The Minster Toque

The Minster Toque is my latest knitting pattern, a slouchy toque (as we Canadians call it) with delicate cabled motifs inspired by the architecture of the York Minster Cathedral in York, England.

As some of you may know, if you've been following along on my Instagram, I spent the past year in York, England, on a study-abroad trip through my university. I chose the University of York for it's amazing English and Art History courses, and fell in love with the gorgeous cobblestone city resplendent with medieval and Tudor history. The York Minster Cathedral was my favourite place to spend some quiet time in the city; I could spend hours wandering around the ancient stone building, lost in my thoughts and admiring the architecture.

So, it felt fitting to commemorate my time in York, and the beautiful Cathedral, in a knitting pattern. Thus the Minster Toque was born. I wanted to recreate the fenestration of the Cathedral's walls in the design, although of course I kept the motif simple to convey the architecture in a delicate, accessible pattern.

My sample toque is knit up in Skein Queen Crush DK in the colour "Snow Bunting." I came across this yarn at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival and immediately knew it would be the perfect yarn for the Minster Toque. The colours are absolutely gorgeous; a warm oatmeal base with heathery grey running through, speckled with a gorgeous mustard yellow and a deep, variegated navy. The skein immediately brought to mind the York Minster on a rainy autumn day, so how could it not become the featured yarn for my pattern? Plus, Skein Queen's Crush DK base is plump, soft, and oh-so-cozy, making it even harder to put aside.

While I've designed patterns before (you can find them on my Ravelry page), the Minster Toque was my first attempt to create an intricate, cohesive motif and translate that into a clear, easy-to-follow written pattern. I enjoyed the challenge of conveying the Cathedral's architecture into knitted stitches immensely, and learned so much about the art of designing. I also learned that I'm terrible at math -- thank goodness I had such a wonderful test knitter, who gave me detailed notes and helped me locate my mistakes!

Want to knit a Minster Toque? You can find the pattern on Ravelry!