YARN
I love a bobble hat and I love using 100% wool, which is extra cosy. A couple of years ago I produced my own range of wool yarn called How Does It Feel. The name was inspired by dancing the night away at a tiny Soho nightclub that took its inspiration from the Velvet Underground Song 'Beginning to See the Light'. My yarn is made from 100% wool and has it's own tension specific to it, which is slightly tighter than expected from similar yarns. I've included some options below for alternatives yarns that can achieve the same tension as my How Does It Feel yarn. You may need to adjust your knitting needle size and knit a couple of swatches before starting your hat.
MY RECOMMENDED YARN
Sincerely Louise, How Does It Feel chunky yarn. This is my lightweight chunky yarn made of 100% wool. It comes in a 100g ball with 115m per 100g.
For knitting your hat, you'll need:
Small and medium size: 1x ball of main colour and 1x ball of contrast colour
Large size: 2x balls of main colour and 1x ball of contrast colour
OTHER YARNS
- BC Garn - Hamelton No. 2 chunky yarn. This is the best wool alternative to my How Does It Feel yarn. You can achieve the same tension with it using 6mm (US 10 needles). It comes in 50g balls with 60m (66 yds) per ball, so you'll need to double the amount of balls needed for knitting the size of hat you would like.
- Rico Essentials - Mega Merino chunky yarn. Although the tension on the ball band is slightly different to the How Does It Feel yarn, you can still achieve the 16 stitches x 20 rows using it. You may may need to use 5.5mm (US 9) knitting needles instead of 6mm (US 10). It's made of wool (55%) and acrylic (45%) so it's a nice mix of fibres. You'll need the same number of balls as if you were using the How Does It Feel yarn.
- Paintbox Yarns - Wool Mix Chunky yarn. Like the Rico Essentials you'll need to knit a swatch to make sure your tension is right, as this yarn has a different tension to that stated on the How Does It Feel yarn. The Paintbox yarn is made of acrylic (50%) and superwash wool (50%), so it's a good mix of yarns. You should be able to use the same quantities as the How Does It Feel yarn, but as there's a little less on the ball I'd recommend buying an extra ball of the main colour for the medium size. Just in case.
- Paintbox Yarns - Simply Chunky yarn. This is a great budget option yarn for knitting the hat, and it's 100% acrylic. Like with the Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Chunky you'll be able to achieve the right tension on it. It won't be as warm though, but as an acrylic it may not be itchy like 100% wool. You'll get plenty on the ball so buy the same amount stated for the How Does It Feel yarn.
KNITTING NEEDLES
6mm (US 10) circular needles with a 60cm (24 in) cable.
5mm (US 8) circular needles with a 60cm (24 in) cable.
5mm 20cm DPNs
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Darning needle