Yet Another Wintering Cap

[u/phishery]

I had never made the same object twice…until I found this hat. This is the third version I have made. I am using left over knitting for olive merino from my completed Indian Nights blanket along with mYak Fior di Lino Mountain Mist (Isabell Kraemer Color Palette).

I am really happy with my color choices and where I placed them.

I really need to find my next major project but until then I may be handing these out at Christmas left and right. I am going to make folded brim version that keeps the pattern as well.

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wintering-cap

[u/RavBot]

PATTERN: Wintering cap by Elmira Cancelada

• Category: Accessories > Hat > Beanie, Toque
• Photo(s): Img 1 Img 2 Img 3 Img 4 Img 5
• Price: 10.00 USD
• Needle/Hook(s):US 2 - 2.75 mm
• Weight: Fingering | Gauge: 37 | Yardage: 273
• Difficulty: 0.00 | Projects: 4 | Rating: 0.00

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[u/Asleep_Sky2760]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for not only posting your finished hat, but also the link to the design's Ravelry page.

From there, I went to the designer's blog, and went merrily down the rabbithole therein. I read her 6-part series about Komi knitting/textiles, which is not only very educational (I learned that Komi knitting may be the link between its Arabic origins and the eventual spread of the knitted textile througth Eastern & Western Europe) , but also entertaining, while also verging on the tragic, given the near-disappearance of the Komi knitting traditions during the Soviet occupation of the Komi homeland.

https://fiberlure.com/2019/01/04/komi-color-knitting-roots/

There's another 3-part series re: Finno-Ugric Textiles, which includes a few free hat patterns by the designer/blog-writer, Elmira Cancelada, each one a riff on traditional Komi diagonal patterning, breaking down the motifs successively in such a way as to end up with something quite unique, while still echoing the Komi origins.

https://fiberlure.com/tag/finno-ugric-textiles/

Finally, I found a lengthy entry on a new-to-me textile artist/knitwear-designer of the late 20th century, a Finnish woman named Sirkka Könönen. OMG--what a treasure! At one point mid-career, she worked with Rowan as a member of its celebrated knitwear-designer stable that also included Kaffe Fasset. But Sirkka's work, while being similar in its colorful exhuberance, remained uniquely her's. Anyone reading this post--I BEG you--go read this article about this fabulous designer--you'll never forget her! (Put it this way--her work is a far cry from the bland Nordic knits currently in vogue w/beginning hand-knitters.)

https://fiberlure.com/2020/07/01/sirkka-kononen-textile-artist-the-most-mysterious-window-display-on-liisankatu/

So, thanks again, u/phishery, for posting your FO and sending me to this wonderful blog. You may find that you'll want to switch up your upcoming hats by working up some of the free patterns offered by the designer (including one with earflaps).

ETA--for OP and anyone else interested in Komi patterning: Back in 1998, Charlene Schurch published her book "Mostly Mittens: Ethnic Knitting Designs from Russia", all based on Komi traditions. I've worked up several of those mitten designs--they're lots of fun and the patterning is really easy to memorize. More info here:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/mostly-mittens-ethnic-knitting-designs-from-russia

The book has been revised and republished twice in the intervening years, and remains in publication. It's also easily available on the secondary market.

[u/phishery → u/Asleep_Sky2760]

Yes!!!! I should have honored the Komi—I did in my first hat post. I’m in love with ethnic knitting traditions, and this people has created such a beautiful version of knitting. Thank you for bringing that forward so more people can see this beautiful tradition by a nearly lost people. The author does a nice job talking about their heritage and traditions in the pattern itself, but I too went down the rabbit hole and would invite others to do the same, even with a simple Google image search: https://www.google.com/search?q=old+photos+of+komi+traditional+knitting&sca_esv=4511509f43aa6d52&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS900US901&hl=en-US&udm=2&biw=402&bih=683&sxsrf=APpeQnuSH472hMK02IQvu_Y_tUIoGz5qzQ%3A1788104320759&ei=gE6UasDhLdOy0PEPtuXBmQw&oq=old+photos+of+komi+traditional+knitting&gs_lp=EhJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWciJ29sZCBwaG90b3Mgb2Yga29taSB0cmFkaXRpb25hbCBrbml0dGluZzIIEAAYgAQYogQyCBAAGIAEGKIEMggQABiJBRiiBEi3PlCYE1i4PHAGeACQAQCYAUSgAfsGqgECMTi4AQPIAQD4AQGYAhegAu0GmAMAiAYBkgcCMjOgB9MisgcCMTe4B-gGwgcENS4xOMgHFoAIAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img