Balmoral Bonnets

[room2ndfloor]

My friends in Maryland, where it is supposed to snow this week again, wearing the Balmoral bonnets I made for them, using Mrs. Gilmour's pattern. The husband wears a blue-tartan kilt on special occasions.
Blairs in Balmorals.jpg

[ASinclair]

Very nice. I was admiring the one you made for Hawk, as well. I really like your Balmoral bonnets.

[Bluescelt]

Very nice! My wife has been felting handbags lately and it is amazing to me how much the items shrink! I think I may need to get her the Anne Carroll Gilmour pattern.

[room2ndfloor]

Right, these are knitted to three times the final size, then fulled down to size and hand-shaped. Here is Mrs. Gilmour's pattern on Ravelry.com, available for download. Mrs. Gilmour gave clear, easy-to-follow instructions, much superior to most knitting patterns.
[URL="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/classic-highlanders-balmoral-bonnet"]
For most of mine, I also dyed the yarn before knitting the bonnet. A couple of these, I have used small lengths of yarn, without bothering for a neat splice and not wearing in any ends, either. The fulling process makes these small irregularities disappear.

[Elizabeth]

Very nice! Almost makes me want to learn to knit.

[Elf]

Great job. Also thanks for the link to instructions. Of course, as all of us DIY folks, I will have to file this away for later. But definately worth it. Again, thanks.