Wow – where did May go? It’s been an incredibly busy month for me and I apologize for the lack of posts. I really have to do some ahead of time for times like these! Anyway, this post is a combination of a pattern and a yarn review. Awhile ago, Sho from Wool Is Not Enough, asked me to come up with a sample for a yarn she had … Latte by Ella Rae. It’s a chunky yarn that is made of Microfiber (40%), Silk (30%), and Baby Alpaca (30%). The feel of the yarn is exquisite – very soft from the microfiber and the alpaca, and as such has a great drape to it. I wouldn’t recommend it for a large project such as a sweater or coat as i think it might have the tendency to grow on you. It is great for smaller quick knits such as shrugs, hats, and other accessories.
The recommended needle size for Latte is 5.5mm and there’s 75m per ball. I had two, so I decided to knit a slouchie hat with it. I will have the pattern available shortly, and if you’re local to Vancouver, you’ll be able to go to W.I.N.E. and get it when you get the yarn. 2 balls was indeed enough, and I had about 10m left over, so I could have made it a little longer. I also had a slightly ribbed cuff on the hat, as I like the slouchies better that way. I know most like to have it extremely loose at the bottom, but I prefer it like a tam or beret, to hold the hat on the head. Here is a picture of my friend Crystal wearing it …
As you can see I used a simple 2×2 rib for the cuff, then just did a plain stocking stitch texture for the body of the slouchie. The tricky part is in the increasing and then decreasing. Also, as I said, you could make this hat longer if you needed to but you might need a third ball depending on how much longer you needed it. The color I used for this was Majestic Jade, and Latte comes in 20 colors. My only concern about Latte is that it’s a lightly spun yarn, so you can strand or split it fairly easily. I would recommend using blunter bamboo needles when handling this yarn. Here’s another picture showing the back and drape of it …
This entire project was completed in 6 hours – so it’s great for an evening relaxing by the fire or watching a movie or 2 – or maybe just one twice? Like the Avengers? 😉
Hugzzz 😎