Today marks a very special day - 100 days to go until the Tour de France comes to Yorkshire! I'm very excited as the cycle race will pass very close to where I live and I plan to go to Huddersfield to watch the race come through.
It seems the perfect timing to introduce my two new crochet patterns - Handlebar Hands and Cadence Cowl. Both of these patterns have a cycling theme and were inspired into being after the release of my Helmet Head pattern in the Bespoke book - a whole book of cycling related designs inspired by the Tour de Yorkshire as it is locally known.
I love matching sets and found Helmet Head really fun to crochet so I just had to design a matching cowl and mitten set. All three of these designs are suitable for beginner crocheters as they use only a few stitches and have very little shaping involved. I'm just in love with the striping pattern and especially in these bright colours of Rowan Tweed that are all named after local places. Great to brighten up my outfits as spring arrives!
Cadence cowl is crocheted in the round and it can be made shorter or longer, or wider or thinner as required by adding or subtracting rows or stitches from the pattern. I like it at this length though as it can be comfortably wrapped around the neck twice as a very warm cowl or to keep it out of the way whilst cycling, or draped long and loose as an infinity scarf.
The Handlebar Hands can be made as fingerless mitts or full mittens and instructions are included for both. They come in three sizes to fit small, medium or large hands. They are unisex, just like Helmet Head and can be made more 'manly' by changing the colours of the yarn. I like the fingerless ones best for cycling with as I can use my fingers to ring the bell on my bike, but having a full mitten is great in cold weather.
The photos were taken by my dad and my sister kindly modelled for the photos. We had great fun on the photo shoot although it nearly was a disaster. I've learnt that you should not ask models to cycle alongside a canal without their glasses on. Disaster was narrowly diverted by catching Lucy before she fell into the water! She has forgiven me (I think).
Both patterns are available in my Ravelry shop and on this website. For the next 100 days both patterns are available for 50% off their normal price to celebrate le Tour Yorkshire. Use the code LETOURYORKSHIRE to activate this offer when paying!