In 2019, Lisa at Indie Untangled was putting together the third installment of an annual yarn club. The concept was pairing knitwear designers with indie yarn dyers, and each pair would create something together around a single theme: where we knit.

I was paired with Heather of Earl Grey Fiber Company, a fellow Washingtonian, for the August 2020 collaboration, and we both wanted to capture that end-of-summer feeling—those warm evenings in the Pacific Northwest when you’re outdoors somewhere and in the company of friends and family. I wanted to design something that would actually be worn that way. Something you’d wear around a campfire or that you’d pull on with flannel for a hike or an evening stroll, not something too precious for the outdoors.

Heather and I chose her sport weight base for how it took dye, and we drew inspiration from a photo of a beautiful blue pot warming on a campfire. When the package arrived, I opened it and stopped in my tracks. The color. It was just what we’d imagined, with a depth and richness that represented those evenings exactly: warm, glowing, alive. I showed my husband immediately, and he saw it too. I couldn’t wait to cast on.

I started with a folded brim, something that sits close to the head and keeps the warmth in. And then I wanted the stitch patterns to feel like fire itself: something with flame-like cables that move and dance and lace that catches light like sparks. Wearable, grounded in where I actually knit.

What emerged was Emberly, a hat designed for the moments you actually live in. One that’s been waiting for your adventures all along.

In 2019, Lisa at Indie Untangled was putting together the third installment of an annual yarn club. The concept was pairing knitwear designers with indie yarn dyers, and each pair would create something together around a single theme: where we knit.

I was paired with Heather of Earl Grey Fiber Company, a fellow Washingtonian, for the August 2020 collaboration, and we both wanted to capture that end-of-summer feeling—those warm evenings in the Pacific Northwest when you’re outdoors somewhere and in the company of friends and family. I wanted to design something that would actually be worn that way. Something you’d wear around a campfire or that you’d pull on with flannel for a hike or an evening stroll, not something too precious for the outdoors.

Heather and I chose her sport weight base for how it took dye, and we drew inspiration from a photo of a beautiful blue pot warming on a campfire. When the package arrived, I opened it and stopped in my tracks. The color. It was just what we’d imagined, with a depth and richness that represented those evenings exactly: warm, glowing, alive. I showed my husband immediately, and he saw it too. I couldn’t wait to cast on.

I started with a folded brim, something that sits close to the head and keeps the warmth in. And then I wanted the stitch patterns to feel like fire itself: something with flame-like cables that move and dance and lace that catches light like sparks. Wearable, grounded in where I actually knit.

What emerged was Emberly, a hat designed for the moments you actually live in. One that’s been waiting for your adventures all along.

I put on the TV show Gilmore Girls one afternoon in the summer of 2020 to keep my dog distracted from the sounds of fireworks. I'd never watched it before, and I was just looking for background noise. Instead, I immediately fell in love—with the characters, with the rapid-fire dialogue and the way everyone knew each other. With Stars Hollow.

My husband’s cousin had been obsessed with this show for years, and she talked about it constantly. Now I understood why.

Fast forward to January 2021, shortly after I had finished binge watching all seven seasons, Lady Dye Yarns reached out to ask if I'd be interested in a Gilmore Girls-inspired collaboration. One skein. Something magic. My answer (yes!) came pretty much as fast as anything Lorelai or Rory would have said.

As I was coming up with ideas for the pattern, I kept thinking about the hats they wore. I looked through pictures of them online and found inspiration in one of Lorelai’s: a gray, ribbed beanie with a folded brim. I loved the simplicity of it, but I also wanted to add something more. I wanted to capture that magical "I smell snow . . ." feeling and the charm of Stars Hollow itself.

So I added strands between the ribbed columns. And then I added beads. They were the perfect finishing touch to elevate this knit. They catch the light and make it feel like winter magic, not just a winter hat. Like there's something more happening beneath the surface, the way there always is in Stars Hollow.

If you're the kind of person who gets a little thrill hearing the opening notes of that familiar theme song, who believes that coffee is a food group, and who secretly wishes they could move to a quirky Connecticut town, then this pattern was made for you. Maybe it's the project you'll work on the next time you tune into the Knitathon ("Knit, People, Knit!") or listen in on a town meeting. Wherever you knit or wear this hat, I hope it takes you back to when you first experienced the magic of this beloved on-screen town.