A Love of Knit Accessories: The Boreal Hat and Mittens

via GIPHY

I love the simple stranded colorwork design, too. It feels simultaneously geometric and botanical, and the shifting shades between the hat and mittens give ample opportunity to play with color. I always enjoy colorwork in knit accessories, and this was no exception. So, after a quick trip to the yarn store, I was ready to go.

My Take

I wanted a more autumnal look for my Boreal Hat and Mittens. I found the gold color—Glazed Pecan—first and set about finding a good companion. The other shade I ended up with is One of a Kind, so I can’t point you to a specific colorway (though I think the colorway Tart would also have been stunning). I’m nearly done with the hat. It has gone incredibly fast—one of the perks of worsted-weight yarn—and I plan to start on the mittens by tomorrow. The best thing about this pattern is how much play it allows in the colors. You could do tone-on-tone, like our original sample, or bright contrasting colors. Heck, you could probably do more than two colors and end up with set of rainbow knit accessories!

My biggest tip is the same tip I give for any colorwork knit accessories—make sure you keep the floats loose. Especially with this pattern, you don’t want your fabric puckering. I’ve managed to keep my floats comfortably relaxed, but I’m still probably going to block the hat and mittens.

Overall, I’m just so pleased with how the hat came out. I can’t wait to get started on my mittens for a cozy, autumnal knit accessory set. Let me know what colors you’d choose in the comments, and as always,

Happy Knitting,

Julia

Find some knit accessories for the holidays!