Project Spotlight - Bronwen's Bedrock

The Bedrock pattern from the (forthcoming!) Cuboidal collection is one of the Hats in the book that can be worn in different ways. Bronwen has kindly permitted me to share her photos here of her son modelling her beta knit project.

You can find Bronwen’s project on Ravelry and explore more of her knitting adventures on Instagram. Photography credit goes to Bronwen, she’s a photography account on Instagram too!

This Hat was finished with an I-cord edge, which isn’t something that’s written into the pattern but it’d be easy enough to add should you wish.

Doesn’t it look great worn both forward, for a flat-cap look, and back like a lot of berets are worn? I’d really like to get more photos of berets being worn in different ways, and I’m glad Bronwen took these shots and let me share them.

Meet Aether, the eighth and final Cuboidal Hat

So far I’ve introduced you to 7 Hats and today I share the last one!

All of these Hats are constructed top-down, and this one is no exception. To achieve the crown of Aether we take the corners worked in Morph and Mellohi and work nothing but corners. It may be a little fiddly until you’ve got the hang of it, and it may not seem entirely plausible until you’ve worked the first corner, yet it’s a technique that will leave you feeling very clever! Feedback from beta-knitters favoured two things about these Hats - joining the mired squares in the round and working the corners.

The square style used in this Hat is a deliberate break from the styles that create solid borders or nested stripes. Similarly, the crown is worked plain to reflect the brim, with the broken brick pattern working it’s way around the body. To make this even more effective you could offset the squares using the method used in Nethere and I think that’d look really cool! There a few designs in this collection that need a non-offset pattern but several could be switched up, so why not try it?

I feel like Aether is one of the unsung heroes in this collection… folks don’t tend to make this kind of style often, yet it’s construction is pretty remarkable. It’s not sewn like a lot of my quatra peak Hats, or formed at the very end. The way the crown is worked is incredibly satisfying and I’d love for more folks to try it and feel mighty chuffed with that they’ve created! And I’ll say this forever and a day, but these styles are not just for kids - adults can wear fun and quirky Hats, too.

So that’s all 8 Hats shared! So many possibilities… so many square styles, ways of mixing up the border or brim patterns; the squares could be offset, or not, depending on the Hat and your desired result. There really is so SO much that you can do with them, before you factor in the wide range of sizes and gauges covered.

There’s still more I want to share about this collection so please do continue to follow along as we get closer to release day!

Which Hat would you make first? What’s your favourite Cuboidal Hat so far?

About the Cuboidal collection…

As with all of the patterns in this collection, the sample is shown in Malabrigo Arroyo. I find it gives me a nice firm squishy fabric on 2.75mm or 3mm needles, at a gauge of 28 sts to 10cm/4in, which is perfect for garter stitch. You don’t want a loose fabric with these Hats as they’ll stretch, and a firmer gauge ensures the Hat lasts longer before stretching out.

The whole collection is pretty much an any yarn, any size collection! I provide tables covering 8 gauges across 12 sizes, but armed with a gauge swatch and a bit of maths, you can achieve beyond the range provide - the construction of the Hat is the same regardless of the size you’re making or the gauge of your yarn. And the eBook will also include a chapter on head measuring and calculating yardage!

And in case anyone asks, this collection won’t be split into individual patterns. I talk about it more in length on this blog post, but in short the patterns are tutorial heavy and splitting them out just doesn’t work.

The collection will be $23/€19/£17 when published - September 2022 - and members of The Woolly Hat Society will get an exclusive new release discount!

Follow along with the #CuboidalHats tag on Instagram and learn more via the Cuboidal blog category.

Introducing Mellohi, the seventh Cuboidal Hat

We’re inching closer to release date now, with only this and another Hat to go!

Mellohi continues the cornered crown that was introduced in Morph. Here, the corners are the central feature, whereas with Morph they’re used to create that envelope finish.

The square style used here is another half-and-half theme, only it’s half solid, half stripes. It’s the opposite of the square style used in Basalt, a few Hats back. When designing the square styles I became fascinated with the way that colour dominates, depending on where the solid blocks and stripes sit, and how they affect the overall design. Or rather, the overall effect when they’re tiled together.

With this one, same as I did with Morph and do so with the final Hat, too, I added a plain brim. That doesn’t mean to say that you have to too, rather I tried to include as many different border and brim styles as possible to show you what options you might have if you switch things up!

Have you started to plan your Hats yet? Have you thought about the colours you may use, whether to have a solid brim or border? What about yarn weights? The gauges covered in the collection are: 18sts, 20sts, 22sts, 24sts, 28sts, 30sts and 32sts to 4in/10cm. Which is quite the range!

About the Cuboidal collection…

As with all of the patterns in this collection, the sample is shown in Malabrigo Arroyo. I find it gives me a nice firm squishy fabric on 2.75mm or 3mm needles, at a gauge of 28 sts to 10cm/4in, which is perfect for garter stitch. You don’t want a loose fabric with these Hats as they’ll stretch, and a firmer gauge ensures the Hat lasts longer before stretching out.

The whole collection is pretty much an any yarn, any size collection! I provide tables covering 8 gauges across 12 sizes, but armed with a gauge swatch and a bit of maths, you can achieve beyond the range provide - the construction of the Hat is the same regardless of the size you’re making or the gauge of your yarn. And the eBook will also include a chapter on head measuring and calculating yardage!

