Today we're celebrating the release of the Mint Collection by Anna Elliott. Anna is a talented British designer, who I met through Knit Now magazine some years ago, and we've kept in contact ever since. She designed the lovely cosy Nature Collection for us, and we've collaborated on a number of magazine patterns too.
Anyway.. mint.. yum.. Each of the three hats is named after a mint, and each one is completely different, which is really cool. They're made in Whitfell DK (100% baby alpaca with 100m per 50g ball), using the colours Ebony and Dogwood, but of course they'll look awesome in other colours. These patterns are available on Ravelry (links to follow) individually, or as an ebook on Ravelry
HERE. Take
After Eight - this pretty beret uses beads, so there's a good chance to play with colour combinations there - if you prefer to wear hats as a beanie, or with more slouch, it's super-easy to add an extra lace repeat or two. Of course the beads are optional, so if you don't fancy them, you don't have to have them.
I'm sure fellow bobble fans will agree that this would suit a bobble too.
Next up is
Pepper - this is a sumptuous but simple hat, covered in little cables, and with a bobble. Winter hats don't get more cosy and classy than this. Again, it's easily made slouchy by adding more pattern repeats.
Finally, here's
Kendal.. now this hat is a real cutie and has been a hit with the people who saw it whilst we were photographing it - I found it difficult to show off the cuteness in the photos, but basically it has tucks on either side, which from the front make it look like it almost has little ears. Pair that with the gorgeous slip stitch pattern - not only is there room for playing with colours, but the stranded, dense fabric is really warm and cosy - and you have a really awesome hat. As with the other two, this one is also easily made larger or smaller. I just can't decide which colours to make mine in.
So we extend a huge thankyou to Anna for these gorgeous hats, and thankyou to my friend Emma for patiently modeling them. If you'd like to see them and squish the yarn in real life, firstly
HERE is our stockist list (if your local yarn shop doesn't stock ECY, why not suggest it?), and also I have an active list
HERE on Ravelry where I'm updating which shows we'll be at in 2016, as they get confirmed.
