What is an i-cord loop, you ask?
It can be used for many things, but here I show it in the form of a hat finishing.
​One that is cute, easy to make and practical:

I don’t know about you, but I like for most of my hats to have some kind of a little something at the top: Some time ago I liked pompoms more than anything (and I still do), but they were always so cumbersome and long to make and I often didn’t have enough of the suitable yarn to make a good sized, fluffy pompom!

And this one has become my favourite finishing now. What I like most about it is it's practical aspect: One can hang it on any kind of peg and keep the hats out of the way and organised without folding them! 
​(I first used this finishing on my Casazul hats, that are seen hanging below)

The i-cord construction is truly quick and easy to make and it uses very little yarn...
In the Casazul pattern I had added a photo-tutorial to showcase the construction of the i-cord loop, but I thought that for my newest pattern a video would be in order, to really showcase the construction of this loop in an easy to follow manner, so as to enable everybody to try the tiny little loop out to finish their hats!
(Of course this exact same method can be used for any kind of knitted loop that you might need, in any size and form --- for any project!)

Who is in the mood for drawing and painting?
Who wants to play with yarn and colour?
Imagine a fun and yarny colouring book experience: But with absolute freedom of abstraction.

If, like me, you are a bit bored of the usual motifs used in Fair Isle knitting, Norwegian colour-work or traditional embroidery throughout the world and want something you created by yourself, you can get inspiration from any shape or form around you - try to see the lines and surfaces in an abstract design.
There are so many different ways that colours can interact with each other that go beyond what we already see in knitting..
​..but I digress...
​let me start at the beginning:

​Now, by looking at the early 20th century perfume bottle, I had my answer:
​I allowed myself to get influenced by the delicate scrollwork pattern from the label design and played with it to create an interesting motif that also provided a gradient of colour, deliberately set up to go from light to dark. I'd like to think that you can still see a bit the influences of Art Deco and Japonesque elements that were the rage when the perfume was launched!

This pattern tries to explore stranded knitting by tackling the subject with a different approach:
Mitsouko wants to explore something a bit more experimental, large-scale and conceptual.
The idea is mostly influenced from abstract large scale paintings in general, while only the specific interpretation is drawn from the famous scrollwork pattern. 

You can knit this Mitsouko pattern as is and I have prepared charts that match three standard sizes to create these colour interactions with your yarn and colours of choice.
But if you’d like to go a bit further and be a bit experimental and unleash the abstract designer or graphic artist inside, I have also provided empty charts in three sizes for you to play with, without having to bother to do all the math or think about construction.

​This could be a design or drawing of your very own. You can customise this hat while getting an excuse to doodle… and get to unleash your (inner?) kid!

So how would this work? Well you can choose something you want to make as a pattern. Like me, you can allow yourself to be inspired by any form you find intriguing. You could blow up and digitise a photograph that has interesting colour interactions. You could take up crayons and have some fun. You can blow up a segment of a design you like or even a lace design and transform it into colour-work. You can also give the provided charts to your friend, child or loved one and have them come up with a colour design for a unique custom knit they have put their own creativity into.
And then you can knit their custom-motif up for the perfect gift... a project that came out of your very own creative collaboration.
You can use this as a fun experimental place to try out something new. Take a walk on the design side, or the fashion side and come up with a fresh take on your knit-work for a truly one-off hat nobody else has – this way, you are the master of your project.

...If on the other hand you prefer taking the safe route and also don't like the spirals of the original Mitsouko? Then, well... then Mitsouko's Lover is for you...  

Mitsouko's Lover is the cheeky name of the "minimal and simple" striped version which is probably more unisex and easy to wear than Mitsouko, although this all depends on personal style anyway. For this version I tried the Ovelha Negra Victoria yarn for the first time and it really is an absolute joy to work with!

The longer ribbing and slightly larger body of the actual shape of all versions can be worn slouchy or tucked in for a more elegant beanie effect. You get a dense and warm hat, that is still light and easy to wear and to take with you, since it is knitted in fingering weight yarn.

Find the pattern on this site or go to ravelry.
(Until midnight of 23 of January 2018 (CEST), you automatically get a 20% discount)​
Also stay tuned to find out about some news out of Italy.... a surprise collaboration with Unfilodi knit house that will interest all Italian speaking friends and many more...

Since the whole hat pattern is so adjustable and open to personalisation, it is the perfect project to have a fun and interactive KAL together with other colour-drawing-exploring knitters - or to get some help in deciding on how to combine one's own ideas of design, motif and colour - or to just show off different versions from clean-cut minimalism to totally out there, baroque styling!
Check out the ColourOutsideTheLines knit-along (or KAL in knitter's terminology) to find out more...

Click on the Banner above to open up the KAL page and participate in this fun game!

...or how to have a good excuse for playing around with balloons as an adult!

I just finished my new hat yesterday and thought I'd try out this trick I remember reading about somewhere. It allows you to block out stitch patterns on a hat, without getting folding lines at the sides (something that usually happens when laying it on a flat surface to dry after washing). 
Entrance.... 
The balloon!

And now the real fun begins! Wet the hat up until it's completely soaked in water!!!

After the wool is completely dry, fluff the badly treated pom-pom up a little bit with your fingers before taking the air out of the balloon.... And then admire your hard work: Bloomed stitches and a neatly blocked out hat without folding lines!!!!

The hat is worked in Shibui yarn (Maai) and will probably become a pattern soon...
The pom-pom was made by following my latest tutorial crush in this youtube video.
The balloon on the other hand has been thrown away quite unceremoniously...

I have revisited two of my older patterns and updated them:

... and also added a long-sleeved version to the existing pattern (which has ¾length sleeves).
It's so practical that I have already worn it tons of times... something that you can actually even see in some of the pictures, especially the sleeves show some pilling...!
Oh well...

You can find this pattern either here on my site or on ravelry.

The second pattern that got a little face-lifting is my free Cocoon hat:

My new hat pattern!!!
It has quite an interesting fabric with a stitch that highlights all subtle colour-changes in hand dyed indy yarn!

This Diagonal-Basket-Weave-Stitch-Pattern is also the reason for the funny name. Quadrifurcus means "crossroads" in latin (yes... our friends the Romans had quite some ridiculous sounding words, some times) - and I liked it, not only because I have a penchant for ridiculous names... but mainly because the stitch allows for all different hues to come together in never ending crossing paths!!!
But who cares about the name anyway...

The best thing of all is, that Sylvie fromPolo&CO - who made the yarn of my hat - agreed to prepare some incredibly gorgeous kits extra for this pattern!!!

She has been working like a maniac to prepare all the yarn and kits, so that they will be ready and waiting for you in her little etsy-shop tonight, at 19:00 GMT. 

For the first 2 weeks of it's publication, until Nov 30, 2013 at 0:00 GMT, the pattern will be exclusively available in her shop (together with the yarn-kits) at a special price....  Polo&Co is in France and all the yarn is made exclusively out of local french wool that is washed, carded and spun on the spot!

There will be two different kinds to choose from:
A Natural Colour Combination 
(at 8,70 Euros + Shipping)
With 2x50gr balls of yarn in gorgeous "sheep" colours... unprocessed, natural colours without any added dye: just the actual colour the yarn had when it was shorn from the sheep.
By clicking on the images below you can get to each kit page directly to order it.

And a Coloured Combination
(at 11,50 Euros + Shipping)
Again 2x50gr balls of yarn. One in a natural shade as above and another one in a gorgeous hand-dyed colour out of natural & biodegradable dyes.
By clicking on the images below you can get to each kit page directly to order it.

The Quadrifurcus pattern will be offered together with each kit until Nov, 30 - at the discounted price of 3,20€ (it is already included in the above prices)! 
After that period it will be available through my own shop and ravelry (without the kit sadly) at it's regular price of 4,20€.

My new hat pattern is almost out! (Edit: it IS out and you can find it here on ravelry!!!)
It's a reversible hat with a dual personality disorder!

The colour of Little Hyde is showing through the eyelets of the lace - and if you choose a bright colour for the contrasting lining of the hat (one that's different from your hair colour works best), then your Mrs. Jekyll will have some coloured spots that shine through her lace!!!

The best part in this hat (in my humble opinion of course) is that both hats share the same brim, that is made in one layer only. Most reversible hats have this bulky brim because they have the lining start from the very edge of the hat! This results in having too much fabric around the face - a look which is fine with bulky hats, but I didn't want this for the feminine little lace beret I had in mind.

So I thought about a way to make the ribbing with one layer only and to incorporate the lining stitches when finishing the brim of the hat - with a seamless construction of course!

And of course I just had to make the tubular cast-on for this hat... again... !
This time with the contrast colour for the first rounds, to visually "connect" Mrs. Jeckyll and Little Hyde!

Since I tried this cast-on method I just can't go back to any other... especially when working fine yarn and especially for hats and mittens (where you notice the cast-on much more and where you just need to have some stretch in it). If you don't know this technique I strongly suggest you'd check it out: here is a great video link from Ysolda Teague)

Finally the double layer of the hat has also a practical reason (besides being fun when we try to emulate our own dual personalities)! It gives added warmth, since a hat in light fingering yarn (Holst supersoft in this case) wouldn't be very useful for winter - especially in fine lace!

The pattern for the hat will be available starting the 26th of October 2013. 
For today only my friends from my knit-group here in Athens will get the pattern as an early christmas present... since I won't be here for the next couple of meetings!

I finished the hat!!! You remember, my first project using my brand new gorgeous indy-yarn?

I really like how it came out, even with its slightly unconventional shape… the fabric is quite dense because of the weave-pattern (which makes it very warm thankfully) and this allows the hat to take on different forms: so it can be worn either as a béret style hat (when pushed down at the back)….

….or - my personal favorite - in a more hipster style (when just crunched a little bit at the top)! 
Pardon my slightly crazy eye in this pic… I don’t know what was *that* shocking… :)

I did the ribbing with a slipped stitch detail and with diagonal shaping to keep it less bulky at the neck (since I always look like an idiot with either bulky & scrunched ribbing in my neck area or the wider part of the hat starting too high up)!
I think that the biased shape gives also a nice “turbanesque” touch to the whole hat (and keeps the top of the hat slightly lower & near the nape… a good thing when you wear a tall hat and you don’t really dig the smurf-look).

The weave stitch seems to be a little complicated at first, but one gets into the rhythm soon enough…
…but the best thing is: it perfectly hides the jog when knitting in the round!!!!