Tag Archive | hats

I Fought the Yarn

So I was making this hat. It’s an awesome hat. I was using the dark gray Dream in Color Classy yarn left over from the purl ridge cowl I made recently, and … Okay. Wait. I just went back and was looking for the post about this cowl so I could link it and couldn’t find it. How did I not share this cowl?? Well, we’ll just do that first.

A week or so ago, I went to my LYS for one specific skein of yarn and found some amazing yarns in their sale section, including Dream in Color at 50% off. I grabbed two skeins, a blue/black and a gorgeous Grey Tabby. (I won’t lie, I grabbed a few other skeins too.) I loved the grey so much I cast on the next day, and out came this fabulous Present cowl.This was my first time using the Dream yarn, and it’s fantastic. It flows smoothly on the needles and it’s soft but just crisp enough that it has marvelous stitch definition. I’m in love. It’s yarn like this that makes it hard for me to go back to cheaper yarns. So anyway, this cowl used a little over half the skein, leaving me with a tad over 100 yards. I decided that had to be enough for a hat.

After much perusing on Ravelry, I decided on the Thank You Hat by Purl Soho. Everything about it was right: weight, yardage, color. And you can’t go wrong with one of their patterns. I got most of it done yesterday, and then picked it up this morning after I got rid of all the extra people (kids, husband, who needs ’em?). I just had decreases left and my yarn was dwindling. It was time to play Chicken.Faster and faster I knit, eager to get to the end before the yarn was gone. And maybe you more experienced knitters are looking at that photo and laughing because you know what I didn’t but soon would…I had PLENTY of yarn left to finish this hat! I’ve got a good yard left over. And I am so in love with this hat. I want to find every skein of this yarn and buy it all for me. I just love all the subtle variations in the color, the different shades of gray…Oh god. No. Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. Pretend that didn’t happen. Just look at the hat. It’s pretty. So pretty.

My Dilemma is Resolved

Feb9

Thanks for the helpful comments on my troublesome hat post! After sleeping on it, I decided I had to make an effort to re-knit the brim since I love the yarn so much. I frogged and got the stitches back on the needle without too much trouble, then knit a round and decreased six stitches, and knit a new brim with needles two sizes smaller than the body of the hat. And it worked! I don’t love it, but I like it well enough, and I know it’s so much better than it was before. And this experience has taught me how to make pleats (me likey) and how to make hats from the top down (me no likey) so it wasn’t a waste of time. I’ll put it in my stash of things to sell this Saturday at the local craft show, and maybe someone will fall in love with it.

I Have a Dilemma

Feb8

I finished a hat this morning. I loved the pattern and I love the yarn and they go really well together. What’s the problem, you ask? Well. Somehow the brim ended up too big. It’s a little loose on my head, but then again, I have a slightly smaller head. Here, you look and see what you think.This one’s not too bad. I like the pleats. That was a new technique for me, where you slip stitches onto DPNs and then knit them together with stitches on the circ, and keeping hold of three needles was tricky. But I did it and it’s cool. See, those aren’t terrible. It looks okay when you’re wearing it, especially if it found a big-headed owner. But now, look at it by itself:Poor stupid hat. The brim is just big, and I did Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy bind-off which seems to come out a little big and floppy anyway. So now what? I haven’t finished any tails. My choices as I see them: 1) frog the brim, decrease a few stitches, and bind off with a regular bind off. 2) Leave it and hope someone with a big head wants it. 3) The yarn is Tuhu, which is llama, merino and angora, so I could experiment with felting it a little bit.

Help me! What do I do??

Farewell, Seed Stitch Hat

Feb2

Recently I posted about a seed stitch hat I was making with some HiKoo Simpliworsted in turquoise. I had a few issues with it from the beginning, but by the time I was ready for the decreases, I thought I’d worked them all out. I’d run out of yarn, though, so I ordered another skein and set it aside to wait. Well, the yarn came, and I immediately started the decreases. I had too many stitches. What? I kept going, thinking I could do more decreases per row than the pattern instructed. After I did that twice, it occurred to me to wonder WHY I had too many stitches. I went back and counted the stitches in the ribbed brim. I was supposed to have 94. Guess how many I had? 100! ARGH. Sure enough, I tried it on and it immediately slipped down my forehead. Stupid hat. I frogged it and couldn’t bring myself to start over. Now I have two lovely skeins of turquoise SimpliWorsted waiting for the right project.

