Heather's Hat

Heather's Hat

My sister is currently visiting for the weekend (possibly longer, if my children successfully execute their plan to lock her in the closet so she has to play with them indefinitely), so I thought I might knit her a hat. And after seeing something similar-ish out and getting inspired, I came up with this simple but very attractive slipped-stitch hat, knit in a textured cotton that I already had on hand. Furthermore, while I think you could reduce the hat's texture by blocking it (the tension of the slipped stitch stripes causes the knit-only portions to bulge), I kind of think the rippling is one of the hat's best features. Whatever you decide to do with yours, however, here's the pattern!

From ze back.

Yarn: Queensland Collection Pima Fresca (100% Pima Cotton; 145.4 yards [133 meters]/100 grams); #20 Limestone - 1 skein

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size US 8, one 16" circular needle in size US , and one set of double pointed needles (dpns), also in size US 8

Notions: tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 16 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette

Using your size 6 circular needle, cast on 96 stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. Knit 5 rows around, and then switch to your size 8 circular needle. And now, let's start on the pattern! Also, remember to keep your yarn loose when you slip stitches; otherwise, your slipped-stitch stripes will close up.

Row 1: * slip 4 stitches with yarn in front, k8; rep from *

Slipped Cable Hat

Slipped Cable Hat

With the last couple of posts (specifically, the North Star Hat and the Basket Tweed Hat), I've been developing three color change hat patterns which can all be knit with the same three skeins of yarn (so, you know, you can buy three skeins and then make three hats, all with three colors!). So here's the last one, and, perhaps, the most attractive...

The finishing

Yarn: Berroco Vintage Chunky (50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon; 130 yards [120 meters]/100 grams); #6167 Dewberry - 1 skein, #6123 Blush - 1 skein, and #6185 Tide Pool - skein

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size 10, and one set of double-pointed needles (dpns), also in size 10

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 14 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette

Using your circular needle and your main color (in our case, #6167 Dewberry), cast on 80 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Knit one set-up row as follows:

Set-up Row 1: * k6, p2; rep from *

And now we'll start the pattern on this one, which is Slipped Cable Rib from page 106 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, except adapted for the round. And here it is:

Basket Tweed Hat

Basket Tweed Hat

As promised with the North Star Hat, I'm currently posting a series of three color change hats that can all be knit with the same three skeins of yarn. And here's the second one, which is made by creating a cabled band, and then picking up stitches along the edge for a drop stitch pattern in the body of the hat. So let's get to it!

Finished with a star design!

Yarn: Berroco Vintage Chunky (50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon; 130 yards [120 meters]/100 grams); #6123 Blush - 1 skein, #6185 Tide Pool - 1 skein, and #6167 Dewberry - 1 skein

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size 10, and one set of double-pointed needles (dpns), also in size 10, cable needle (cn) or double-pointed needle for cabling

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 14 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette

To knit this hat, we're going to begin with the band, for which you'll use your circular needle, although you'll be knitting back and forth (well, if you want to use your dpns for this, you could do that too). Anyway, begin by casting on 16 stitches with your main color yarn (for me, that's the blush), and then we'll move straight to the pattern:

North Star Hat

North Star Hat

Much to my dismay, I recently discovered that my local yarn store was discontinuing the Berroco Vintage Chunky. So I immediately bought these three skeins, with the idea that I would combine them into as many items as I could. And the first thing I came up with is this fairly awesome hat, which uses mostly the main color yarn, and a few scraps of the other two. But let's get to the pattern already!

Yarn: Berroco Vintage Chunky (50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon; 130 yards [120 meters]/100 grams); #6185 Tide Pool - 1 skein, #6123 Blush - 1 skein, and #6167 Dewberry - 1 skein

The finishing

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size 9, one 16" circular needle in size 10, and one set of double-pointed needles (dpns), also in size 10

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 14 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette

Using your size 9 circular needle and your main color yarn (which in our case is #6185 Tide Pool), cast on 84 stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. Next, knit 4 rows in a k2, p2 ribbing, and then switch to your size 10 needles. Knit four rows around, and then it's time to begin the main pattern, which is the North Star Pattern from page 99 of Barbara G. Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Please bear in mind that this is a slip stitch pattern, and yarn should be kept quite loose behind slipped stitches, especially when slipping multiple stitches together (this note goes double if you haven't knit many slip stitch patterns before - really, make it loose!). Oh, and before we get started, let's define the dip stitch as follows: