Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Arrow Hat

Arrow Hat

Once again, I bought this yarn because it was on sale, and once again, I'm thrilled with my decision! Not only does this yarn knit up nicely, and with a good drape-y texture, after all, but it also doesn't chafe the fingers despite being all animal fibers. Furthermore, there's enough on the skein for a good project, so much so that I totally wasn't even close to running out by the end of this hat. Huzzah!

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Tonal (50% Alpaca, 50% Wool; 215 yards [198 meters]/100 grams); #6321 (purple) - one skein

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size 8 (go to a size 7 if you want a tighter band), one 16" circular needle in size 10, and one set of double pointed needles (dpns) in size 10
The pattern

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker or yarn scrap to mark end of round 

Gauge: 20 stitches = 4 inches on size 8 needles

So let's get started! Using the size 8 (or 7) circular needle, cast on 108 stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. Next, knit in a k1, p1 ribbing for 1 inch, then switch to your size 10 circular needle and we'll move on to the main pattern, which is an adaptation of Arrow Pattern from page 273 of Barbara G. Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns (I added a stitch, and rewrote it for the round). Anyway, it goes as follows:

Row 1 (and all other odd rows): knit

Row 2: * yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k2 *

Row 4: * k1, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k3 *

Row 6: * k2, yo, sl1-k2tog-psso, yo, k2, p2 *

Rows 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16: * ssk, (k1, yo) twice, k1, k2tog, p2 *

Knit rows 1 - 16 twice through, and then knit rows 1 - 7 again, with the following modification: when you reach the last stitch in row 7, do not knit this stitch, but instead slip it, remove marker, slip stitch back to leading needle, and replace marker (so in effect, you've placed the marker between the two final stitches of row 7). Now it's time to begin the decreases, which we'll work as follows:

Row 1: * ssk, k5, k2tog, p1, ssk, (k1, yo) twice, k1, k2tog, p1 *

Row 2: knit

Row 3: * ssk, k3, k2tog, p1, ssk, (k1, yo) twice, k1, k2tog, p1 *

Row 4: knit

Row 5: * ssk, k1, k2tog, p1, ssk, (k1, yo) twice, k1, k2tog, p1 *

Row 6: knit

Now's the time you'll probably want to switch to your dpns, if you haven't already.

Row 7: * sl1-k2tog-psso, p1, ssk, (k1, yo) twice, k1, k2tog, p1 *

Row 8: * k1, p1, ssk, k3, k2tog, p1 *

Row 9: * k1, p1, ssk, k1, k2tog, p1 *

Row 10: * k1, p1, sl1-k2tog-psso, p1 *

Row 11: * k2tog *

Clip yarn, leaving 18" tail, and use tapestry needle to thread through remaining 12 stitches. Bring tail to inside of hat, knot, and tuck in ends. Finally, if you've looked at my other patterns, you may have noticed that I'm a lazy bastard who hates to block and finish. The nice thing about this pattern is that, if you choose not to block it, the pattern naturally gathers at the arrowhead bits, an effect which creates extra texture and slouch. See, being lazy is awesome!






16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Amazon... I agonized over whether to get a featureless one or a fake person, and ultimately decided that the fake person look was less creepy. And there are a bunch that look similar to this one, with the painted features. And the baby calls it "nice mama" whenever he sees it!

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    2. The featureless mannequins with nipples always creep me out. Awww! That's cute!

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  2. I think this hat is beautiful and wanted to make it as a birthday gift for my sister. I read through the pattern and it seemed very doable. I have started over at least three times and can't seem to get past row six. Unlike most patterns if you are off by a stitch it throws the whole design off and it is not easily fixed. I have knitted for two days and all I have to show for it is the ribbing. I am taking a break from it for now, but will attempt it at another time. I am an experienced knitter and would not rate this as an easy pattern. Creative Cathy

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    Replies
    1. Hi Cathy!

      I'm sorry to hear you had trouble with this hat. If you do try again, I recommend keeping close track of each set of 9 stitches (since that's the pattern repeat). Hopefully that will help you get a hang of the pattern and make it easier to knit!

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    2. I'm a little glad to see I wasn't the only one with this problem! I started this on Tuesday and was getting into it, but after a few of the pattern repeats, I was thrown off. I started with 108 stitches and somehow ended up with 93. I couldn't purl 2, only 1 :( So I set it down. I have it in my bag, though, and will be starting it over again and taking your tip into consideration, because I really really love the look of this pattern. And with the lace (and using a lighter yarn than I currently am) it'll be a great summer hat for here in Texas.

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    3. Hello there!

      Again, I'm sorry to hear you had this trouble. However, let me suggest one other tip - rather than simply trying to keep a close watch on your 9 stitch pattern, you could also place markers after every pattern repeat. That way you'll know pretty immediately if you drop a stitch, and where exactly it happened! :)

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    4. Genius idea that will be employed :)

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    5. Another commenter suggested that on one of my patterns, and I thought it was a great tip! :) Let me know if you have any other questions.

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  3. I ended up with two extra stitches at the end of the first decrease row?? Other than that, I love the hat!! Placing markers between the pattern stitches is genius!

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    Replies
    1. Hi there!

      Did you do the stitch modification before you completed the first decrease row (slip the final stitch from the previous round to the other side of the row marker so it becomes the first stitch)? I can't think of what else would have caused it... :)

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  4. I did do that modification. Everything had worked just fine until then. I made it work however and have only a few rows to go! I am making it again so I hope it works out better.

    When you slip that last stitch you aren't actually decreasing are you?

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    Replies
    1. No, you're not. And I'm glad to hear that everything is working now! :)

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  5. So I’m up to first decrease row. 16 stitches in the first combo ... and 108 divided by 16 doesn’t work. What am I getting wrong?

    Thx

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    Replies
    1. Hi there! This is a decrease row, and the first pattern repeat doesn't contain the yo increases that maintain the stitch count - what I mean to say is that I've modified the first * ssk, (k1, yo) twice, k1, k2tog * to be an ssk, k5, k2tog, and moved it back a stitch in the pattern. Without the yarn overs, you're losing two stitches per eighteen stitches, and the sixteen stitch count works out. Hope that helps! :)

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