Remember this ball of beautiful indigo blue softknit cotton from my Rowan Beach Shoot ? This week I couldn’t resist it any longer – I had to try out this new yarn. I’d seen and admired Mel’s Downton Abbey inspired Nola Cloche by Hillary Smith Callis over at Coal Valley View and being a big fan of the TV series myself, I thought that it was the perfect pattern for my new softknit cotton.
The softknit cotton, I have to say is delicious : it’s a joy to knit with and the colour range is superb. Who wouldn’t want to knit with shades reminiscent of beautiful seascapes like indigo blue, pacific, marine and seaweed? Or how about sand, burnt orange and sunset red? Other shades conjure up images of beautiful summer flowers such as tea rose and lupin. Softknit cotton is an aran / worsted weight yarn with a touch of polyamide for durability. It has a beautiful softness and drape showing texture and cable detail really well. It’s machine washable (always a bonus!) so its perfect for knitting spring and summer garments.
The Nola Cloche itself is very easy to make. Simply knit the brim with a lovely cable twist for detail, then pick up some stitches from around the edge of the brim to knit the crown of the hat, decreasing as you go. I was intending that the hat would be for me but as I had to take photos, I think my model had other ideas! She’s always been a hat girl!
Its a little big as its an adult size but I have promised to knit her one in a colour of her choosing 🙂
Rowan’s pattern support for this yarn is fantastic : check out Martin Storey’s Softknit Collection featuring a contemporary mix of fashionable and simple textured knits and aran and cable patterns on my Rowan Favourites Pinterest Board. The softknit cotton is also interchangeable with Rowan’s Handknit cotton so you could also check out Martin Storey’s ‘Simple Shapes Handknit Cotton’ for patterns too .
Spring was definitely in the air today : wood anenomes were popping up all over the place. I can’t wait for bluebell season. We’re lucky to have this lovely bit of ancient woodland on our doorstep which is owned by the Woodland Trust.
Then we popped home to bake a loaf of bread for tea.
Do let me know if you try the Softknit Cotton or knit up the Nola Cloche: I would love to hear from you 🙂
Bye for now,
Claire X
Knit and Purl Garden 
This is a new hat pattern to me, I love it in your Softknit cotton.
Thanks Kristen, I love the pattern too & definitely the Softknit cotton 🙂
The hat looks gorgeous 🙂 I am so looking forward to the bluebells to, the flowers are all starting to appear at last. x
super cute hat! do you think spring will start now you’ve made it??!! xxxxxxxxxxx
Hope so! It’s got to start soon – fingers crossed xxxx
Man! I wish I could knit!! Looks gorgeous. X
Thanks Erin, you should have a go! 🙂
Xx
This hat is perfection. I love the color.
Thank you for such a kind comment! 🙂
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I love the hat pattern and it looks such a cosy wear. Love it!
Thanks Linda 🙂 I think it must be cosy because my ‘model’ has been wearing it to school & hasn’t given it back 😉
I think you picked a great yarn for this hat — nice drape and smoothness.
Thanks Dayana 🙂 it certainly was a lovely yarn to knit with : I’ll definitely be using it again!
Hi Claire, your hat turned out beautifully! Such a gorgeous colour and that yarn does look rather luscious. Thanks so much for the mention too 🙂 Mel x
Thanks Mel 🙂 I love reading your blog it’s so inspiring! xx