Balmoral Bonnet

[Aspiringloser]

The green seems to really come out after you felt it. Note to self: If trying to match the ribbon to the color of the bonnet, take the finished, felted bonnet back to the store with you to pick out your ribbon. The closest match I found in the store using the yarn itself doesn't seem to be as good a match after felting. I made the little "nib" on this one. I had to look up how to knit I-cord. I didn't have any 10.5 DPNs so I used 7's for the I-cord. Seemed to work out okay. Thanks again for posting this pattern!
p.s. I wish they sold that particular yarn in bigger skeins. I had to buy two and barely used the second one.

[usonian]

Not sure if I linked to them in any of my other balmoral threads, but on my hats I used petersham ribbon from Judith M Millinery Supply for the band - it looks like grosgrain but it has a flexible edge that better lends itself to conforming to curves. It has the added bonus of being cotton/viscose instead of 100% polyester, which is pretty much all you can find grosgrain-wise.

Good to know about the amount of yarn needed for a solid-color hat. On my first balmoral, I used just shy of one skein of yarn for the crown; I guess it was the black-white-red dicing that made the difference.

[Thomas H]

Very NICE , Balmoral - wow great job , if you were going to make one and sell it - How much would you sell one for ? just wondering, as I can not knit .
Thank you

[Aspiringloser]

I couldn't knit until I got a book and learned. It isn't that hard. I don't have any interest in making them to sell. Get yourself a learn to knit book and go for it!

[usonian]

Yep, I've said it in my other threads - knitting's not hard, and you don't need crazy skills to make this pattern in particular. I learned how to knit from the book "Stitch N' Bitch" - the book is geared towards an audience of hip women, which I am decidedly not, but it does a really good job of covering the basics... and from there there are hundreds of tremendously helpful YouTube clips with good close-up motion for just about any kind of knitting stitch/cast on/bind off/etc you might need to do. Hats are definitely my sweet-spot as far as attention span goes... enough of a project to give you a sense of accomplishment, but not a big time commitment like a sweater.

[Aspiringloser]

http://www.createforless.com/Boye+Ki...FQ45nAodxioAfA

This is the one I'm learning from. It was around $10.00 at Walmart.

[dpc1960]

Nice work!... how long did it take you to knit this?

[Pleater]

It certainly has the depth of a balmoral, berets tend to have less of a band - but it might be that the top is pulled right over. I make an old fashioned beret, which has the width of a balmoral but not the side brim.

Once you've done a few it should be easy to make any adjustment to suit personal tastes.

I usually crochet mine to make a thick fabric without all the bother of felting and make them wide enough so that even if worn tilted I can fix a badge or broach to the lower disk.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: