Pattern: Bearded Toque by v. vine
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Chestnut Heather and Black
Needles: Size 9
I’ve finished my brother’s Bearded Toque, complete with Fu Manchu moustache (which is only minimally affixed at the moment, in case he hates it).
Second time around was definitely better for the pattern. I had a better idea of a few trouble spots I needed to keep a closer eye on. I also went up a needle size, and made the black portion a little longer, so hopefully it’ll fit a bit better than the initial proto-type.
All in all, not a bad knit, and while I don’t normally go for acrylic-containing yarns, the Wool-Ease is actually quite nice to work with, and I know my brother won’t easily ruin the hat in the wash.
In other news, the BF has actually requested a knitted item! His hat (which he mainly wears while snow-blowing) has been driving him crazy by riding up on his head, so he asked for a replacement. I pulled up all the free men’s hat pattern on Ravelry, and he picked out the Jacques Cousteau hat.
Since I was heading to the yarn store anyway to pick up the needles I needed to do the Bearded Toque redux, I asked what colors he was interested in – “oh, you know, nothing flashy, like black, or gray, even navy”. So I picked up some lovely black Quince & Co. Osprey yarn. And it just so happened they had Malabrigo Rios in stock, which I’ve been interested to try, so I picked up a skein of that in the Playa colorway, which is a darker blue with tan highlights, for myself. And the BF loves it. So he’s getting a slightly flashier hat than I originally thought he would ever want, but it’s Malabrigo yarn, and I’m loving it.