Novelty yarns can be tough creatures to work with. They’re often flimsy and sticky and plastic-y feeling. When knitted up, even the chunkiest of novelty yarns can lack structure, so that whatever you knit is floppy and stretchy and doesn’t hold a shape.
We got a shipment of Needful Yarn’s Santa Ana into the store last week. I was pleasantly surprised. Its wool content helps provide some substance and a decent hand to the yarn, and it has sufficient weight that it holds structure. It was still horribly sticky on plastic needles, but it behaved a little better on bamboo.
The white Santa Ana wants nothing more than to be the trim on your Santa Claus hat… .
Santa Hat 2005
1 ball Needful Yarns’ Santa Ana in colour 4156 (snowy white)
1 ball Needful Yarns’/Filtes King Van Dyck in colour 247 (a nice Christmassy red)
10 mm (US size 15) straight needles
pompom maker (or some spare cardboard)
Finished size: 20″/50cm around head, 21″/53 cm long. Fits most.
Tension for Van Dyck: 10 sts to 4″/10 cm in stocking stitch with 10mm needles
Tension for Santa Ana: 12 sts to 4″/10 cm in stocking stitch with 10mm needles
With 10 mm needles and Van Dyck, cast on 50 stitches. Starting with a knit row, work 3″/7.5 cm stocking stitch, ending with a purl row.
Decrease row: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1.
Purl next row.
Repeat the previous two rows until 4 stitches remain. Cast off.
Using the Santa Ana, and with right side facing, pick up 60 stitches along the cast-on edge. Work a purl row, twisting every stitch. Starting with a knit row, work 5 inches/12.5 cm in stocking stitch. Cast off.
Fold furry cuff in half, towards the wrong side and loosely whip stitch it to the inside of the hat to secure. Fold hat in half lengthwise and seam.
Make the largest and thickest pompom you can and attach to the top.
Wear festively and jauntily.