Wintry white

It's hard to photograph white in London in winter!

The yarn - Fibre Harvest organically farmed merino

Purchased at now closed Prick Your Finger in Bethnal Green

This yarn feel substantial and dense, although it doesn't look it.  It's very smooth and because it has 4 plies it feeels very round. You can see from the loose end above that it is quite fluffy when cut and unsurprisingly, it's very soft.

The pattern - Oak Crest by Maisie Howarth published in Pom Pom Quarterly Autumn 15

This pattern contains lots of cable turns on each active round and there are 8 different types of cable turns in the pattern. 

I used a clover lopsided u-shaped cable needles - my preference when I use cable needles.  I slide the stitches onto the shorter side, and knit (or purl) from the longer side. 

The knot on top took a little effort to get right, as I didn't want much sticking out.  I really just folded the 15cm length of knitting around itself and tucked the end through.  I secured it wit a few stitches, using the yarn tail. 

Lipstick is Schiap by Nars, one of my faves!

I knit the ribbing 4 rounds longer than the pattern called for, and I knitted round 24 3 times.  If you look in the magazine, you will see that the hat doesn't cover the ears of the models, which is not very useful in a cold London winter. 

The result is a delightfully fluffy hat that is very warm and seriously soft!