When I was spinning Peggy I kept wondering if spinning was supposed to be this hard. I practically had to manhandle the fiber to draft it, and ended up drafting very thin, almost to pencil roving, to make it go. Looking back, I’m amazed that I spun it all.

My next braid was 100% pure alpaca and it drafted like butter. At first, I almost ruined it because I was manhandling  it at the beginning.

I ended up spinning most of it at the show; folks were so fascinated by the wheel that many people came by just to see what I was doing :)

After navajo plying, this was my final skein, 117 yards! It was the first skein of mine that was even enough in thickness for me to measure a wpi, which came to 10. The internet is fickle on this point, but it seemed I was looking at a DK weight.

Now, finally spinning up something relatively even demands that you knit something with it. I only had 117 yards though, so what to do?

Shireen’s Precious Handspun Hat!

Works with DK weight to worsted. You’ll need a minimum of 100 yards.

1. Weigh your yarn
2. Cast on a multiple of 8 stitches on 4.5mm needles (16” circular or dpns)
3. Work in 2×2 ribbing for 1.5 inches
4. Work in stockinette (knit every row) until about 1/5 of your yarn is left. (Weigh it again to check, or just eyeball if it you like to live dangerously)

Crown Shaping:

Row 1: *knit 8, k2tog* repeat

Row 2: knit all stitches

Row 3: *knit 7, k2tog* repeat

Row 4: knit all stitches

Row 5: *knit 6, k2tog* repeat

Row 6: knit all stitches

See the pattern?

Continue until you have half the stitches you started with. At this point, drop the rows of plain stockinette and work every round as a decrease round until you have 16 stitches left.

Break your yarn leaving a 6” tail. Thread a tapestry needle with the tail, cinch the top of the hat shut and weave in your ends.

Block it, and rock it!