“I’ll teach you all this, in 8 easy steps..”
January 26, 2009, 2:35 pm
Comments ClosedSo the next tutorial isn’t from my brain, or a magazine, or a book. Its a hat, and I got it from Marieke, who runs this website. I swear, its my favorite hat EVER. I have three different ones in three different yarns.
Marieke calls it a “Rasta hat” and thats a pretty accurate description. Its slouchy, thick and warm… and depending on how long you make it (how many rows you knit) it can accommodate dreads or long hair tucked up inside. Its a very simple pattern and if you’re a decent knitter it shouldn’t take you longer than a couple of hours, maybe a day to complete it. Its simple- but the pattern looks so pretty. And not sloppy.
These hats are pretty trendy right now. Nicole Richie’s been spotted in them a lot lately. I’ve always wanted one but have never been able to find one in a store that was exactly what I wanted. And then I found this pattern!
Front and side views, with cuff. You can really see how nice the pattern is in the 2nd photo.
Another cool thing about this hat is if you make it a big longer, you can cuff it too, like I did in the above pictures. I have short hair, so theres nothing to tuck in. Therefore, I can cuff it and still keep the big, scrunchy look of it yet not look utterly ridiculous.
Close ups, no cuff.
This was made by my mother, so she gets credit for how great it looks. The red a regular ol’ red yarn you can get at any Joann’s or Michael’s or any yarn store (‘Cherry Red’ by Red Heart brand), but You can use any yarn you like of course. Real wool, acrylic, cotton, cashmere, mohair, etc. Its your choice.
Like I mentioned, I’ve got three of these. The above red one, then another in a super soft (now discontinued) Wool-Ease by Lion Brand black yarn that has flecks (or “sprinkles” as Jay called them, haha) of different colors throughout, and the one to the left; a crazy soft gray/green brushed ombre yarn by Joann’s (Sensations Rainbow Classic in “Green/Gray”) thats amazing; click here for a swatch. The red looks totally different here, its not pink or watermelon-y at all; its a deep cherry red. Stupid lighting. The green hat came out slightly better, but still the color is distorted. My skin is even green- haha, I’m the Grinch!! Last but not least, the black hat wouldn’t come out well in pictures at all, unfortunately. Which is a shame because its really lovely… I’ll try and get a picture of it and maybe edit this entry at some point.
This particular pattern/hat is beautiful in solid color and ombre yarn. I think it would be really cool in this yarn, actually.
So on we go with the pattern itself. In her words, heres the pattern and materials list.. and since its in metric/Euro style, I converted it to US sizes, my additions are bold:
You need:
- 50 gram mohair in the two colors you want to use (so 100 gram in total). You could do with a little less but since this is weight of a ball… [I chose Schachenmayr Nomotta Hair (color 98) 50 gram and Gedifra Belisana Color (color 7306) 50 gram] (any yarn works just fine, just be sure to realize that different weights an different types of yarn make different size and thickness of hats- wool is going to be different than acrylic when it comes to this)
- needles 9 mm *(size 11 American)
- a sewing needleCast on 64 stitches with the two colors, loosely. From here you knit two knit stitches and two purl stitches, starting with the knit stitches and ending with the purl stitches for each row. Continue until you have knitted about 26 cm (roughly 10 inches). Then, knit together two knit stitches and two purl stitches for one row so you will have 32 stitches left. Cut the thread off, leaving a thread of about 50 cm. Take a big needle and pull the thread through the 32 stitches. Pull the thread so you close the top. Handsew the sides together, using the thread from top to bottom. Let the winter come!
All credit for this hat and the pattern goes to Marieke at treats and treasures, which is by the way a great blog with a couple of awesome free knitting/crocheting patterns as well.
Oh- and uh, you can’t knit the brooch 
Knit "Rasta hat" tutorial
“I’m Hen-ery the eighth, I am, I am…”
January 21, 2009, 4:12 pm
Comments Closed
Actual armor of Henry VIII, c. 1540’s, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
Wordless Wednesday: Henry VIII armor
“I want you all over me like L.A.M.B.”
My newest sneaker obsession: L.A.M.B. Meihana sneakers in midnight/molasses. I think they’re so cute!
Even Gwen Stefani herself loves them…
I’m a big Gwen fan, I think her style is pretty wicked and I just think shes adorable. Gwen was the lead singer of the ska/pop band No Doubt from 1986 (when they were called Apple Core), before leaving in 2003 to release her own solo CD, ‘Love Angel Music Baby.’ Admittedly, when I was in high school, I was a bit too “hardcore” and punk rock to be into a band like No Doubt, but after graduating, getting into the real world and growing up a bit I realized I really liked them, and I didn’t have to stick to one type of music to be credible or prove myself to anyone. Songs like ‘Bathwater‘ and ‘Underneath it All‘ are just good songs, period. So thats when I started to notice Gwen and her style, which has undergone many different variations since then. My favorite Gwen is blonde Gwen, but the ‘Return of Saturn‘ pink-haired Gwen is a runner up. Her hair and makeup style in the videos for ‘Ex-Girlfriend‘ and ‘New‘ were just awesome. But lately I think she’s hit her stride; her style is just where it should be. Not too serious, not too stuffy, yet not as juvenile as it has been in the past (like the blue hair/bindi dot phase).
