Playing yarn chicken.....

Every time I saw this wool in my wool bag, it shouted out "Make me into a balaclava hat."

Balaclavas are a bit of a nostalgia trip for me.  When I was growing up, all boys wore balaclavas   They keep the ears and neck warm and are, in my opinion, the perfect alternative to a hat and scarf.

The pattern I like to use for children's balaclavas is here.

I know from experience that 50g of yarn is enough for the age 3-4 years size.  My very inaccurate scales told me this ball of grey wool weighed roughly 50g.  I decided to play yarn chicken and cast on for this size.  I didn't want to make the smaller size because I feel odd about knitting grey for a baby.

The photo doesn't do justice to the wool.  It is grey with little black and white flecks.  It seems to be a better quality than my usual acrylics, so there is probably some real wool in it.   It was really lovely to knit with.   I had a Plan B in case I ran out of wool, but
I kept my fingers crossed that I would have enough to finish the hat.  Knitting with crossed fingers is not easy!

I won the game of yarn chicken!  Here is the finished balaclava together with quite a bit of wool left over.

I'm always amazed at how little wool it takes to make one of these cosy hats.  This one will be going off to a children's charity as soon as I have enough to fill a smallish box.

These balaclavas are quite easy to make and very addictive.  I will definitely knit more in future.