Last night, I started a pink lacy slouchy hat. The yarn was bulky and the needles were big so it went fast, like halfway done in an hour. But I kept thinking it looked a little small. Finally, I decided I needed to check myself. I pulled it on. Yep. Too tight on my head, and I have a slightly small head. I’ve made this hat before so I went back and looked at my project notes on Ravelry, and realized I’d made the larger size last time. Oops. I could have kept going and made a large child size, since it’s just for sale and not for anyone in particular. But that’s not what I wanted so I frogged it this morning.

I guess the good news is that I finished two headbands this weekend and have one more halfway done, so my time wasn’t completely wasted. Today I’m going to make some more Wonder Woman tiara headbands, and maybe even do a set of her wristbands too. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some yarn pictures to share. But today you just get a funny puppy picture.

Sharing the Secret Hats

Jan31

Finally! I can share some of the hats I had to keep a secret for SO LONG. I partnered with my aunt to make some hats for a special friend of hers, and we did a variety of patterns and colors to make her smile.White cotton crochet cap. This was super fast and I think I have enough yarn left in the skein to make a second one. Pattern: Chemo Sleep Cap Bulky Yellow Scalloped Hat. I loved making this one, especially the i-cord scallops. And since it was bulky yarn, it went quickly too. Pattern: Scalloped-Edge Hat Shelbi Hat. Crochet, so quick to make, and a lovely design too. This one wasn’t free but I think it was worth it! Pattern: Shelbi Hat Look! It’s Dumbo! I absolutely love this hat. When she asked for Dumbo, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make one that looked good, but this little guy makes me smile, and I hope it does the same for her. This hat seemed to take forever: maybe an hour for the base hat, 2-3 hours for all the little pieces, maybe 2 hours for assembly? I’m not sure. It felt longer than that! Next time I should keep track. He was a mixture of patterns and improvisation, so you can check out my Ravelry notes here.

There are two more, but they have to stay secrets for now. Stay tuned!

Mindless Knitting: Barley Hat & Quadratic Shawl

Jan28

It’s Wednesday, right? I think so. I’ve already had a fair bit of waiting room time that needed truly mindless knitting, so I managed to finish the Barley hat I started almost two weeks ago. I really really enjoyed making it, so much I didn’t want to stop, apparently: the hat ended up as a major slouch hat instead of a normal beanie. I just wanted to keep knitting ’round and ’round! But I’m going to pretend I did it on purpose because I do love how it turned out. I’ll definitely be making more of these and maybe even manage to make some as a fitted beanie like it’s supposed to be! If you’d like to make one too, here’s the pattern on Ravelry. I made it as written for the adult medium except I knit the body at least 9″, I think.

My other mindless knitting was on the Quadratic shawl. I started this at the very beginning of September last year and got a good start before getting pulled away by holiday knitting. Since it’s all garter stitch, it’s perfect for when you need to be distracted but can’t follow complicated patterns. I’ve gotten a fair bit done, but you can definitely see where I stopped and re-started. I wouldn’t have thought my tension would be so different in the span of four months, but clearly it is. Here’s hoping it’s less noticeable after blocking.But the Quadratic is going back in a drawer for a little while, because last night I signed up to do a little event. Our local downtown has an event space called The Exchange, and once a month they host local Etsy sellers for a show. It’s only 4 hours, but it’s free, and I think it’s a truly awesome idea. I just learned about it recently and inquired last night, thinking I’d start with the March event, and they offered me a spot at the February event on Valentine’s Day! Woohoo! So until then my fingers will be flying on hats and boot cuffs to have a good variety for sale. My inventory’s a little low, so wish me luck on building it up in the next two weeks. (EEK!)

WIP Wednesday

Jan22

I’m still working on that seed stitch hat, the one I started a few days ago with my new turquoise HiKoo Simpliworsted. I’m using this pompon and seeds hat pattern and the first time I made it, I switched to bigger needles for the body of the hat as well as increased a couple of stitches for extra slouch. Then after two hours of waiting room knitting, I was almost out of yarn but not close to the end. I frogged back to the brim that night and started over with smaller needles and no decreases. Now I have 2cm to go before I start decreasing, and a worryingly small ball of yarn left. But this is the perfect pattern for this yarn, so I’m going to just keep going and buy another skein if I have to. I just love seed stitch with the bounciness of HiKoo, it’s all squishy and fun and springy.

I’ve set it aside for today, though. I have another boot cuff to make and then I’m going to tackle my lace scarf while it’s quiet. It’s Australian Open time, so I can listen to the soothing rhythm of tennis while counting my YOs and k2togs.

