Balaclavas and gauge mattters...

I started by wanting to use up the festive red yarn and already had the perfect balaclava pattern.  There are lots of balaclava patterns available and this is my favourite as it is so easy.  Just 50g of yarn makes the age 3-4 years size.

The red yarn was a bootfair purchase in the summer.  I used every last scrap before reaching the ribbing around the face which is different yarn but such a close match that the difference is not obvious.

I also bought the brown yarn at the same bootfair.  There was less of this and I knew there would not be enough so I added 2 stripes of a tweedy green and brown yarn.  (The blue in the photo should actually be bottle green.)  This yarn came from a convent that was closing down a couple of years ago.  The nuns gave away a huge amount of yarn to  members of Loving Hands.

All the yarn is double knit weight but the brown hat is definitely smaller.  That just shows how important it is to check gauge before knitting if size is crucial.  In this instance, it doesn't matter as these hats will go to a charity and will fit someone!  

This will be my last post for a few days.  I hope everyone has a great week.

Happy Christmas!