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Insect Repellent Pillars

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Lemongrass House makes some pretty pillars that double as insect repellent. They’re different from traditional container citronella candles, although the candles do contain citronella.

They also make an all natural mosquito repellent spray that contains lavender, citronella, orange peel, lemongrass, and geranium. See Lemongrass House insect repellent candles for more information.

If you’d like some ideas to make your own natural insect repellent candles, see Make Your Own Mosquito Repellent Candles. You’ll find safe recipes there using essential oils for candles and lotion.

With the arrival of the Japanese Encephalitis Mosquito, it has become important to make sure those pesky mosquitos are not snacking on you.  Japanese encephalitis symptoms include Headache, neck pain, and Nausea. .  Japanese encephalitis does have a vaccine and you should contact your local medical professional for information on obtaining this vaccination.

But how else can you protect yourself against mosquitos? Keep mosquitoes away from exposed skin by wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and socks, you can even wear a mosquito net hat.  Tuck shirts into pants and pants into socks to cover gaps in your clothing where mosquitoes can get to your skin.  For a natural repellent use essential oils for making your own Mosquito bug spray repellent. Add oils to water and spray into the air or add small drops to your clothing.  Use a Necklace or Bracelet oil diffuser to help repel mosquitoes naturally.  Insect bracelets and necklaces are great for children too.

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Bucket Hat Knitting Patterns

As I was starting to write this post I thought that it was true that I’d never done a roundup of bucket hat knitting patterns before. But then I looked, and I actually did one last year (which you can find here) but there are plenty of cute bucket hats to do another post about, right? 

The one that made me want to write about this (again) is the Red Heart Knit Fanfare Bucket Hat from Yarnspirations. This cute striped hat can be worked in team colors, and while I might prefer a non-acrylic yarn for a summer hat, it would be fine when it’s not too hot outside (or try a cotton yarn instead). 

Claire Slade’s Sunlit Bucket Hat has an angled brim to help keep the sun out of your eyes. It’s worked from the bottom up using worsted weight cotton yarn, and comes in three sizes. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. 

Get a little air flow in your bucket hat with the Shady Bucket Hat from Wool & Beyond. This one uses DK weight yarn and an eyelet pattern throughout the body to keep it cool. It comes in sizes ranging from newborn to adult large, and is worked in one piece from the top down. You can grab the pattern (in English or Swedish) on Ravelry. 

If you’re looking for a fun, floppy sun hat for kids or adults, this pattern from Muki Crafts is a little more slouchy than a traditional bucket hat but it’s super cute. It comes in baby, toddler and bigger kid sizes and adult. I uses worsted weight yarn and is worked from the bottom up. 

Another variation on the classic bucket is this one that’s more of a cloche style. Made by branda, it uses bulky yarn so it’s more of a winter bucket hat, but now’s a fine time to knit it if you live somewhere that’s warm right now (or even more so if you live somewhere that’s cold right now). 

Another one to get you ready for colder weather is Tirmety, a two-layer bucket hat from ViTalina Craft, which has a textured stitch pattern on one side and stockinette on the other. You can wear either side out or even make them different colors if you want. The pattern is sized for toddlers, kids and adults. 

And if you want to add some extra cuteness to your bucket hat, I love this (of course totally optional but also totally adorable) embroidered deatila on the New York Bucket Hat from Pauline Fanguin. It uses two strands of DK weight yarn held together for extra sturdiness, and uses changes in needle size to shape the hat. Of course you could also knit stripes or use different textures of yarn to change up the look. This pattern is made to fit your head and is available in French and English.