The first day that I wore the Welted Toque was on a visit to Belfast Zoo. It was a sunny day in early March before winter came back to bite us. We were ready for some fresh air and looked forward to a walk around the zoo.
Barbary Lions
We paused by the barbary lion enclosure. This wonderful wooden carving of the barbary lion is near the main enclosure. The barbary lions were used by the Romans in gladiatorial combat. They are closely related to the now extinct European lion.
Sadly, there are no barbary lions left in the wild. They used to be found in the mountain forests of North Africa. The lions were relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the sun.
Until they seemed to notice us watching them and started taking an interest in what we were doing.
Weekend Hats
If you are looking for an elegant choice of hat patterns that use 4 ply or DK weight yarns, you really couldn’t do better than to buy or borrow Weekend Hats by Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa LaBarre. It was published in 2011 by Interweave Press. The Welted Toque is the fourth hat that I have knit from this book. Often, I am only tempted by one or two patterns in a book, usually the one on the front cover that has tempted me to buy the book unseen in the first place.
Welted Toque
Welted Toque is designed by Melissa LaBarre. I have a gorgeous dusky pink lace cardigan and wanted an elegant cloche-style hat to wear with it. I am unsure what the yarn is that I used, it was in my stash of 4-ply, but the label had been lost. The long repeating gradual transition of blush pink to deeper dusky pinks is gorgeous in the finished hat. The yarn is knit into a lightweight but very warm fabric with a lovely halo. It also showed the welts very clearly.
The 3 welts on the side create a stylish cloche hat where the crown sits jauntily to the side in a lovely asymmetric shape. The pattern was clearly written and easy to understand. I didn’t make any changes to it, which is unusual for me as I tend to be a serial tweaker.
It was a wonderfully relaxing quick project to complete, perfect for putting into your bag and working on while meeting friends for a coffee. I love wearing the finished hat and would definitely knit it again in a different colourway. I have the same yarn in shades of blue so definitely a case of watching this space…
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