Balmoral Bonnet

[Pleater]

Be sure that you don't buy a machine washable yarn - if you want to make felt then it has to be the right sort of wool.

Having loads of yarn I sell some from time to time and in recent years have had to disappoint people wanting to make things to felt, as I deliberately sought out washable wool.

One woman took the leftover yarn from a wine red jersey I made for myself and was very upset when the other yarns she used with it felted, and it did not, making a very peculiar looking lumpy thing. It was a 'Superwash' yarn, and even boiling had not made it shrink.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Aspiringloser]

It was $6.95 when I downloaded it and worth every bit of it. I'd knit several beanies and I'm working on a simple pattern afghan. I'd never knit in the round. I had to look up the SSK stitch as it wasn't in my book but other than that, it was pretty easy. I wasn't sure how to cast on the two bridge stitches after the three rows of garter stitch for the band. I just twisted the yarn over the needle to mimic knit stitches and it seemed to work out okay. And as Anne mentioned and the instructions as well, don't get machine washable yarn. I didn't want to risk it not felting properly so I didn't even buy a yarn with any synthetic content at all.

[usonian]

Oh, very nice! I picked up a skein of that very color not too long ago with no real purpose in mind; it's just a nice earthy blend of colors. Looks really nice felted!

[Aspiringloser]

The green seems to really come out after you felt it. Note to self: If trying to match the ribbon to the color of the bonnet, take the finished, felted bonnet back to the store with you to pick out your ribbon. The closest match I found in the store using the yarn itself doesn't seem to be as good a match after felting. I made the little "nib" on this one. I had to look up how to knit I-cord. I didn't have any 10.5 DPNs so I used 7's for the I-cord. Seemed to work out okay. Thanks again for posting this pattern!
p.s. I wish they sold that particular yarn in bigger skeins. I had to buy two and barely used the second one.

[usonian]

Not sure if I linked to them in any of my other balmoral threads, but on my hats I used petersham ribbon from Judith M Millinery Supply for the band - it looks like grosgrain but it has a flexible edge that better lends itself to conforming to curves. It has the added bonus of being cotton/viscose instead of 100% polyester, which is pretty much all you can find grosgrain-wise.

Good to know about the amount of yarn needed for a solid-color hat. On my first balmoral, I used just shy of one skein of yarn for the crown; I guess it was the black-white-red dicing that made the difference.

[Thomas H]

Very NICE , Balmoral - wow great job , if you were going to make one and sell it - How much would you sell one for ? just wondering, as I can not knit .
Thank you

[Aspiringloser]

I couldn't knit until I got a book and learned. It isn't that hard. I don't have any interest in making them to sell. Get yourself a learn to knit book and go for it!