Confession time: This is the first time I have knit with bulky yarn. I wish I could say I’m a convert, but I really like lighter-weight yarns to work with.
I had received a skein of Hedgehog Fibres Chubby yarn in a Potluck colorway from their club last month. Chubby only has about 50 yards per skein, so I was stymied about what to make with it, since it wasn’t quite enough for most accessories. I wound up picking up a skein of Malabrigo’s Rasta which is a similar weight (slightly less tightly spun, however), to use in conjunction with the Chubby. I also wound up needing to order needles because I had nothing even remotely close to the size 11 and 13s I used for this.
Surfing around on Ravelry, I found the Monterey Beanie pattern by Aspen Leaf Knits, which seemed like a good match. This is a 2-color pattern, knit with just simple knits and purls to create a textured fabric. Cast on and 2-1/2 hours later, it was done!
This was a fun, easy-to-knit pattern. It’d be a good one for a fairly new knitter and it’s also a good stashbuster. Very straightforward and well-written. (And it comes with a version without ribbing as well if that’s more your style.) I only used about half the Chubby skein and a third of the Rasta skein, so I have enough yarn left over for another hat. (Which I will probably bust out sometime in the next couple of months just to use the yarn, but I found working with the heavier yarn hard on my hands, so I’ll take a break from it for at least a little bit before casting on for hat #2).
Knit One, Spin Too 