Designing your own Colourwork Hat with Andrea Rangel

Are you ready to take your skills to the next level with designing your own colourwork hat pattern? Great for knitters looking to personalize their knits, creating custom pieces that reflect your interests and style, our online SOS course is here to help! Join us as we learn the step-by-step process, plus helpful tips, for creating beautiful, custom-designed colourwork hats.

GET COMFORTABLE WITH COLOURWORK DESIGN

We’re so delighted to welcome Andrea Rangel to the list of talented and knowledgeable instructors at the School of SweetGeorgia. Andrea is the author of KnitOvation and AlterKnit stitch dictionaries, and is an absolute expert in colourwork design.

In her new course at the School of SweetGeorgia, Design Stranded Colourwork: Hats, Andrea takes us step-by-step through the entire design process. From finding inspiration and developing our idea, all the way through to sampling and understanding calculations (whether using paper and pencil or digital tools). By the end, you’ll have brought your colourwork vision to life in the form of an original hat pattern.

Design Stranded Colourwork Hats knitting course materials taught by Andrea Rangel
Blocking the stranded colourwork hat swatch pieces for the Wildflower Breeze Hat

Along with video lessons, a downloadable workbook, and friendly community forums to help answer any questions you may have along the way, you’ll get all the support you need to confidently create your own colourwork piece. Enjoy the opportunity to unleash your creativity and make a hat that’s uniquely you.

ANDREA’S WILDFLOWER BREEZE HAT PATTERN

Also included in Andrea’s course, and exclusive to SOS members, you can find the Wildflower Breeze Hat pattern. A cozy and quick-to-knit project, we love the sweet floral motif along the bottom edge of the hat, perfect for keeping warm in any season. This pattern is the perfect way to get comfortable with your colourwork knitting skills while crafting a beautiful accessory. The motif is meditative and delicate, so the knitting is irresistible.

Wildflower Breeze Hat pattern by Andrea Rangel knit in SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk Fine
Wildflower Breeze Hat pattern by Andrea Rangel knit in SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk Fine
Wildflower Breeze Hat pattern by Andrea Rangel knit in SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk Fine

To make your colourwork really pop, choose a main colour (MC) and contrast colour (CC) that are very different from one another, such as in Andrea’s sample (above). Alternatively, you can choose yarns that are similar in shade, resulting in colourwork which is more subtle. Check out Felicia’s Choosing Colours for Stranded Colourwork Knitting blog post for further tips on selecting your colourways, which also includes a helpful, downloadable PDF guide.

CREATING CUSTOM KNITS FOR FRIENDS & FAMILY

Incorporating the lessons from Design Stranded Colourwork: Hats, SweetGeorgia team member Greta knit three fabulous hats using two of the motifs from Andrea’s Knitovation book: Distant Trees and Check.

Knitting with the same SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk Fine yarn as in the Wildflower Breeze Hat, it allowed Greta to use this pattern as a template. She worked with the same gauge and needle size, knitting with the colourways Stormy Night and Foggy Dew. Although, for knitters working with different yarn bases, the course teaches how to adjust and sample for different yarns and gauges.

Design Stranded Colourwork Hats online course knitting variations

We love this idea for creating custom gifts that perfectly match the different hobbies and interest of family and friends. Creating pieces that are one-of-a-kind to truly highlight any special occasion.

LEARN MORE AT THE SCHOOL

We hope you’ll join us over at the School of SweetGeorgia to dive into learning colourwork design. We also have a range of knitting courses for knitters of all levels. If you’d like to brush up on gauge, swatching or colourwork basics, we recommend checking out: Mastering Gauge with Tabetha Hedrick, Modern Colourwork Knitting with Felicia Lo, and Stranded Colourwork Mittens with Caitlin Shepherd.

If you’re not yet a member of the School, now is the perfect time to join us! Available only until the end of September, shop our popular Back to School Sale! Use the code BACKTOSCHOOL24 and save 15% on our SOS Membership options. Don’t miss this opportunity to lock in this discounted rate for as long as you continue to be a member. We’ll see you inside the School!

Find Andrea Rangel online at: www.andrearangel.com

You can also find Felicia’s chat with Andrea as part of The SweetGeorgia Show podcast here where they talk about Andrea’s start in knitting and design.

Wildflower Breeze Hat pattern by Andrea Rangel knit in SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk Fine
Print

Wildflower Breeze Hat in SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk

An ideal template for swapping out colour motifs to customize your project, this knit hat design by Andrea is meditative and delicate — the knitting is irresistible!
Maker Andrea Rangel
Designer Andrea Rangel
Skill Level Intermediate

Equipment

Materials

Instructions

  • To knit the Wildflower Breeze Hat, download a copy of the pattern which is available exclusively to SOS members at the School of SweetGeorgia.
  • Using your circular needles and the CC yarn, cast on the number of stitches as listed in the pattern for your desired size.
  • Follow the directions to switch to the MC to continue knitting the brim.
  • Incorporating your CC yarn, switch to the larger needles in the colourwork section to maintain your gauge. Otherwise, continue following the colourwork directions using the same needle size.
  • Return to smaller needles, or keep using the same size, for knitting the remainder of the single-colour body. Knit until the hat measures the preferred dimensions as listed in the pattern.
  • Changing to double-pointed needles, or magic loop method, as stitches decrease, work the crown shaping instructions.
    Wildflower Breeze Hat pattern by Andrea Rangel knit in SweetGeorgia BFL+Silk Fine
  • Weave in all ends and wet block the finished hat. Lay flat to dry or dry on a hat form. Trim ends and enjoy!

Notes

Worked bottom-up in the round, the Wildflower Breeze Hat is a fun colourwork project great for knitters either experienced in knitting, or those new to stranded colourwork knitting.
Many knitters work more tightly in stranded colourwork than in plain stockinette stitch. In order to maintain gauge, you may need to work colourwork rounds in a larger needle than your plain stockinette rounds. Swatch to find out if that’s necessary for you.
For help with knitting this project, the School of SweetGeorgia has all of the resources you need to help guide you along the way. 
 

The post Designing your own Colourwork Hat with Andrea Rangel appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.



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