Knitted bicycling balaclava?

[untonuggan]

I just learned how to knit (woo) and bicycle (woo) this year. I'm thinking about doing some winter riding and have been looking into knitting merino gear to keep me warm.

My dad is uber-randonneur-bicyclist, and has not-so-subtly hinted that he'd like a knitted balaclava if I'm up for it. He's looking for thin yarn (say, sock yarn or fingering weight) in black, and he wants it to cover his head except for his eyes/glasses. You know, the balaclava thing. I'm also thinking superwash is a necessity.

Just wondering if anyone here has experience with good bicycling balaclava patterns, pitfalls, etc. Also, if anyone has good/bad experiences with particular yarns that would be great.

Since this is a cross-community sort of thing, I'm crossposting to bicycles 

Comments

[ginny_t]

Is your dad flexible on the black? Even dark grey is easier on the eyes for knitting than black. Also, a sport or DK weight version will knit up faster—the finer the yarn, the more knitting needed.

Is your dad 100% not allergic to natural fibres? This will get warm on him, and that will make any prickliness worse.