Buttontastic

There are two patterns that I would (and frequently do) recommend frequently to new knitters: Christine Vogel's Drop Stitch Scarf and Amy Duvendack's Big Button Hat.

I love being able to tell people that, so long as they can knit and wrap the wool around a needle, they can make the drop stitch scarf. No purls, no decreases, nothing complex. Considering how effective it is (especially in a variegated yarn) it's so easy for beginners to make something that looks fantastic and surprisingly impressive. It also teaches the most important lesson of all: the only hard part of knitting is the counting.

The genius of the Big Button Hat is, primarily, how quick it is to make. I can complete one in two hours but even a beginner can see results as soon as they start. I do tend to talk people through a flat version rather than working in the round but that's the other beauty of the pattern: it's worked in the same way as I teach knitting. Knit to start off with, then rows of stocking stitch as they learn purling and, finally, some basic decreasing. Hat!

In October, with our annual Christmas sale for WaterAid growing ever closer, I returned to the Big Button Hat with a vengeance. And buttons. Beautiful, beautiful buttons.

For the interested, the yarn is Wendy's Serenity chunky (lovely colours, amazingly soft and stunningly good value). But, I think you'll agree, the buttons are the real attraction of the hats.