I had been busy planning to come to Berlin and in my real hurry to pack unpack and prepare there was time to knit, but not to blog.
This time, my cousin and his wife from US got me LION brand homespun wool in a lovely meadow color. I decided to knit a muffler cap, like the one I saw in mussorie. It is knit in two pieces, three sections.
Section one : all rows front and back in knit.
This piece is a 70 inch long muffler with 20-25 sticthes ( for a very thick wool) thinner yarns may need more. The width of the muffler is only 5- 5 1/2 inches so it can wrap around the neck nicely.
Tip: if thick wools are done in knit one side purl the other, (st stitch) it curls up, so use garter stitch for keeping the muffler flat.
After the 70 inches long muffler, knit a flat piece with 35 to 40 stitches again in garter stitch but make it about 12- 14 inches. I measured mine around my head like a head band up to my neck over both my ears to form a "pallu."
Fold this in half and from the side of the knitted piece pick up as many stitches as there are rows and knit them in circles to make the back of the head piece. Knit for about 6 to 10 rounds and reduce the stitches as for cap knit two together one row then knit and kit two together and then knit another row. Finally bind off the last 10-14 stitches.
I know it sounds complicated but looking at the pictures will give you a good idea.
Center the head piece to the muffler and stitch it along the bottom of the cap . I added fancy fur tassles and also some to the hood to make it look like a fur cap!
Tip : First time knitters! Do use a different contrast colored wool ( I used green for this )to stitch your garments loosely. Check if everything is okay then stitch neatly using same colored wool. That way if the piece is inside out or not rightly placed, you will find it easy to cut off the coloured wool without cutting the knitting.
Happy winter!
