Friday Freebie: MoreEnds

MoreEnds done with a gradient kit

Welcome back for the third Friday in January 2017 and my third new pattern of the year.  I believe I have something novel here - the first pattern that begs for more yarn ends.  Stripe away, use up all your fingering weight scraps and it only makes your hat better.

MoreEnds done with leftovers in even stripes

My inspiration for MoreEnds came as I was developing a new class on dealing with yarn ends.  This primarily meant tricks for weaving in ends, but I did want to include the old Fair Isle technique of gathering the many, many yarn ends into a braid that ran along the side seam inside the sweater.  As I was thinking about this, I wondered about rather than hiding the braid, what if it was a feature?  Put it on the outside of the garment.  And, what if it also could serve another functional purpose (besides securing loose yarn ends)?  What if it decoratively gathered the hat fabric into a ruched side?  A little knitting later, and I had a fun hat.

MoreEnds allows for lots of knitter creativity.  Have a decent amount of a few colors?  Knit regular stripes and braid by color.  Have lots of little bits of yarn (and who doesn't)?  Go crazy with random stripes using up every bit.  The only rule is that they have to make it all the way around.










Begin with a provisional cast on and knitted band for maximum stretch, minimum (no) purling and and easy way to hide that initial yarn end.  Knit round and round, changing yarns at will until it's time to decrease.  When all the knitting is done, tidy up your yarn ends by working them into a braid, trim it up, and your're done!

Get this pattern for free during its introductory weekend, Friday, January 20th through Sunday, January 22nd at midnight Central time.