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 *

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Chunky Triangle Rib Hat

Chunky Triangle Rib Hat

I've been eyeing this yarn for a while, but it took it finally going on sale for me to buy it (I think this color is discontinued). And once I brought it home, I knew that I needed to make a pattern simple enough that the variegation and chunkiness wouldn't hide the design. So here's what I came up with. Incidentally, I gave it the slouchy shape because I had enough yarn to do it; if you prefer a more traditional beanie shape, repeat the main pattern 6 times instead of 9, and the work the decreases as stated. Also, if you have a 16" circular needle in a 10 1/2 or a 10, you may want to work the ribbed band in that instead of the size 11, if you want it to fit tighter.

Yarn: Berroco Borealis (60% Acrylic, 40% Wool; 108 yards [100 meters]/100 grams); #5079 Hekla - 1 skein 

A close-up of the pattern.
Needles: one 16" circular needle in size #11, one set of double-pointed needles (dpns), also in size #11

Notions: tapestry needle

Gauge: 12 stitches = 4 inches

Using circular needle, cast on 70 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Knit 4 rows in a (k1, p1, k1, p2) ribbing. Then we'll move on to the main pattern, which goes like so:

Row 1: * yo, k3tog, yo, p2; rep from *

Rows 2 & 3: * k3, p2 *