Mori Hikari Baby Bonnet

I am very happy to publish my first ever knitting pattern -  Mori Hikari Baby Bonnet, while waiting for my baby girl to arrive any time from now on! The balloon is my model as I don't have any baby to model the bonnet. Haha! 

Update: Baby G is big enough to rock the bonnet! Although it's a little loose. 😁

I'm so happy when I found out that I'm expecting a baby girl. That means .... many lace knitting awaiting me! 

Of all the lace stitches, my soft spot is the leaf stitches. While designing this bonnet for the baby, I found a lovely Bush stitch, which also resembles candlelight; thanks to freeknitstiches.com. Thus, I name the bonnet Mori Hikari, which means 'forest' and ‘light’ respectively in Japanese.

You can download the pattern from Ravelry too.

Size:

Newborn - 6 months, 6 months - 12 months, 12 months - 24 months.

Construction:

The bonnet is knitted flat and seamed one inch before the crown shaping. You can seam up to until the beginning of crown shaping if you prefer a looser fit.

Then. i-cord is knitted for about 30cm long and attached i-cord is made starting from the right edge of the wrong side of the bonnet.

Material:

Newborn - 6 months: 30 g (80 metres) premium acrylic yarn

6 months - 12 months: 40 g (110 metres)

12 months - 24 months: 50 g (130 metres)

Japanese Size 5/ 3.66mm straight or circular needles (or any size to obtain gauge)

Darning needle

Gauge

Stokinette and lace pattern: 24 stitches x 28 rows = 4 x 4 inches

Abbreviations

k: knit

p: purl

ssk: slip slip knit. Slip first stitch knitwise, slip second stitch purlwise, insert the left needle into the fronts of these two stitches and knit them together. One stitch is decreased. This decrease slants to the left.

k2tog: knit two together. One stitch is decreased. This decrease slants to the right.

k3tog: knit three together

yo: yarn over (Note: All yarn overs are purled at the WS.)

RS: right side

WS: wrong side

Pattern:

Cast On:

Note: I used long tail cast on, you can use any cast on method you like.

Newborn - 6 months: 65 stitches

6 months - 12 months: 77 stitches

12 months - 24 months: 89 stitches

Brim (All sizes)

Row 1 (WS): p

Row 2 (and all RS): k

Row 3 (turning row): k

Row 4 - Row 7: stockinette stitch (k the RS and p the WS)

Lace pattern (All sizes) 

(Note: You can place marker between each repeat to avoid confusion. The lace stitch is a  multiple of 12’ + 1, stitches should only be counted at row 7, 8, 15 and 16.)

Row 1 (RS): p2, *p1, ssk,k3, k2tog, p2, k1, p1*, repeat *, end with p3.

Row 2 (WS): k3, *k1, p1, k2, p5, k1*, repeat *, end with k2.

Row 3: p2, *p1, ssk, k1, k2tog, p2, k1, p1*, repeat *, end with p3.

Row 4: k3, *k1, p1, k2, p3, k1*, repeat *, end with k2.

Row 5: p2, *p1, yo, k3tog, yo, p1, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1*, repeat *, end with p3.

Row 6: k3, *p5, k1, p3, k1*, repeat *, end with k2.

Row 7: p2, *p2, k1, p2, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2*, repeat *, end with k2.

Row 8: k3, *p7, k2, p1, k2*, repeat *, end with k2.

Row 9: p2, *p2, k1, p2, ssk, k3, k2tog*, repeat *, end with p3.

Row 10: k3, *p5, k2, p1, k2*, repeat *, end with k2.

Row 11: p2, *p2, k1, p2, ssk, k1, k2tog*, repeat *, end with p3.

Row 12: k3, **p3, k2, p1, k2*, repeat *, end with k2.

Row 13: p2, *p1, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, p1, yo, k3tog, yo*, repeat *, end with p3.

Row 14: k3, *p3, k1, p5, k1*, repeat *, end with k2.

Row 15: p2, *p1, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, p2, k1, p1*, repeat *, end with p3.

Row 16: k3, *k1, p1, k2, p7, k1*, repeat *, end with k2.

Repeat lace pattern

Newborn - 6 months: until 4.5 inches from turning row

6 months - 12 months: until 5 inches from turning row

12 months - 24 months: until 5.5 inches from turning row

Crown Shaping (All sizes)

Row 1 (RS): k

Row 2 (and all WS): p

Row 3: k2, *k2tog, k10*, repeat *, end with k3.

Row 5: k2, *k2tog, k9*, repeat *, end with k3.

Row 7: k2, *k2tog, k8*, repeat *, end with k3.

Row 9: k2, *k2tog, k7*, repeat *, end with k3.

Row 11: k2, *k2tog, k6*, repeat *, end with k3.

Row 13: k2, *k2tog, k5*, repeat *, end with k3.

Row 15: k2, *k2tog, k4*, repeat *, end with k3.

Row 17: k2, *k2tog, k3*, repeat *, end with k3.