Just a wee bit of Barley

Jan16

It’s really hard to blog when you can’t talk about your projects. I’m still working on my little secrets and they’re going really well. But today I’m in need of a simple travel project, so I poked through my Ravelry queue for a hat to make, and the Barley hat by Tin Can Knits jumped out at me. It keeps popping up in top 20 lists and other blogs, and I love how it’s mostly simple stockinette with a nifty patch of garter stitch. And then, guess what? I discovered I had another skein of Malabrigo Worsted in my stash! (Is it bad when you keep finding surprises in your stash?) So now I have an easy, fun project ready for my waiting room knitting!Clearly hats are my go-to travel projects; what are your favorites?

Two Knitted Hats and a Cute Puppy

Jan7

Okay, shhhh, do you hear that? Yes, that! That, my friend, is silence. Something that has been hard to find in the last three weeks. The husband went back to to work on Monday and today the children went back to school. I have enjoyed having them all home with me (for the most part) but we had enough togetherness. Now it is time for the alone-ness. Okay, sure, the puppy is home and soon enough will be pestering me because I don’t want to take him for a walk in 5 degree weather with wind chills of 15 below. But right now he is sleeping and I am listening to just the wind blow outside and it’s delightful.

Right, so, knitting! Yesterday at this time I had two half-finished hats. This morning, I have two completed hats! Once we did our running around, I had nothing to do but knit. Of course, first I had to survive errands with two kids who were tired of each other and me. But we managed to get shoes at Target without ANY unplanned purchases. We went to Joann and left empty-handed because the yarn was all 25% off so I couldn’t use my coupons. I’m telling you, I was strong yesterday! It must have been because I was wearing my new “I Am Strong” necklace. I must wear that every time I go to Target.

Okay, seriously, hats. I am pleased as punch with them. First up, we have a Spring Beret knit in Misti Alpaca Pima Cotton & Silk. This yarn was heavenly to knit with: soft but strong. It didn’t slip around while I was doing the lace bits, which was nice. And it’s the prettiest baby blue color, my photos don’t do it justice. I think it will be perfect for those April days when we’re all tired of the brisk wind and eager for the return of warmer temperatures. I used this Spring Beret pattern and followed it exactly (except for when I made mistakes and had to maybe k2tog or m1 to get my stitch counts right) for the less slouchy version.

Secondly, I finished the swirly beanie for the boy. This was the easiest swirl pattern ever, and yet I made so many mistakes. I had to frog back several rows once, and then frog the whole thing and start over. But once I realized I had to work on it alone, it was fine. It’s called Odessa and written to include beads, but of course I left those off. My 11yo son might not appreciate beads. So he got some fantastic Nerd Girl Yarn in the Foxy line. The colorway is called #nofilter and the colors are so bright and vivid. I truly love this yarn and can’t wait to start knitting up more.

It felt good to get those done. I’m down to only 4 WIPs, which of course means I will be starting something new today. Our snow and cold, plus the peace and quiet, means I will be snuggling in with a blanket, yarn, tea, and some Grey’s Anatomy. I expect great progress today. For now, I will leave you with a photo of puppy, Captain Jack. He loves the cold and snow. He wants to smell all the smells and eat all the crunchy things.

Bonus post: Crochet Beanie

Dec29

Two posts in one day? Craziness. Don’t get used to it; it may never happen again. Or if you’re one of my followers and you’re like “Another email? Jeez, enough already!”, don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of it. But I finished a hat today that I find quite appealing and I wanted to share it. (Okay, truth time: I needed to be alone so I am hiding in my craft room and this is as good a use of the time as anything else.) Anyway, this is the Bellisfaire Beanie from the book Crochet One Skein Wonders. It’s a delightful book and a delightful hat. This is my first crochet beanie. I haven’t done a lot of crochet hats, aside from character hats for kids, because I like the stretch and flexibility of a knit ribbed brim. But this was so cute, and I got new crochet hooks for Christmas that I wanted to try out. (I got the Clover Amour Hook set with the colorful cushioned handles. They worked wonderfully. I love them.) The brim is snug on me with my relatively small head, but I know it’ll stretch, so I’m optimistic that it’s an average woman’s size. It’s got a lot of slouch too, which mean it’s trendy…right? Right. I put it on and my daughter laughed, but I think it was more at me than the hat.

The yarn is Classic Elite Yarns Premiere, which is 50% Pima cotton and 50% tencel, and I used all of two skeins (216 yards). It’s soft and lightweight and should be a marvelous spring hat.