Rustic Cowboy

Well this came out cuter than I hoped! I was a lil worried about the color combo, I wanted a darker more chocolatey brown, but the mocha was all I had. I really love it now! Now if only the weather would get a little cooler so my little man can wear it :)

L'illo round 2

My 2nd time knitting the pattern. This time, it's for my son. It's an adorable pattern. It's fun to knit. I hate SEAMING it! But I love the end product so I suppose I will do it. Going to knit the sleeves today and hope to be seaming the thing up this evening. Maybe he can wear it for the next cool front. I love the Cotton Fleece yarn, it shows such great stitch definition. And with the cotton/wool blend, it should be just right for our Texas winters.

Infant Mouse Hat

I made this last week for a friend's new baby. I looked online and couldn't find a pattern I really liked so I made my own. Keep in mind that while I've designed alot of my own knitting patterns, I've never really written them out and shared them. So if you have any questions on it, just send me an email or post here. :) Sizing is easily adapted by using smaller or larger weight yarn and/or adjusting needle size.

Materials :
About 1.5-2 oz of worsted weight wool I used Cascade 220 in white
A small amount of pink worsted weight wool.
Size US#4 and US#6 16" Circular and Dpns (or size to get gauge)
Yarn needle
Stitch Marker

Gauge :
5.5 sts per inch on larger needle

Size :
Roughly 4-6 months, approximately 18" head circumference.

Directions :
Cast on 88 sts on smaller needles. I used the Twisted German Cast on for it's stretchiness. Knit in 2X2 rib for 1.5".

Change to larger needles and knit stockinette until it measures 5" from cast on.

Decreases rounds (switching to dpns when necessary)
Rnd 1 *Knit 9 sts, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 2 Knit even across.
Rnd 3 *Knit 8 sts, ssk* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 4 Knit even across.
Rnd 5 *Knit 7 sts, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 6 Knit even across.
Rnd 7 *Knit 6 sts, ssk* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 8 *Knit 5 sts, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 9 *Knit 4 sts, ssk* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 10 *Knit 3 sts, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 11 *Knit 2 sts, ssk* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 12 *Knit 1 st, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 13 K2tog to end of round. End of leaving 6" tail. Put tail on yarn needle and thread through the remaining stitches on the needles. Pull tightly and secure inside hat.

Ear Directions (Make Two) :
Using a dpn, cast on 5 sts.
Turn dpn with right side facing you and upside down so that the live stitches are down and the bumps of the cast on are facing up. Using another dpn, pick up and Knit 4 sts in those bumps.
Using a third dpn and starting on the 1st needle again (5 sts on this needle), Kfab, knit 4 sts.
On 2nd Needle (4 sts) Kfab, knit 2, Kfab in last stitch.
You should know have 6 stitches on each needle, 12 stitches total.
Next round - Kfab, K across to last st, kfab.
Rep this round on each needle until you have 12 stitches on each needle - 24 sts total.
Then increase like this on every OTHER row until you have 18 sts on each needle, 36 sts total.
Knit even until Ear measures 2" from cast on.
K 1, ssk, knit across to last 3 sts on first needle, k2tog, k 1. Repeat for 2nd needle.
You should have 32 sts total now - 16 on each needle.
Duplicate stitch using the pink yarn on the ears to make the inner ear.
If you want stiffer ears, you can lightly stuff with polyfill before closing. I like floppy ears, so I didn't.

Graft ear stitches together and secure to top side of hat.

All done, and ready for the cutie! Feel free to use my pattern to sell the hats made from it :) Just please link here if you do.