Finishing

Break yarn, leave about the length of 1.5 times the last row of crown shaping edge and thread alternate stitches of the last row of crown shaping (that means you need to thread yarn two times for all the stitches). Seam the crown seam to about 1 inch below the beginning of crown shaping. Fold the brim at turning row to WS of the bonnet and sew the cast on row to the inside of the brim. In the picture below, the horizontal line is the seaming.

i-cord

1. Knit a three-stitch i-cord of about 30cm long (you can adjust the length to your preference). 
2. Flip the bonnet to the WS. 
3. Attach the i-cord by picking up first stitch of the right edge of the brim, slide the needle to the other end, knit the first 2 stitches, k2tog (the third stitch and the picked up stitch). 
4. Repeat step 3 (Note: Pick up every stitch of the edge.).
5. When the attached i-cord is done on the edge, continue making i-cord for about 30cm.

Weave in all ends. I wet blocked the bonnet and achieved the shape I desired. Yippee!

Adorn it on your charming baby!

If you found any mistake or if you have any question about this pattern, please don't hesitate to ask. Because you are helping me improve! 

Save

Test knitting #2

I'm very lucky to have done the test knitting for Angela. The pathway scarf is classic and timeless. Love the asymmetrical and cable! The pattern is very well written. I just had to read the pattern occasionally to make sure that I make cables in the right row. I knitted it by holding two strands of DK wool-blend yarn together and knit with a 5mm circular needle. I think I tend to knit loose most of the time.

Actually, I've finished knitting this scarf in early February. Yes, almost three months ago! But I've been unlucky to have a lovely sunny day to block it. Today, it's sunny, and I can't stand looking at the unblocked piece anymore. So, I soaked it in some warm water and body shampoo, rinsed it and blocked it. It looks so much nicer now. I shall keep it for the coming winter!

ABC Soup and Cantonese style rice porridge

I've been having sore throat, cough and cold and feeling a bit feverish since Saturday. My throat is so sore that even swallowing saliva hurts a lot. I think soup is the best food for me now. I also made rice porridge (the recipe is after the soup's).

ABC soup is very common among Chinese Malaysian. The main ingredients usually used are potato, tomato and carrot. You can choose to make this a vegetarian version without adding any animal protein such as chicken, pork or beef.

To add some sweetness to this soup, I added corn. I also added some pork. I just got the inspiration to marinate the pork with some white pepper powder and soy sauce. This small tactic adds some depth to the soup, as well as removes the meaty flavour that I really dislike. I'm so happy I found the little secret!

ALAS! When the soup was done, I forgot to put the tomato in it. But it's ok, the soup is tasty nevertheless.

Let's have a look at the recipe.

Time needed:

• Preparation: 15 minutes
• Cooking: 20 minutes

Serving for 4

ABC Soup

Material:

• 2 potato
• a carrot
• a corn
• a big tomato (I forgot to add in. But no regrets! Hehe!)
• Half of a big onion
• 2 pinch of salt
• 3 cups of water
• Pork (You can replace with other protein such as chicken or beef, you can omit it as well to make a vegetarian ABC soup)
• a pinch of white pepper powder
• a tablespoon of soy sauce

Steps:

1. Cut the potato, carrot into cubes. Cut the onion into big slices. Cut the corn into halves or more if it is big. Put everything into a pot.
2. Pour 3 cups of water (I used hot water to shorten the cooking time) into the pot. 
3. While waiting for the soup to boil, marinate the pork with white pepper powder and soy sauce (I marinated it for about 10 minutes before as I used hot water)
4. When the soup boils, put the pork in the soup and turn to medium heat for about 10 minutes.
5. Add some salt to the taste of your liking.

Tadah! Done!

Note: 

You can adjust the quantity of potato and corn to your preference.

If you use a slow cooker, put everything inside the pot except the marinated pork, as the meat tends to be stiff if cooked too long. Add the meat and let the soup boil before serving.

Rice porridge with Cantonese style texture

I love the texture of Cantonese style rice porridge. It is silky smooth and incredibly soft. I dislike the perfect shape of rice grain in porridge. I guess that is the Teochew style rice porridge. 

Cantonese style rice porridge usually takes at least 2 hours of low heat simmering to generate the silky smooth, soft mushy texture. But who wants to cook so long and waste the gas. Gas is extremely expensive in Japan, for God sake! 

That's why I take the shortcut technique I learned from a Chinese online forum that name I don't remember. The theory is simple: when water freezes, it expands and break down the construction of the rice grain. And this makes it quicker to cook.

Time needed:

• Preparation: 5 minutes
• Cooking: 20 minutes

Material:

• a cup of rice
• 5 cups of hot water
• some scallop (you can omit it or put other ingredients you like, such as carrot, potato, corn or meat ball)
• suggested condiments: sesame, pickles, green onion, fried onion, soy sauce, white pepper

Steps:

1. Wash the rice and keep it with some water in the freezer unit in the fridge overnight. YES! You read it right!
2. Next morning, take out the washed rice and cook in a pot with 5 cups of hot water.
3. When the water boils, turn to low heat and continue cooking for 15 minutes.

Test knitting experience

I'm honored to be one of the test knitters for Angela. Her pattern is so simple and classic. Here's the Tekstur cowl I made. There're only 2 changes I made - switch to 4.5mm needles (as I tend to knit loosely) and added a button and loop to fit my neck more snugly.