The battle for Olympic (beanie) gold

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The battle for Olympic (beanie) gold - free patterns

Stiff competition around the Winter Olympics this week. I don’t mean the skiing or skating or snowboarding — I mean the tight race among knitting pattern designers, battling it out for top position on the Ravelry podium (aka Hot Right Now) with their Chloe Kim-lookalike hat patterns, all of them free downloads:

TOP: Olympic Inspiration by Barrettangie

BOTTOM LEFT: Gold Medal Hat by Jen Geigley

BOTTOM RIGHT: Chloe Kim Chunky Hat by Marly Bird

Plus who knows how many more! There’s even an option for crocheters: the Knit-Look Super Bulky Slouch by Jennifer Pionk.

And did you hear about the Finnish ski coach who knits on the slopes? My obvious recommendation for times like those — where you literally want to have a little tiny bit of knitting in your pocket — is Log Cabin Mitts! I need a press contact …

Have an eventful weekend, everyone — even if knitting is your main event. What are you working on?

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16 thoughts on “The battle for Olympic (beanie) gold”

  2. Ha,ha, fighting for the knitting gold medal – that could be a new Olympic discipline! Right now, I’m working on my Log Cabin blanket, what else? Totally addictive, don’t know if I have to thank you or not for this. The possibilities are infinite, so I could pretty much keep on knitting Log Cabin squares for ever… I’d better stop and look at how many I’ve got now, because the pile is growing and I’m loosing track. Fun week-end plan ahead ;-)

    • Hilariously, I keep knitting these squares and it doesn’t occur to me I could make something ELSE out of them other than mitts. But maybe one of these days I’ll embark on a blanket. I can’t imagine ever not having something log cabin on the go anymore …

  3. LOL, I just finished a Chloe Kim hat for my daughter yesterday. I didn’t need a pattern for 1×1 rib, come on! I used Blue Sky Bulky and recommend it highly.

  4. I often wonder why more of the athletes don’t wear the hats provided for them, as a USA team. It identifies them a USA athletes. I guess that the need to be different is always there. It is a cute hat, though, on a cute girl.

      • Let the athletes wear the hats they want, that make them feel lucky or whatever it may be. These people are under a lot of pressure. How concerned are we that the rest of that getup doesn’t reveal their country of origin–or that there’s a shortage of nationalism on display at the Olympics?

    • Yeah, see that troubles me a little bit — although I don’t know the full scope of it. There’s nothing unique or original or specifically attributable about a 1×1 ribbed beanie, so I don’t have a problem with people putting out “patterns” for knock-offs of a non-thing. Whereas this is actually someone’s design work (even though it’s a particular mix and tweak and application of established motifs), and presumably goods currently for sale? That gets into uncomfortable territory for me.

      • I share this concern, as someone who works with IP. It’s actually the main reason I haven’t really published any designs for profit.

        It becomes a philosophical question of where the line is between creating something new with existing designs (this looks to me to be a traditional Norweigan color chart that may or may not be in the public domain).

        I also rather think that Ralph Lauren is missing an opportunity that exists to them that Dale of Norway is so great at exploiting, which is, of course making handknitting patterns of their designs available for a fee.

      • Good point. I always wonder how much of something has to be changed in order to “duplicate” it?

  7. I love that the Finnish coach keeps his projects in his pockets of his coat, I think I have a yarn crush.

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