Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Inside Outside Hat

Inside Outside Hat
pictured in Child Large (I made it with lots of
room to grow for the kid!)

This hat was spawned with a variety of inspirations in mind; first and foremost, of course, I had to consider the yarn that my eldest son fell head-over-heels in love with at the store. And while I'm not usually a huge fan of a purled fabric, I do love the way it looks with a variegated fiber, which gave me the first clue about how to approach this hat. But since I didn't want it to be too basic, I also gave it the small detail of the knit stitches in the decrease to add that extra pop. All in all, I hope you'll appreciate this hat's pinwheel finish and sleek look, and super-appreciate the fact that it's also knit inside out, so you don't actually have to work all those purls!

Sizes: Toddler (Child Small; Child Large; Adult Small; Adult Large)

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto DK Print (100% Merino Superwash Wool; 114 yards [105 meters]/50 grams); #47014  - two skeins (two skeins; two skeins; two skeins; two - three skeins)

The pinwheel finish.
Needles: One 16" circular needle in size US 5, one 16" circular needle in size US 6, and one set of double pointed needles (dpns), also in size US 6

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 22 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette

So let's make a hat, then! As I mentioned above, this hat will be knit inside out, so that the bulk of the work will be knitting rather than purling. With that in mind, then, and using your size US 5 needle, cast on 96 (100; 104; 112; 120) stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. Then, purl roughly 1" (1"; 1.5"; 1.5"; 1.5") and transfer work to your size US 6 circular needle. And now, knit until piece measures roughly 5" (5.5"; 6"; 6.5"; 7") from purled band.

Once this is done, it's time to begin our decreases, as follows. I have written transition rows for each size first, and then the remainder of the decrease, which is shared by all sizes, below.

Transition Rows - Toddler

None; move straight to remainder of decrease, below.

Transition Rows - Child Small

Transition Row 1: * p1, k24 * (100 stitches)

Transition Row 2: * p2tog, k23 * (96 stitches)  

Transition Rows - Child Large

Transition Row 1: * p1, k12 * (104 stitches)

Transition Row 2: * p2tog, k11 * (96 stitches)

Transition Rows - Adult Small

Transition Row 1: * p1, k13 * (112 stitches)

Transition Row 2: * p2tog, k12 * (104 stitches)

Transition Row 3: * p1, k12 * (104 stitches)

Transition Row 4: * p2tog, k11 * (96 stitches)

Transition Rows - Adult Large

Transition Row 1: * p1, k14 * (120 stitches)

Transition Row 2: * p2tog, k13 * (112 stitches)

Transition Row 3: * p1, k13 * (112 stitches)

Transition Row 4: * p2tog, k12 * (104 stitches)

Transition Row 5: * p1, k12 * (104 stitches)

Transition Row 6: * p2tog, k11 * (96 stitches)

Knit all given transition rows for the size you're making. Then, continue the decrease as given below for all sizes.

Remainder of Decrease - All Sizes

Decrease Row 1: * p1, k11; rep from * (96 stitches)

Decrease Row 2: * p2tog, k10 * (88 stitches)

You may want to switch to your dpns about now...

Decrease Row 3: * p2tog, k9 * (80 stitches)

Decrease Row 4: * p2tog, k8 * (72 stitches)

Decrease Row 5: * p2tog, k7 * (64 stitches)

Decrease Row 6: * p2tog, k6 * (56 stitches)

Decrease Row 7: * p2tog, k5 * (48 stitches)

Decrease Row 8: * p2tog, k4 * (40 stitches)

Decrease Row 9: * p2tog, k3 * (32 stitches)

Decrease Row 10: * p2tog, k2 * (24 stitches)

Decrease Row 11: * p2tog, k1 * (16 stitches)

Decrease Row 12: * p2tog * (8 stitches)

Clip yarn tail, thread through remaining 8 stitches, and pull tight. Knot and tuck in ends. Turn hat right-side out, and enjoy the magic you've just made with your hands!






12 comments:

  1. LOVE this! My son hates wool or anything that he perceives as "scratchy." I can pick out a nice fun cotton/bamboo yarn and whip this right up for him. WE are in Chicago so he will probably need it for a few more weeks (unfortunately)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you like it! My son is very happy with his, and I also totally understand the not-liking wool thing. I can only knit so much of it before I want to claw my hands off! :) Anyway, we are still in spring hat weather here too, and my son's been wearing his every day. Hope yours turns out just as successfully! And let me know if you have any questions.

      Oh - and, unsolicited advice that you probably don't need but I would feel irresponsible not offering it. Since cotton/bamboo ends up growing a bit, you may want to follow the cast-on directions for a size one smaller, and the length directions for the proper size. Don't know how old your son is, but mine immediately tries to stretch out everything I give him, and then they get all floppy and weird!

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  2. Hi Kathy!

    You are completely correct that that would be a huge problem if this hat were striped... but it's actually made with a variegated yarn instead! If you would prefer to stripe it, however, I can certainly help you modify the directions to make it right-side out; that's actually how I began in the first time and then frogged it when I realized that it was silly with all that purling and one yarn! :)

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  3. I'm new to this game and am going to have to summon courage to venture into circular needles ...
    Near the start, the instructions say to 'place marker' and then 'to join in the round' - can you explain?

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    Replies
    1. Hi there!

      Glad to hear you're trying out something new!!! Here's a link to a video I made to demonstrate joining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1OcF4eFOUA

      Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions!!! :)

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  4. Can this be knit "right-side out"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of course! If you're a huge fan of purling then you can most certainly do it that way... Just reverse the stitches! For instance, knit the purled rows in the beginning and then purl the body, up until the decreases. Then, for the decrease rows, work them backwards and swapping purls and knits (so the first transition row of the child small becomes Transition Row 1: * p24, k1 * instead of Transition Row 1: * p1, k24 *). Also, replace p2tog with k2tog. That should do it! :)

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  5. Thank you for new instructions. And thank you for taking the time to explain.

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    Replies
    1. Happy to help, let me know if you have any other questions! :)

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  6. Hello. Is the gauge made with US needles size 5 or 6, please? Many thanks, Astrid.

    ReplyDelete