The Deeps Winter Set

Now that we’ve kicked on the A/C here in Pittsburgh, it seems like the perfect time to share my knitted winter set–ha! I’ve fallen a bit behind on posting my FOs here on the blog, so I hope you can forgive a few out-of-season projects before I move into the spring and summer makes.

Back in the fall, when I was planning my fall and winter knitting in preparation for a visit to my favorite LYS, Yarn Harbor, I decided that I wanted to make myself a matching set of winter accessories. I wanted to feel a little more put together than my usual hodgepodge of hats, mittens, and cowls, and this set seemed like an excellent treat.

My first order of business was knitting a hat because I somehow managed to misplace all of my favorite slouchy hats. It took more time than I expected to find a pattern that was what I wanted without being overpriced. I really lucked out with this one, though–it’s going to be my go-to slouchy hat thanks to some unexpected details. You may not be able to see it, but there are short rows to shape the front ribbing as well as two pleats at the nape of the neck for maximum slouchiness.

Pattern: windhelm by tshep (free pattern on rav!)
Yarn: most of a skein of Malabrigo Rios in Plomo
Needles: US 5 & 7 bamboo circulars
Made for: Me
Timeline: 7-10 January 2016
Modifications: none
Worst Part: can’t think of one
Best Part: those hidden details that will keep me coming back to this pattern

I’ve found that my favorite way to keep my neck warm in the winter is a long cowl that I can double up. I looked through my queue for something that would work and came up with Song of the Sea, a pattern I had originally intended to knit for my sister-in-law (and still might–it was really enjoyable) and that my friend K had recently made. Although you can only see two of them here, this pattern has three sizes of waves, from breakers to tiny waves. It was a perfect match with the Three Irish Girls colorway “The Deeps.”

Pattern: Song of the Sea by Louise Zass-Bangham
Yarn: most of a skein of Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in The Deeps
Needles: US 4
Made for: Me
Timeline: 3-28 February 2016
Modifications: went down several needle sizes, added two pattern repeats, and used the “alternate” border
Worst Part: can’t think of one
Best Part: how thoroughly this cowl reminds me of Duluth

Finally, I had to add something to keep my hands warm. At first, I didn’t want to knit fingering weight mittens, but I struggled to find a matching colorway in a tough-wearing yarn. After thinking about it for a while, I decided that mittens are less work than socks, which I almost always knit in fingering weight, so I went for the true match. These aren’t my heavy-duty, -30 + windchill mittens, but they will work nicely for slightly warmer days.

Pattern: MITTENS-A Tutorial and Pattern by Terry Morris (free pattern on rav!)
Yarn: just over half a skein of Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in The Deeps
Needles: US 1 bamboo dpns
Made for: Me
Timeline: 16-26 January 2016
Modifications: accidental mod of blending between sizes from misreading the pattern
Worst Part: some minor confusion in a largely excellent pattern
Best Part: adding some lighter weight mittens to my box of winter accessories

 

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