Tag Archives: Leafy Origami hat

Introducing: Leafy Origami Loop Cowl

Posted on February 25, 2021 | 3 comments

Oh, brioche leaves, I just can’t quit you. After the original Leafy Origami Cowl, and then the Leafy Origami Hat, I just had to do one more. A longer cowl (which is really how I like to wear them), with a smaller leaf pattern that I worked out for the hat, which means more leaves on the cowl. This is the Leafy Origami Loop Cowl, and I love it.

Do you like your leaves big and bold, or smaller and…more numerous? Do you like your cowl as a small neck warmer, or a long loop? So many questions, so many options. The new Leafy Origami Loop Cowl can be anywhere from 20” to 36” in circumference, using the smaller leaves that I worked out for the Leafy Origami Hat. But that didn’t seem fair to the first cowl, so I updated that pattern to be from 18” to 32” using those bigger leaves.

This cowl is 32” long.

And this one is 36” long. I love how leafy they are.

Calvin approves!

The Leafy Origami Loop Cowl pattern is now available through Ravelry and Payhip. Use the code LEAFIER for 15% off through March 3, 2021. If you previously purchased the Leafy Origami Cowl pattern through Ravelry you’ll receive an update to that pattern for a longer loop (check your email or Ravelry messages), along with a coupon code for a free copy of the new Leafy Origami Loop Cowl pattern, now that there are more options.

Don’t forget, there’s a Leafy Origami hat, too.

Snow day

And now my dreams are turning from winter to spring…

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Introducing: Leafy Origami HAT

Posted on January 27, 2021 | 2 comments

It’s been a very busy couple months, but I’m back on track. The Leafy Origami Hat is ready to rock and roll!

The Leafy Origami Hat is 2-color brioche, knit in the round from the bottom up in worsted weight yarn. It was inspired by my Leafy Origami Cowl, and it features a smaller version of the leaf stitch pattern that falls into mountain and valley folds, just like origami.

The beginning of the round moves forward and backward on several rounds, making this a challenging brioche pattern. I’ve made several video tutorials to guide you through the increases, decreases, and moving the markers. The stitch pattern is adapted from the Under Dutch Skies stitch pattern in Nancy Marchant’s book, Knitting Fresh Brioche.

I’m having a pattern launch sale, use coupon code leafylaunch for 15% off the pattern through Feb. 2, 2021. This code works on both Ravelry and Payhip.

This pattern is available through Ravelry, link here.

This pattern is available from my Payhip shop, link here.

Thanks to tech editor Meaghan Schmaltz, and test knitters Ann Berg, Debbie Braden, Megan Drake, Elizabeth Forester, and Jacqueline Lydston.

I love these leaves. I’m still knitting on my mega-cowl version, but it’s on the back burner until I finish DH’s Dreyma sweater. I just started the first sleeve!

It’s amazing how much progress you can make if you concentrate on one project, and that’s why I’m pretty much a monogamous knitter. Two projects at the most, so that there is always a mindless project and a mindful project. I’ve had 3 projects on the needles lately (Dreyma, Leafy Origami, and Katie’s Kep) which means I’m not good at getting progress on all of them at the same time! But now Dreyma is on the stockinette sleeve portion, which is truly mindless, and I’m using that for Zoom meetings and home knitting. It’s too big to take on appointments outside the house now.

Don’t forget, my Gauge Swatch Hat pattern is free; you can download it from this blog post where I extol the virtues of hats as gauge swatches.

What’s your strategy for managing your projects?

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To the frog pond, happily

Posted on January 22, 2021 | 12 comments

I knit the hat on the left, while developing the hat on the right (pattern next week; I just need pictures). The first hat wasn’t what I wanted, so I frogged the crown and re-finished it as a cowl. Yes, you *can* frog brioche and get it back on the needles!

Side conversation: I’m working up a Brioche Doctor version of my Tink Drop Frog fixing mistakes class; I’ll let you know when that goes live.

Done. I love these leaves, and I had enough yarn leftover to knit one more cowl. I decided to play with the smaller leaf that I worked out for the blue hat. But! What if I made it a longer (wider) loop, too? That’s really my preferred cowl style, long and hanging down, not so much up around my neck. I’d need this yarn back to do that, though.

To the frog pond! You know that brioche is a two sided fabric, in separately worked layers. Did you know you can frog one color at a time, leaving the other color behind? This looks so cool, like a frilly petticoat peeking out under a skirt.

Almost there…

I have the new cowl about halfway done, which means it’s the traditional time where I start second and third guessing myself. Should I make the leaves even smaller? Do just I add this version on to the existing cowl pattern, or make a new pattern? I think the answer to that depends on how much extra work goes into it. Right now it’s just using the new smaller leaf from the hat, but if I make the leaves even smaller, it would be a ton of work to redo the chart and written instructions *again*, so it would want to be a separate pattern. Diminishing leaves, diminishing returns?

Really, I just need to finish knitting this so I can move on to a couple shawl ideas that are buzzing in my head. It’s time to get 2021 on the road!

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One thing leads to another…

Posted on January 2, 2021 | 9 comments

Leafy Origami test knitter Debbie Braden told me that she was wearing her small cowl like a pony tail hat. Hmmm, I thought. It would be super easy to close up the top and make a hat. So I did.

But I didn’t love it. It looked a bit bucket-like, and it was a little too big. It felt like it wanted to slide off my head. I turned up the bottom, and lost a good deal of visible leafiness. Humbug! Fixable? Challenge accepted.

If I removed a 24 stitch repeat, it would be too small. So I reduced the size of the pattern repeat to 20 stitches to make a smaller leaf, which removed 16 stitches overall. It was still going to be a little small, so I went up a needle size to change the gauge. Close enough!

Of course, removing 4 stitches meant removing 4 rounds per leaf, which meant the hat would be too short. So I added one more vertical repeat. More leaves! I had to finesse a bit at the beginning of the hat to end up with approximately the number of rounds I wanted, and it worked. It was a balancing act, and it was fun to puzzle it out.

The fit is definitely better. I think the added leaves make it easier to see them on your head, even if you turn up the brim.

So what began as a simple addition of a closing to the original Leafy Origami cowl pattern ended up being an entire re-chart/re-write. I finished it on the last day of 2020. It goes to the tech editor this week to kick off 2021. I’m looking for a couple more test knitters who are up for some challenging brioche!

I looked back at my Ravelry project page and see that I finished 28 items in 2020. Many of them were multiples for design projects and KALs: 3 Half the Knit Sky shawls, 3 Minerva cowls, 2 Deep End hats, 2 Deep End cowls. And 3 Love Note sweaters! I definitely knit a lot last year.

This year? I have several design ideas percolating in my head; we’ll see what comes of them. And I’m still knitting away on DH’s sweater, and my Katie’s Kep. Did I tell you I started that one over? My stitches were so much more even after I changed to a new needle, I decided that it would be worth it to start again. Here’s to new beginnings in 2021! Happy new year!

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