Needlecrafts - Knit,Crochet - Messy Bun Hats

Multicolor crochet bunhat | free pattern available here Grey back seam knit bunhat | Pinterest - inspiration only Blue ponytail crochet bunhat | free pattern available here

There's a new hat fashion in town - The Messy Bun Beanie. Styles have cropped up all over social media in a big way. It's always amusing to see something old become popular again with a sexy new name. Doesn't a "messy bun beanie" sound so much more interesting than an old ponytail hat. As a kid I wore these hats and remember all too well in my teaching days the little girls at recess with "holey hats". Like all fashions, they come and go waiting to be re-invented or as we say today "rebranded". There are 3 styles - a hat without the last few rows on top, a hat with a back seam partially sewn up or a few stitches in a row at the back, cast off or chained over to create a simple hole. But in the end all these styles serve a purpose allowing long hair to swing freely and not be bunched up inside a close-fitting hat. Read further for patterns that may inspire you to knit and/or crochet different versions of this holey hat.

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Needlecrafts - Knit,Crochet - Berets Heading For Fall

All inspirational images | Pinterest and vogue.com

Odd balls of yarn leftover from projects always piles up in bags in my "room" where the yarn stash is. The stash area is really part of the laundry room with a cabinet and rows of clear boxes on one side organizing my yarn. As I work on projects, the leftovers are put in bags. Of course the yarn goes somewhere into the ether, because I never look at it again until it becomes a monster of a pile. That's when I go on a purging binge and these bags get passed down to my sister-in-law. Her husband has now warned me not to give her anymore yarn as it is mounting up and cluttering a spare bedroom. This post on berets is perfect for this type of dilemma. The hat doesn't call for much yarn and you can easily make the top one color and the band another. So this is me turning over a new leaf, hopefully. I am truly envious of knitters and crocheters who are able to use up every scrap of yarn they have. Do these people really exist or do they give away yarn as well. Well this post has 12 knit patterns and 12 crochet patterns ranging from classic shapes to the fashionable slouchy beret. There is plenty of opportunity to dive into that pile and make a few hats for yourself and everybody in your family.

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Needlecrafts - Knit, Fair Isle Hats

Inspiration images above | Pinterest

What is Fair isle Knitting you ask? Well according to a quick Google search,
"Fair Isle is a traditional knitting technique used to create patterns with multiple colors. It is named after Fair Isle, a tiny island in the north of Scotland, that forms part of the Shetland islands."
The number and variety of traditional Fair Isle patterns provides a lifetime’s worth of inspiration.
Work them up in the traditional manner or play with color, arrangement, and scale to make them more contemporary or more your own.
Or start from scratch, using graph paper and colored pencils or markers to design your own motifs.
Read further for ideal free patterns for the beginner, more traditional free patterns and vintage patterns to buy and inspire you to knit in a more colorful way!

Maple leaf motif hat pattern | pattern available for purchase here

While hunting for fair isle hat patterns, these lovely bands of maple leaves instantly caught my eye, definitely very Canadian.
Even the beautiful fall colors used in this design were cottage country perfect. So, for all you fellow Canadian knitters, here's a hat that you can make as a stocking cap or shorten the amount of rows into a loose, slouchy style.

Read further for free hat patterns, ideal for introducing knitters to colorwork and more challenging patterns for those who enjoy stranding.
Helpful videos explain different methods of joining color and introductory steps to two color and three color stranding.

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