Ah, I’ve been wanting to do this one for so long.  I was experimenting with this texture about a year ago, it took several messing around sessions to get the tension right and hook size right and ‘blah blah blah’ couldn’t quite decide what to do with it.  Then I found my old samples pre-Christmas clear out and there was one which I just thought was lovely, so I made it into a hat for my mother-in-law as she had mentioned a bobble hat some time ago.  Needless to say, mention knitwear in this house and low and behold you have been made some. I didn’t think much more about it until my sister in law sent me some beautiful super bulky merino from Purl Soho, New York.  Oh my, it really is the yarn of dreams! It was also so perfect for this hat which draws inspiration from the coast.

I am heavily influenced by the coastal landscape in my designs.  I almost always think of the item I am going to design next when I am by the sea. Hardly surprizing as I try and go to the coast everyday and as for the first 16 years, my life revolved around it.  It’s pretty impossible to grow up in a small fishing village, which was a working fishing village at that time and escape the ocean.  Awoken by gulls and hit by a vista most of us dream of seeing each morning, as soon as you step out of the front door, the sea is everywhere.  It was the food on our table in both the literal and metaphoric sense and an extension of our land.  We travelled on the passenger ferry when we needed to go to the closest town and we travelled on the car ferry when we needed to go further, failing that, swim? This is my Dad sorting out the nets on his boat:

I’ve been living near the coast again for the past 10 years, not quite as close as I used to, but on a good night, I can still hear the rolling waves in my bedroom.  I’ve swapped the Cornish fishing village for a wilder coastal paysage which I see in golds and blues or grey and white depending on the weather. Whether the day turns the North Devon coast into a bleak scandi-noir landscape or a technicolour picture postcard, if I’m by the sea I love it all the same. So, here is the Winter Sun Bobble Hat and I’ve made it in the colours which remind me most of the coast.  It’s available to buy on Ravelry now!

This hat will keep you warm on the coast, or at least conjure dreams of salt water and sand if you are far away.

When I finished and gifted the first one of these, I just knew I had to make another (and another and another . . . ) and I wanted to share it.  This is my first official pattern release – this is quite nerve wracking!!! Maybe some people will buy it and make it, that would be nice to see but I’ve really enjoyed the process and seeing my pattern testers results.

The design is a dream for lovers of geometric shapes and incorporates elements of tapestry crochet with a colour blocked triangle. You can also make a beginner version, in one solid colour.

Obviously, I couldn’t resist making a tiny version.  It’s perfect for a baby if you make it in Aran weight yarn and a 5.5mm hook:

Let me know if you make it by tagging me on Instagram @zoecurtiscrochet or email zoecurtiscrochet@gmail.com, I would love to see your version!

Zoe

Hey, I’m Zoe, may as well tell you now that I’m a hopeless romantic and my blog posts are going to be full of wanton nostalgia.  I love the nautical, the indie, the ethical, the DIY and I’m obsessed with geometric shapes, monochrome and the sea. I used to make lots of things but now focus mostly on crochet, especially since I have started designing my own patterns.  I have been published in Inside Crochet magazine and have been a guest designer for Make and Do Crew.  My focus is ethical and sustainable making and living and I try to use as many natural materials as possible. Popular culture,art, music and the coastline where I live are my biggest sources of inspiration, along with my family of course.