Tag: Rauma Finull

Modeling Photos of the Doublemassa Hat

The Doublemassa massive hat knitting project is done. I have to model it for the full effect, so here goes.

Don’t get excited, no gorgeous models here. But the Doublemassa deserves to be photographed while worn. I’m the only one around to do it, so here goes.

I’m a little late posting this because life got busy! But I do need to share the final photos of this knitting project.

Tips For Finishing the Hat

First a note on finishing up this knitting project. One key thing I want to mention is to be sure and weave in your ends BEFORE you make decreases at the crown. I spit spliced my wool, and only had two ends to weave, but I had to pull that section up through the crown opening.

I ended up pulling the whole hat out just to check for ends. Maybe next time weave as I go, or at least keep track of how many ends there are. Wool makes yarn splicing easy, and this means fewer ends hanging.

two ends to weave in
Only 2 ends to weave
Doublemassa hat inside out.
Inside out

As I began the crown decreases, the hat was finally long enough to fold the brim and try on. This hat is seriously cool! It fits like a charm too. I’m knitting it for my daughter and she has a small head. I hope she likes the fit. The Rauma wool is quite soft, so no itchy problem there. I highly recommend Rauma.

Photo below: At this point all I have left to knit is the crown decreases. I’ve swapped out the 16″ circular for DPNs. Once that is finished I need to make a fun tassel for the top.

Doublemassa hat brim folded up

Making the Tassel

Tassel directions are included in the Hat’s On book. However, the directions are not great. I found a good video to follow, but the tassel must be attached to a hat without an inside access. I wrote a blog post about making and attaching the tassel.

Washed and Blocked

Fontana immediately claimed the hat as her newest cat bed!

Doublemassa colorwork snowflake hat knitting is complete
Unwashed
Thick brim in colorwork snowflake design of Doublemassa hat
quick try on
Doublemassa drying on blocking boards
Blocked and drying
Black cat sitting on drying mats that hold the Doublemassa hat
Perfect cat bed size

Modeling the Hat

I hate to show too much of myself, but in this case the Doublemassa deserves to be shown on a head. My head was it, so here goes.

All my knitting photos are selfies. I prop the camera somewhere and use the 3, or 10 second delay. Usually I go outside, unless it’s too hot. Then I do a lot of cropping and fixing, … oh and deleting too!

These photos would look a lot better with a snowy background and me wearing a puffy winter coat. Instead it was a hot, cloudy morning.

wearing Doublemassa hat
Doublemassa hat

The Doublemassa really is an impressive pattern. I used colors I already had, but this would be pretty in many combinations. The pattern is available in the Hat’s On book (paid link) by Charlene Schurch.

If, as a knitter, you get a request for a hat that is warm over the ears – this is it! I don’t know how you get much warmer than a 4-layer fold.

Knitting Stories continued…

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Katie’s Kep, Knitting a Fair Isle Hat

After I finished knitting two different pair of color-work mittens, I wondered what to knit next. Suddenly, knitting with only one strand of yarn seemed boring! I may be on a Fair Isle, or stranded-knitting jag for a while.

I was browsing Ravelry and a very pretty colorwork hat caught my eye. I decided to save it in my favorites. When I went to the designer’s hat page, I found that “Katie’s Kep” was a free pattern – at the time – I wrote this and used the pattern. It is no longer free. 

The designer created it as a tribute to her mother. The pattern called for using wool fingering yarn – which I have in abundance – so I had to make it.

Katie's Kep in Rauma wool
Fair Isle hat

Choosing Colors

When I was planning my mittens, I bought a lot of Rauma wool yarn, in various colors. I ended up using Brooklyn Tweed Arbor for both pair of mittens, so I had lots of Rauma wool left. The “Katie’s Kep” pattern uses this type of wool, so all I had to do was choose the colors. Simple, right?

Honestly, it’s tough for me to envision a finished product by selecting colors. As I began the brim for the hat, I was wondering if I had made a mistake in my colors. If you begin this hat and think the same thing, it will probably look better as you knit more.

Rauma finull PT2 pure wool yarn from Norway
Wool yarn from Norway
Stranded Fair Isle colorwork hat knit with Rauma Finull wool yarn.

