old shale smoke ring

my vacation is pretty much over – we leave on a plane tomorrow – and indeed, my vacation knitting is also done. i’ve had many of you ask about this yarn, so the specs are below and here’s a free pattern to boot!

katie, my mother-in-law, does not like to wear hats. but unlike my other friends and family who don’t like hats, she lives in alaska and can’t get away with a headband. so, this is the perfect accessory for her. she already has quite the collection (including a white, lace quiviut one!). why does she like them? they don’t squish her hair, can be worn many ways (like this or this), and they are warm and toasty. here’s another pretty shot of the colorway taken during our walk downtown.

as i said before, Katie is my only knitting relative, so when she came to visit ben and i in montana, of course we had to go dig through the bins of mill ends at mountain colors. she bought a whole bunch and hasn’t had the chance to use much of it yet… so i took it upon myself to borrow some from her stash to make her this smoke ring. it is mountain colors bearfoot – 60% superwash wool/25% mohair/15% nylon. we think the colorway is sagebrush and it was probably about 4 oz, because we tend to buy mill end bearfoot in sock-like quantities.

Anyhow, here’s the super simple pattern. Enjoy!

Old Shale Smoke Ring

Yarn: fingering weight wool

Needles: size 7 US, 16 in. circular

Final measurements: 12 in. across and about 14 in. tall

CO 144 stitches
join, being sure not to twist

row 1: purl
row 2: knit
row 3: purl

old shale pattern (stockingnet version)
row 1: knit
row 2: knit
row 3: k2tog 3 times, (yo, k) 6 times, k2tog 3 times
row 4: knit

repeat until you get towards the end of your wool
and end
third to last row: purl
second to last row: knit
last row: purl
BO loosely

block to make the ends behave themselves and loosen up the lace a bit
keep warm and enjoy!