One of my favourite things in hat making is choosing materials. With reversible buckets, it is double the fun and challenge to mix and match fabrics. I am drawn to prints and patterns for spring and summer hats and usually select a neutral coloured fabric on the reverse as a contrast. I like cottons and linens, natural fabrics that are breathable and cool to wear.

My personal tastes gravitate toward blues and greys, but I was captivated by the dots of the Marimekko Räsymatto cotton in apricot and cream. The dot pattern was inspired by allotment gardening in urban settings. It was printed on cotton in Marimekko’s factory in Helsinki, where the themes of sustainability and environmental protection continue.

Small to medium-sized repeating patterns are appealing on hats. In particular, I enjoy sewing with Sevenberry cottons, especially the Nara Homespun with traditional Japanese motifs. With wear and washing, the feel gets softer and more comfortable. Linen is similar as pectins binding the fibres break down with washing and make the fabric more pliable and less stiff.

Bucket hats that I sewed recently have a wider brim. A 3-inch brim provides more sun coverage for the face, great for travel and outdoor activities. Although some of the fabrics are heavier, like cotton twill, the hats are all easy to fold and pack in a suitcase or a backpack.

Not only the origin of Nanaimo bars and birthplace of Diana Krall, Nanaimo is also a jumping-off point for the Cedar & Yellow Point Artisans Trail. A self-guided driving tour will take you to visit local British Columbian artists, crafters and farmers. Yellow Point Alpacas in Ladysmith is one such farm where you can see these gentle and curious animals up close. 

Alpacas were domesticated for their fibre thousands of years ago. They are social creatures, traditionally kept in herds in the Andes of Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Ecuador and Northern Chile. Naturally, they live in family groups with one dominant territorial male, a female and their young. Because of this and the fact that larger numbers mean better protection from predators, alpaca farmers usually keep at least three animals to keep the animals’ stress levels down.

There is a gift shop on the Yellow Point Farm with warm, soft and luxurious products made from alpaca fleece – scarves, hats, socks, sweaters and stuffed animals. Alpaca is valued for its hypoallergenic characteristic. No lanolin means less washing before spinning the fleece; this is in contrast to sheep fleece. There is a diversity of natural fleece colours from white and beige to shades of fawn, brown, black, and grey. The lighter shades can be dyed to any colour. Blending with other fine fibres such as merino wool, cashmere, mohair, silk, or angora enhance a maker’s toolkit.

A hank of 100% alpaca yarn is shown in the photo on the left. Adjacent are hats I crocheted using alpaca blended with cotton and/or merino wool. Different combinations, different looks!

Spring is the time to transition your wardrobe to lighter pieces and brighter colours. Changing temperatures throughout the day warrant layering clothes and picking versatile breathable fabrics like cotton and linen. You can pack away your winter hats. Instead, accessorize with lightweight hats that will keep your head warm in the cool mornings and evenings. Choose your hats and scarves to bridge between the seasons.

I was inspired by the flush of spring flowers emerging this time of year. Whether it be yellow daffodils, red tulips, or pink cherry tree blossoms, the gardens are alive with colour and called me to include them in my hat designs.

Though rare in nature, flowers in shades of blue – china blue, deep blue, and lilac – are common in spring. It’s lovely to see clumps of bluebells, forget-me-nots and grape hyacinths growing along footpaths. Blue is a very popular and flexible colour for women’s, men’s and children’s hats.

My sister wanted something a little different from the hats she already owns. She liked the V-stitch as seen in the Vee Beanie pattern by Simply Made by Erin. Rather than a conventional band, she requested a visor and strap with button adornments for flair.

We selected a felted tweed aran with merino wool and alpaca to show off the V-shaped stitches. The yarn had enough structure to support a stiff brim. I also crocheted the brim with a smaller hook to give it a tighter weave. My sister dove into my button collection and picked out matching buttons.

The result was satisfying and I went on to make another similar hat in treacle, the colour of molasses. Then I morphed the pattern into a floppy beret using the same tweedy yarn in a colour named stone.

Several customers and followers of this blog suggested that I make hat and scarf sets. I had acquired some beautiful oversized skeins of two Noro yarns. Perfect for projects that require more yarn. To the maker, that means less joining of yarn ends!