So therefore I adore her clothing/accessories line L.A.M.B. and have since July 2003, when Gwen made her very first handbag line for LeSportsac. I got a first season LAMB print “hella hobo” I for my birthday that year, and nobody had a clue about what it was or that Gwen even had a line. Then all of a sudden, that fall, pictures of Carmen Electra, Paris Hilton, Cameron Diaz and Pamela Anderson with that same bag started popping up everywhere, and people caught on. After that, I was a die hard Lambie: I bought a bag from every season in almost every print that was made. I’ve since sold a lot on eBay, and some on L.A.M.B./No Doubt internet communities, mainly because I just had no use for many of them and never used some of them, and I’m a firm believer in the philosophy that things like that are meant to be loved and used, not just collected, and if I’m not using them I should sell them to a home where they will be. But I’ve kept quite a few, and everytime I use them I get compliments (specifically anything Donegal Plaid). Of course, as is the way with most things on eBay, people were willing to pay over $400 for a bag that retailed for $120 or less… but it was LAMB-mania! Gwen learned from this, and started up her lux line of bags after parting with LeSportsac after creating LAMB for LeSportsac for 4 seasons (fall/winter 2003, spring 2004, summer 2004 and fall/winter 2004).
I also adore the clothing line that she started shortly after the LeSportsac line, and her new “lux” handbag line is fantastic as well. About 3 years ago one of my surprise Christmas presents from Jay was a pair of black ‘Baby’ sneakers and since then I’ve kept a close eye on her shoe line too. For those of you totally unfamiliar with L.A.M.B., heres a brief history thanks to Wikipedia:
“L.A.M.B. is a fashion line by American singer Gwen Stefani, the lead vocalist of the rock band No Doubt and a solo artist. The line manufactures apparel and fashion accessories. The line was founded in 2003 but made its runway debut the following year in 2004. The fashion line manufactures accessories like shoes, watches, bags and a fragrance called “L” as well. The name is an acronym of her debut solo album Love.Angel.Music.Baby.
The line is influenced by a variety of fashions cultures, including Guatemalan, Japanese, Indian and Jamaican styles. Stefani came from a line of seamstresses. This further inspired her to launch her own fashion line. The line achieved popularity among celebrities and is worn by stars such as Teri Hatcher, Nicole Kidman, Paris Hilton and Stefani herself.
The fashion line made a runway debut in the spring collection of 2004,[1] and achieved mainstream success at New York Fashion Week in 2005 and currently makes an annual gross income of $90 million. The line, as well as the fashion shows were well received by critics and appreciated the indulgence of a celebrity into the fashion world. An additional fashion line was also launched by Stefani called Harajuku Lovers intended for those who, like her Japanese back-up singers, share a love for Kawaiiness.”
I’m a big fan of her Harajuku Lovers line too, and I have a few bags and clothing items from it. Harajuku Lovers is lower on the price scale than L.A.M.B. and is a bit more youthful, whereas the L.A.M.B. line is classier and a bit more adult for lack of a better word. Both lines have fragrances; and all of them are delicious.
Some highlights of the L.A.M.B. line for me have been:
Donegal Plaid military coat, Fall 2004
Cheetah hoodie, Spring 2007
Double breasted leopard coat, Fall 2006
Where did my LAMB go? hoodie
If you’re interested in seeing more or purchasing something, here are some L.A.M.B. and Harajuku Lovers links-
Gwen Stefani L.A.M.B.
“Money makes the world go around.”
January 17, 2009, 2:33 am
Comments Closed
Spider!
“Reach out and touch faith.”
So mariloca.com got a facelift, again!
The blog got a new address, mariloca.com/mondieu …and my “online portfolio” is back as well, you can find that at mariloca.com/imagery. The main page of mariloca.com is reserved as a kind of directional, a way of finding what you’re here for if you will.
I also redid the layouts of everything, made them simpler and a bit classier. I’ve really been busy and haven’t kept up with this as much as I have Cupcake Rehab but… thats the name of the game. One blog is hard enough to keep up with, let alone two. But I’ll do better, I promise. I have more tutorials and stuff for ya too!
Thats really all I came here to say for now, but I’ll be back soon with a real update.
Website news!
