I rarely knit in black. It’s hard to see your stitches and it’s even harder to photograph. But whenever I knit a thank you gift for someone I typically ask what color they want so when I asked one of my class guest speakers if she’d like a hat she said yes and in black.
So I decided if it’s going to be black, it should have some texture and interest to it and I settled on the Karite hat and I used Lion Brand Heartland yarn in Black Canyon so it would be washer and dryer friendly. I actually made the Karite hat once before in a fun rainbow acrylic yarn but was shamed for making it in acrylic by a knitting instructor/pattern designer so I hadn’t made it again. Her comments left a bad taste in my mouth.
But the thing is it’s one of my favorite and most worn (and warm) hats! I decided to let go of the yarn shaming vibes and make someone else a really good hat for the cold weather. And after whipping it up I realized I needed to make a new one for myself in a solid color. I recently ordered myself a new winter coat (Land’s End has some of the best sales and the best cold weather coats) and I will definitely need a new hat and set of flip top mitts to coordinate. And I’m sure my gift recipient will be super happy to get something that’s hand made.
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Yards of Happiness 
Yarn shaming is the worst! There are different fibers for different times and persons. I especially like Heartland for gifts — particularly for people with small, sticky-fingered little kids! They’ve gotta be able to *wash* those mittens/hats/scarves/sweaters without taking a complete time-out from parenting! And then there are those people you don’t know well enough to be sure if they have a wool allergy. And then there’s the cost. This is one reason I love your blog… You use yarns across the spectrum of style and spendy-ness, so I get to see all kinds of options. And oh, yes, that black hat makes me want to go out and make one for myself. So pretty!
I love them both!!
I agree with Oona. You use a good mix of yarns along the cost spectrum, Dana. I have found some yarns that I do not enjoy knitting or crocheting with. I have found that some types of fibers work better than others for particular patterns. Other than that, there shouldn’t be any yarn rules for something you love to do.
Great stitch definition. I understand how hard it can be knitting with black yarn as I just did that. I tried to have the floor lamp next to me whenever I worked on it.
Yeah I had a lamp over me the entire time.
Love both hats! I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a yarn snob and don’t really like knitting with acrylic yarns…. But acrylics do have their place, specially for gift knitting when the receiver may not fully appreciate or understand wool’s unique ‘washability.’ And as acrylics go, I really like Heartland and have used it many, many times.
I think everyone has preferences. Believe me if I could afford to make everything in madelinetosh I would! But I do think baby stuff and some gifts need different yarns and knowing that I don’t ever judge anyone for what they choose to knit with.