I wanted a dark background and I had a dark blue called Dark Petrol Heather, which I used. The rows that look whitish are actually a very light green, and I messed up on the first section! I’m not used to doing this type of knitting, and this was more good practice for me.

I think the only color mistakes you can make is to have colors that do not stand out enough to show the design. Wilma Malcolmson (links to her website), the Shetland designer, includes four various color way suggestions with her pattern download, so you can go buy the colors she suggests. It takes the guesswork out of the color selecting.

I also began knitting the colorwork on the brim incorrectly and had to begin over. After the purls the yarn must go to the back before the knits are done. Newbie mistake – lesson learned. BTW, that brim ribbing is called “corrugated ribbing”.

Katie's Kep hand knit hat
Nearly done, just working the crown
Working the crown using double-pointed needles
Switching to DPN’s at the top of hat

Needle Size

Another problem I had was which size knitting needles to use? Many of the knitters mentioned that the hat had come out huge. I know that I am a tight knitter. Usually I have to go up a needle size for all patterns. Because of this, I stuck with the size 3 suggested needle and the hat ended up being a bit large, but not crazy. If I knit it again I will try a size 2. If it’s too small I can give it to my daughter, who has a small head.

Knitting the Crown Pattern

Knitting the crown took me almost as long as it took to knit the rest of the hat. It came out looking fine, and I only made a couple of color mistakes. I’m becoming used to using DPN’s, and hats only have a few rounds where they are needed, but along with the colorwork, it made for a challenge. An experienced colorwork knitter would not have a problem.

Below is a photo before washing. I still had lots of ends to tuck in. I had read that some knitters were using the CDD (center double decrease) as opposed to the pattern’s Sk2p. And I think it may look neater. I’m not experienced enough to know and I didn’t do my Sk2p’s correctly because I slipped the first stitch purl wise and it should have been knit wise. Live and learn. I should have looked it up.

crown of Katie's Kep hat
Crown detail before washing
There will be lots of yarn bits to weave in.

The Sk2p is a left-leaning decrease and the CDD has no lean, it makes a ridge straight up. Once washed, this hat will look perfect – fingers crossed. I have notes written all over this pattern for my next project.

Scottish Fishermen Keps

So what is a Kep? I had to look around for some info, and it seems they were colorful, Fair Isle hats worn by Scottish fishermen while out to sea. The hats had a liner to keep the head warmer, and some were like stocking caps – longer with a tassel or something at the top. The Kate Davies Designs (KDD) site has a bit of info about Keps.

The yarn I used (Rauma) is from Norway, so to truly knit a Kep, I suppose I need to use Shetland yarn from Scotland. Maybe next time. I have none in my stash, but it’s on my list of yarns to try.

More Keps and Fair Isle Hats For Us to Knit

If you love to do colorwork and want to try more hats like this one, I’m making a list here. The Katie’s Kep pattern is free. The printout is in small print and I had to enlarge the charts – and yes, you must be able to read a chart.

Where to Buy Wool Yarn

The Woolly Thistle is based in New Hampshire and sells lots of wonderful wool sourced from the UK, Scandinavia, and Europe. This type of yarn must be hand-washed. It comes in many beautiful colors as well as natural animal colors. The prices can be high at TWT compared to other places that sell the same type of yarn. I’ve found Jamieson & Smith 2-ply, 125 yard skeins at Fairlight Fibers much cheaper!

At Wool and Company they also sell Rauma wool yarn, and other types of course. Remember that the purpose of a hat is to be warm, so real wool will do the trick. Even if the yarn is hand-wash only, how often do you wash a hat?

Mitten Knitting Practice With Milet Pattern

As soon as I saw the Milet mitten pattern, I knew I would try knitting it one day. The suggested yarn, Rauma Finull, is a wool yarn that I have never used. Come to find out an online store (The Woolly Thistle), which I’d been checking out, sells that type of yarn, which comes from Norway.

I’ve learned a lot from this experience. What I like and what I don’t.

Read on…..

Rauma Finull yarn from Norway
Rauma Finull yarn from Norway

Then, I learned that The Woolly Thistle, (referred to as TWT), is also sponsoring a knit-along (KAL) for mittens! What this means is anyone who wants to can join in and we all choose a pattern and “knit along” showing off our progress and finished mittens by the time the KAL ends.

