When I was given the opportunity recently to review Lana Bouclé from Brown Sheep, I was excited to try a new-to-me wool! Brown Sheep Yarn Co. is a spinning mill and wool company located in Mitchell, Nebraska. They’ve been producing wooly yarns since 1980 and both spin and dye the yarns they sell. (The only part of the process they don’t complete in Nebraska is the scouring, combing and carding.)
Brown Sheep offers a variety of yarns in different weights and great colors. Their yarns are reasonably priced, sturdy and wear well! Lana Bouclé is made with a spiral of wool fiber spun around a thin nylon core, which creates a wonderfully nubbly yarn full of texture. It is incredibly warm, and easy to work with. It stands up to ripping and reknitting (oops!) and I think it’s going to wear quite well.
Lana Bouclé is a heavy worsted/aran weight yarn that comes in 100g/185 yard skeins in 26 different shades.
When I received the yarn I knew immediately that I wanted to design a hat pattern. I wanted to add some textural elements, but nothing complicated because it would fight with that gorgeous texture that’s already in the yarn. I settled on a combination of slipped stitches and purls.
I also wanted to combine colors, and that’s where the fun came in. I knit with Navy, Sea Jade and Golden Sunbeam, and I had so much fun rearranging them in different ways. And of course, I can’t forget the pompoms!
So today I’m excited to release Snickersnack. This unisex slouchy hat is simple to knit, but you can make it more fun with multiple colors, especially those with more contrast. Snickersnack is available in 3 sizes and each size uses less than 1 skein of Lana Bouclé – if you buy different colors and you can make multiple hats!
Snickersnack is available in my Etsy shop.
Yarn
Brown Sheep Lana Bouclé (97% Wool/3% Nylon, 180 yards/100 grams per skein), 1 skein per size.
Shown Child in Navy and Golden Sunbeam, in Adult Small/Medium in Sea Jade and Navy, and Adult Medium/Large in Sea Jade and Golden Sunbeam.
Needles
US 6 (4 mm), 16” circular needle or needle desired for working short circumferences in the round.
US 8 (5 mm), 16” circular needle or needle desired for working short circumferences in the round.
US 8 (5mm), DPNs (for working crown)
Or appropriate size(s) to achieve gauge.
Notions
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends, stitch markers to mark beginning of round.
Gauge
17 sts/28 rows in 4”/10 cm, in textured pattern, very lightly blocked
Finished Size
Child (Adult Small/Medium, Adult Medium/Large)
Circumference: 17 (19, 21.5)”/ 42.5 (47.5, 54) cm
Height: 8 (9, 10)”/ 20 (22.5, 25) cm
A special thank you to the folks at Brown Sheep who sent me 3 skeins of Lana Bouclé (retail: $34.80) for free. I received no other compensation for this review. All opinions and photos are my own.
