cheap, though, and this got me to thinking. Knitting can be a rather expensive hobby and this is something I want to address in my designs.

Maxi Wool costs £8.95 and the pattern requires one skein of each colour. I know we don’t necessarily knit to save money, but I still think that nearly £20 just for the materials to make a hat is quite costly (although I did get two hats out of it). I’m not saying it’s not worth it – the yarn is beautiful and I’m really pleased with finished product – but not everybody wants to, or even can, spend that much.

So my plan from now on is to always find two different yarns that can be used for every project: a ‘save’ yarn and a ‘splurge’ yarn. In this case the Maxi Wool is the latter. If you want to ‘save’, however, I recommend Wendy Pampas, which I picked up for £4.50 per ball. Another bulky yarn, the gauge is marginally bigger than the the Erika Knight, so might require a smaller needle.

A 'selfie' of me looking happy in my new hat.
Photo by Idoru Knits.

This pattern will be available for free at some point in the future ...