It started snowing!!! Noooooo….

When I lived in Canada, this was never something I minded; in fact, I often looked forward to the year’s first snowfall. Perhaps it was due to remnant childhood dreams of white Christmases, or maybe it was just because I liked going for nighttime walks and watching those big fluffy flakes fall in the light of streetlamps, but it was never something I dreaded or feared. Japan, however, has ruined that for me.

I usually ride my bike to work, but from December to early March, my pleasant ride through green rice fields is transformed into a perilous, icy trek through a frozen nightmare. The sidewalks are never plowed, something cold and horrible is almost always falling from the sky, and wind is relentless. So, in anticipation of the cold I will very shortly feel, I decided to make something super practical to protect my face and neck.

For valentine’s day last year some lovely ladies sent me two luscious skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas bulky yarn in claret (colour 1215). I’d been saving it for something special, and this little project was perfect! Because it’s 50% alpaca, 50% wool, and nice and bulky,  this wonderfully soft yarn knits up nice and quick. It only took me two evenings to make the neck warmer and the headband!

~ The Pattern: Neck Warmer ~

Because I wanted it to stand up straight so that I could nestle my face into it, the gauge is pretty tight at 3 stitches per inch.

Using a 60 cm circular needle, CO 60 stitches, place stitch marker, and join for knitting in the round.

Knit in fluted fabric stitch for 15cm. If you’ve never attempted this stitch before, there are tons of tutorials online to help you out! Purl bee’s is especially helpful for knitting this stitch in the round. Note, when knitted in the round, this stitch is knit inside out!

Bind off in pattern and you’re done!

~ The Pattern: Headband ~

To make this pattern, simply knit an i-cord until it fits around your head and then tie the ends together! To find out how to make an i-cord, check out this video.