I’ve done one KAL before, which was actually a MKAL (mystery knit along) for a shawl. It was intense for me, and we all knit the same mystery pattern. This mitten KAL is different because we each choose our preferred mitten, or mitts, pattern. I’m also a bit more experienced knitter, but not with colorwork. For this KAL, the mittens must be knit of at least two colors.

Have Yarn Will Practice

I was not at all sure I would join the mitten KAL because I’m not good with double-pointed needles, or knitting small circumferences (socks, mittens), and I’m a newbie at colorwork too. But I learn best when I jump in without thinking too much about it. I ordered the Rauma yarn and the mitten pattern (see link in first paragraph) and decided to begin knitting just to see how my gauge was.

Casting on a mitten cuff
Using DPNs to do the colorwork cuff

This will not be the mitten I knit for the KAL. I can’t start that one until the cast-on date of February 13th and I haven’t decided which pattern to choose. (If you want to join in, see the rules and participating designers – offering discounts on their patterns! – in the Ravelry TWT forum – you will have to sign in.)

I’m not used to casting onto small needles and I REALLY DISLIKE knitting the first few rows. I didn’t have the correct needle size, and decided to go up a size, since I usually have to. But wow, that cuff seemed huge!

Small Addi Flexi-Flips Are Sized Off…so I am knitting with larger needles than I thought!

Come to find out, a few of the smaller Addi Flexi’s are not true to size. The mm measurements don’t equal true US measurements. I intend to write a new post on all that, but in the meantime, my size 2 (US) is really a 2.5.

If you are shopping for Addi Flexi-Flips (three needle sets for circular work) be careful of the mm to US conversion which is not correct.

For instance, I ordered a size 1.5 US and was sent needles saying: 1.5 US / 2.75mm. But 2.75mm does not equal 1.5, it equals a size 2 US! Jimmy Beans Wool actually mentions this discrepancy in their Addi sales page.

Milet mittens cuff
Stranded colorwork cuff

This cuff is unique as it will be folded over, but it still seemed way too large. I almost stopped, thinking I would tear it out, but I decided to keep going with the smaller needle (which was bigger than I thought!). Now that I have gotten further along, I’m glad I kept going. Maybe the cuff needs to be larger to fold up easily? Also my arm is bare and when wearing mittens I would be dressed in heavy clothing. That cuff would have to fit over a sweater or shirt. (Things I forget about living in Florida.)

You can see the construction below and the green with white is the beginning of the hand. The cuff is inside out because it will fold up.

Milet mitten knitting
Milet mitten

See it on my arm with the cuff folded up to cover the yellow ribbing. I’m going to keep knitting and see how the first mitten comes out. The other mitten to this pair will be knit with a smaller needle.

My size 2 needles are Flexi-flips (are actually size 2.5), which are a bit strange to work with but better than DPNs. I kept dropping stitches so added little yarn blockers to the ends of the needle not being used.

Knitting a mitten in colorwork
Mitten cuff rolled up

I love the Rauma yarn and since it is pure wool, will make nice warm mittens (which I will never wear here in Florida, so I’ll have to travel to NH more often). I love this yarn so much that I am ordering a bunch of new colors (it comes in tons of colors!) to be prepared for the KAL. Because the Rauma Finull yarn comes from Norway, not all US stores carry it. Besides The Woolly Thistle, I have found it to buy at Wool and Company, who offers free US shipping with any order! (I bought my new Flexi Flips here, and there was no note about the size being off. I needed size 1.5 and now have size 2.)

Now to find a mitten pattern! Lots of designers are jumping on board and putting their mitten patterns on sale beginning Feb. 6th. I’ve already taken advantage of sales, which began earlier, to get some new patterns.

To Summarize:

I love Rauma yarn, but never found a mitten to knit with it for the KAL. Since then, I have used it to knit Katie’s Kep (a colorful, Fair Isle hat).

For the mittens, I used a DK weight (Brooklyn Tweed Arbor) and knit a faster pattern (two really) which gave me perfectly sized mittens. The Milet mitten ended up being something I did not like, so I never finished the pair.

Although I used the Flexi Flips, I was not crazy about them. They were not a lot easier than tiny circular, or DPNs. I won’t waste my money on more.