And in case anyone asks, this collection won’t be split into individual patterns. I talk about it more in length on this blog post, but in short the patterns are tutorial heavy and splitting them out just doesn’t work.

The collection will be $23/€19/£17 when published - September 2022 - and members of The Woolly Hat Society will get an exclusive new release discount!

Follow along with the #CuboidalHats tag on Instagram and learn more via the Cuboidal blog category.

Next up, meet Scarlite, the sixth Cuboidal Hat

Say hello to the official helmet design in the Cuboidal collection! I say ‘official’ as Nethere is both a bonnet and a helmet, whereas this one was adamant it only wanted to be one thing.

Scarlite plays with a different approach to the square styles. Instead of stripes or solid squares, this design introduces a half-and-half square style that when combined, creates this bordered block-like, or windowed, effect.

As with all the others, you can mix and match the square styles for different effects. Each square style is demonstrated in at least one Hat so you can see how they look when combined.

Do you have a favourite so far? And have you thought about what yarns you’d use? I’m planning some posts pairing yarns for ideas and inspiration - why not share your yarn pairing ideas with the #CuboidalHats tag online so I can see them!

About the Cuboidal collection…

As with all of the patterns in this collection, the sample is shown in Malabrigo Arroyo. I find it gives me a nice firm squishy fabric on 2.75mm or 3mm needles, at a gauge of 28 sts to 10cm/4in, which is perfect for garter stitch. You don’t want a loose fabric with these Hats as they’ll stretch, and a firmer gauge ensures the Hat lasts longer before stretching out.

The whole collection is pretty much an any yarn, any size collection! I provide tables covering 8 gauges across 12 sizes, but armed with a gauge swatch and a bit of maths, you can achieve beyond the range provide - the construction of the Hat is the same regardless of the size you’re making or the gauge of your yarn. And the eBook will also include a chapter on head measuring and calculating yardage!

And in case anyone asks, this collection won’t be split into individual patterns. I talk about it more in length on this blog post, but in short the patterns are tutorial heavy and splitting them out just doesn’t work.

The collection will be $23/€19/£17 when published - September 2022 - and members of The Woolly Hat Society will get an exclusive new release discount!

Follow along with the #CuboidalHats tag on Instagram and learn more via the Cuboidal blog category.

Say hello to Morph, the fifth Cuboidal Hat

This is without a doubt the most yarn-thirsty Hat in the Cuboidal collection, but I think it’s worth it!

Each pattern in this collection includes details of how many squares are used in each section - the crown, the body and the brim - and coupled with the chapter on calculating yardage you’ll be able to work out how much yarn is needed where, helping you make the most of your oddments or special skeins alike.

With 8 square styles included, alongside the yardage info, I’m really hoping folks run with the designs and create amazing scrappy square Hats! This collection did originally start with the idea of using up oddments and I’m glad they’ll work for both special skeins and leftovers alike.

Morph introduces another new twist - creating corners in the crown. There are two crown styles featured within these patterns - the flat crown, which the previously introduced designs all start with, and the cornered crown. This is one area where using the detailed tutorials will be essential, even for mitred square pros - the techniques used allow you to create the crown and corners seamlessly, without any sewing up, as you go.

Because they’re all worked top-down you have to start with the crown, and having those corners integrated is key to making these knittable - I worked hard at making sure this worked to remove any hurdles to finishing these Hats! The method is novel and may take a little patience, but mostly what’s needed is trust in the process.

When my tech editor was working through these, and bear in mind she’s very familiar with my patterns and approach to construction, she was convinced the cornered-crown versions wouldn’t work on her first read through. Then she got out a pad of square post-it notes and started labelling up edges and joining them as described in the tutorials. It worked. She then tested it again, and yup, it still worked. I’ve asked her to write a blog post about this as I think it’ll help folks who are having trouble visualising how these come together!

All that said, fear not. Knowing that there’s something a little unusual going on is half the battle. It’s not beyond anyone, I promise, and I’ve got it all covered in the tutorials.

One of my favourite things with these Hats is how the decrease lines within these squares form such a strong architectural feature. Aren’t they striking? They add such depth.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve used Malabrigo Arroyo in these Hats but they’re written for 8 different gauges across 12 different sizes and you can use whatever yarn you choose.

About the Cuboidal collection…

As with all of the patterns in this collection, the sample is shown in Malabrigo Arroyo. I find it gives me a nice firm squishy fabric on 2.75mm or 3mm needles, at a gauge of 28 sts to 10cm/4in, which is perfect for garter stitch. You don’t want a loose fabric with these Hats as they’ll stretch, and a firmer gauge ensures the Hat lasts longer before stretching out.

The whole collection is pretty much an any yarn, any size collection! I provide tables covering 8 gauges across 12 sizes, but armed with a gauge swatch and a bit of maths, you can achieve beyond the range provide - the construction of the Hat is the same regardless of the size you’re making or the gauge of your yarn. And the eBook will also include a chapter on head measuring and calculating yardage!

And in case anyone asks, this collection won’t be split into individual patterns. I talk about it more in length on this blog post, but in short the patterns are tutorial heavy and splitting them out just doesn’t work.

The collection will be $23/€19/£17 when published - September 2022 - and members of The Woolly Hat Society will get an exclusive new release discount!

Follow along with the #CuboidalHats tag on Instagram and learn more via the Cuboidal blog category.