New Pattern! Aoraki Hat

I've told you many times about my love of Outlaw Yarn and especially Vanitas, their delicious DK weight blend of alpaca and merino. It's a stunning yarn, baby soft and dyed in rich, solid colour ways. When I had two balls left after knitting my Epistrophy cardigan early this year, I knew I had to design something special for it.

And, after wearing my cardigan all winter, I decided I wanted to knit up my Vanitas into a cosy hat. Vanitas is silky soft to wear, super warm and it has great drape - perfect for a slouchy beanie-style hat.

I just love how the yarn looks knitted in garter so I decided to make that the focus of my design. The garter brim is nice and snug so it won't slip but without being too tight.

The garter then flows into the texture of the hat and I've mixed it with a neat wee two stitch cable that you can knit without a cable needle (I've made a tutorial showing you how and I've linked to it in the pattern).

Finally, I've popped a pom pom on top. Mine is pretty huge! Go big or go home I say ;)

I make my pom pom's the old fashioned way - with two pieces of cardboard cut like a couple of donuts. I wind and wind and wind ... until it's stuffed full. Then I snip it and wrap a piece of yarn around the centre, pulling it nice and tight.

My hat is named after New Zealand's highest mountain Aoraki. It's a snowy, beautiful place and I decided it was the perfect name for a snuggly, fun hat.

You could substitute another soft DK yarn to make Aoraki - but if you want one the same as mine - you'll need two balls of Vanitas from Outlaw Yarn; one ball of "Bone" for the body and one ball of Ebony for the pom pom.

Happy knitting! You can find the pattern here.