Witch Hare

Angels Cardigan patterncard kit design by Jade Starmore & Witch Hare Patterncard Kit by Alice & Jade Starmore in Hebridean 2 Ply yarn

Description

Measurements:
Beret – Circumference 67.5cm. Brim to crown 26cm.
Mittens– Width around knuckles 19.3[20.7,22]cm. Length 31.5[32,32.5]cm.

The Witch Hare kit is composed of a beret and mittens worked in nine shades of Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 Ply. The Witch Hare is photographed here in soft late autumn shade with the Rosemarkie Cardigan on Eve, and in very strong full summer sunshine on Emma with the Angels Cardigan.

The set is worked in the stranded circular technique. If you are new to this technique then there is a graded progression that you can follow, starting with the beret which introduces double decrease shaping in the patterned crown. The mittens will teach you how to make thumb gussets, how to work staggered double decreases to shape and pattern the mitten tops, and how to work a shaped and patterned thumb in the round.

This kit includes two colour-printed patterncards with full instructions, one for the beret and one for the mittens, and the nine shades of yarn required to make the Witch Hare set. The beret is made in one size and instructions for the mittens are provided in three sizes. Enough yarn is provided in the kit to make the largest size of mittens. The Witch Hare is shown here with the Rosemarkie Cardigan and the Angels Cardigan.

Visit our Video Tutorials section for tutorials on a variety of knitting techniques to help you with your projects.

Story

The Witch Hare design began as one of Jade’s creative exercises for our Dùthchas agus Dualchas section, where she took her fairy-tale inspiration from one of my mixed media artworks. It depicts the ancient Highland legend of a witch who can transform into a white hare and run about the mountaintops.

I was captivated by Jade’s portrayal of moorland-coloured Witch Hares sitting wise and watchful, looking east and west through falling stars. We both agreed that a beret and mittens would be the perfect items to express the whole design idea and so she passed her charted Witch Hares to me. I placed them under the starry skies of the beret crown and then echoed the crown design and shaping in the mitten tops; each mitten features a single hare, and these hares face each other when worn on the hands.

The beret and mittens were a joy to knit, made all the more so by the collaborative nature of the design. Jade’s choice of moorland colours chimed with my memories of the supernatural Witch Hare legends I heard as a child on my ancestral moorland pasture, and made the choice of location for the photographs easy. Cregean Iseabal Mhartainn – Isabella Martin’s Crag – was a much-loved feature for the generations of families who spent their summers there. It overlooks Loch Beag a’ Coilich ( Little Cockerel Loch) in the centre of which sits a crannag – an artificial island built at least a thousand years ago. The rocks at the centre of the crannag have been covered in deep heather since I can remember, but these rocks would have formed a stone dwelling very likely used for centuries, and the marks of other ancient dwellings are evident on the creagan and on the surrounding hills. Iseabal Mhartainn had passed out of living memory even in my grandparents’ time, and today I can count only five people, myself included, who could name the place and guide you there. It is a place filled with atmosphere and it felt like a pilgrimage when I hiked there last week with the completed design and my camera equipment. Sitting out there alone, with just the sounds of nature for company, made it easy for me to imagine the sound of voices from long ago conjuring tales of Witch Hares through the ages.

Alice

£66.00

In stock

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Orders up to £100 to a single address – Total Shipping £4

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This scale reflects the fact that larger orders will go in separate boxes.

Please ensure that you check our DELIVERY INFORMATION page for full details.

Purchase Information

Our pattern-inclusive kits are made up in skeins of varying weight, according to the amounts required for each project. Every project on our website has been knitted here at Virtual Yarns, so we know precisely how much yarn is required to make them. Each kit contains that amount plus an extra 8 per-cent more yarn. This is enough yarn to knit a swatch and the project, PROVIDED THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOLLOWED FOR THE SIZE ORDERED. The extra 8 per-cent allows reasonable leeway for knitter error. Kits are made up by hand to order, and each yarn amount is carefully weighed.

For further information, please check our PURCHASE INFORMATION page.

Knitting Details

Washing Instructions

Please note that all of our yarns are supplied washed and therefore do not require to be washed or fulled after knitting, unless you have an accident. Generally speaking, your garments should not require cleaning/washing any more than a coat would.

All of our designs are made with 100% pure new wool yarns and should be washed either by hand with pure soap in hand hot-water, or in a front loading washing machine which has a specific wool programme using a small amount of non-biological detergent. We do not recommend the use of any fabric softeners or any additives that will remain in the fabric after rinsing.

If hand washing, dissolve a small amount of pure soap flakes – or if using a pure soap bar, grate the required amount – into hand-hot water. Ensure that the soap has thoroughly dissolved before immersing the piece. Use a gentle squeezing motion to wash; do not cause any friction by rubbing or scrubbing as this will cause the fibres to felt. Gently squeeze out the excess soapy water and rinse well in warm water. It is important to remove as much excess water as quickly as possible as the longer moisture is left in wool yarn, the more likely it is to shrink or felt.

The best method for removing water is to spin in a washing machine, but if you prefer to remove the water by hand then gently squeeze the piece to remove the main water load and then lay the piece flat on towels and roll up, squeezing out as much water as possible into the towels. You will have to use several towels and repeat the process to remove as much moisture as you can.

Alternatively, spin to remove the excess water. If using a top loading machine it is important to place the piece in a suitable pillowcase (white cotton is best) so that it does not wrap around the spindle and become distorted. For both top-loading machines and front-loading machines, it is vitally important to remove from the spinner as soon as it has stopped: otherwise the piece can become permanently creased.

In all cases, dry flat on towels away from direct heat/sunlight, and smooth gently into shape. You can place small towels – or even better, cut and finish old towelling into the garment shapes, such as sleeves etc – and place inside the garment so that the two layers are separate. This will greatly help speed up drying process.

For straight, dropped-shoulder pullover styles, a woolly board is an excellent method of drying as the garment is placed on the board and dried to size allowing air to circulate inside. The board can also be used for cardigans in this style so long as you tack the front bands closed using a strong cotton thread, which you then carefully remove once the garment has dried. Glove boards can also be used for gloves which will allow them to dry in perfect shape.

Examples of some of our different hat sets, all are available as patterncard kits containing full instructions and yarn.