“Noro Uchiwa” blends colours and makes up soft and tweed-like. It has fibres of cotton, viscose, and silk. I experimented with different scarf patterns and used vintage buttons to finish off the necklines.

“Noro Tsubame” proved to be one of my favourite yarns. I crocheted a slouch beanie using the brickwork stitch and loved the way the silk and wool blend yarn seemed to naturally stripe. As well, I completed a one-skein scarf project. I left the scarf unblocked, giving it a wabi sabi, less is more, woven aesthetic.

Plying is the process of twisting two or more strands together to make one strand of yarn. When multiple strands are twisted together, they are stronger than “single-ply” yarns. A single-ply yarn is a single strand that isn’t plied with another and spinning the yarn gives it its twist. Since single-ply yarn isn’t as strong, it will break if you pull on it tightly. In other words, you need to take care when working with it.

The characteristics of single-ply yarn include its smooth surface, lightness and fluffy texture. With wear, the yarn will become fuzzy. Compare this with plied yarn where strands are twisted together, compress each other and the fuzziness or “halo” effect is not as noticeable. The downside is that single-ply yarn tends to pill easily. As a maker, you do not want to rip out stitches and work the yarn over and over again. As the owner of a garment made with single-ply yarn, you will want to handle it gently when wearing and washing it.

Single-ply yarns are ideal for hand dyeing. The outer surface absorbs dye more easily. During the making or wearing of the garment, fibres slide across each other, unwind and twist to reveal the lighter inner core. It gets even more interesting when more than one dye is used. Some dyes penetrate more easily, resulting in variegation in colour, tint, and saturation. Malabrigo, the producer of the yarn featured, says on their website https://malabrigoyarn.com/yarns/rasta, “When we dye our yarns, the same formula is used each time but every batch of yarn may vary. The differences from one dye lot to another can be very subtle, or extremely noticeable, specially on variegated yarns.”

It has come to my attention that some images are not displaying with recent blog posts. I am looking into correcting this.

My apologies,

Hats by Tracy J

Plying is the process of twisting two or more strands together to make one strand of yarn. When multiple strands are twisted together, they are stronger than “single-ply” yarns. A single-ply yarn is a single strand that isn’t plied with another and spinning the yarn gives it its twist. Since single-ply yarn isn’t as strong, it will break if you pull on it tightly. In other words, you need to take care when working with it.

The characteristics of single-ply yarn include its smooth surface, lightness and fluffy texture. With wear, the yarn will become fuzzy. Compare this with plied yarn where strands are twisted together, compress each other and the fuzziness or “halo” effect is not as noticeable. The downside is that single-ply yarn tends to pill easily. As a maker, you do not want to rip out stitches and work the yarn over and over again. As the owner of a garment made with single-ply yarn, you will want to handle it gently when wearing and washing it.

Single-ply yarns are ideal for hand dyeing. The outer surface absorbs dye more easily. During the making or wearing of the garment, fibres slide across each other, unwind and twist to reveal the lighter inner core. It gets even more interesting when more than one dye is used. Some dyes penetrate more easily, resulting in variegation in colour, tint, and saturation. Malabrigo, the producer of the yarn featured, says on their website https://malabrigoyarn.com/yarns/rasta, “When we dye our yarns, the same formula is used each time but every batch of yarn may vary. The differences from one dye lot to another can be very subtle, or extremely noticeable, specially on variegated yarns.”

I crocheted a blanket using a very thick, cozy yarn of acrylic and wool. This choice of yarn was intended to give the blanket the feel and warmth of wool, but also to be easy care—machine washable and dryer friendly. A couple of leftover balls got me working and playing again with supersized yarns.

Bulky or chunky yarns are thicker than the common worsted weight yarns. Super bulky yarns are even thicker. Projects made with these yarns crochet or knit up with large hooks or needles and work up quickly. The heavier weight yarns are suitable for blankets, chunky sweaters and snuggly accessories. Stitches are easy to see and stand out, as in the herringbone hats featured.

In the photo above, a very different look can be achieved using the same herringbone crochet stitch but with a different super bulky rustic wool. A braid-like edge finishes the hat to frame the face.

With a grizzly bear brown wool/alpaca bouclé, I had fun crocheting this bear beanie complete with ears. The yarn is super soft and squishy.