Twisted Check Hat

Twisted Check Hat

First things first: I know I show this hat on my little lady friend here, but I actually knit it for my husband.  Who looks pretty good in it.  But when I tried to get him to pose for the pictures, he refused to do anything but make weird faces and quips about being a Top Model.  So... little lady friend it is.  Besides that, it's a little difficult to tell from the pictures, but the way this yarn is variegated made cool zig-zags in the pattern.  Or in other words, it's a good, basic unisex hat.  I also suspect I could make two hats out of my one ball of yarn, but I have too many other projects to complete before I test that hypothesis ("Buddy, what's a hypothesis?" "It's an idea you can test!" - Dinosaur Train).  Where was I again?  Oh yeah, the hat.

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Pacific (40% Superwash Merino Wool, 60% Acrylic; 213 yards [195 meters]/100 grams); #500 Duo Tone - just one skein needed.

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size 8, one set double-pointed needles, also in size 8

Notions: Stitch marker, tapestry needle

Gauge: 18 stitches = 4 inches

Cast on 96 stitches, place marker, join in round

Knit in k1, p1 ribbing for 1.5"

The body of this hat is worked in Twisted Check Pattern, which you can find on page 117 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

Rows 1 & 2: Knit

Gathered Mesh Cowl

Gathered Mesh Cowl

So here's the thing.  When I started knitting this piece, I intended to do it differently.  First, I was going to knit it in Star Rib Mesh, from page 196 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, which includes a direction to "slip 2 knitwise" (and even includes a special instruction on why you really, really need to slip 2 TOGETHER knitwise to accomplish the look).  Of course, I didn't do this.  I slipped one stitch knitwise, then slipped the second stitch knitwise, which creates an entirely different effect.  Then, of course, I liked it.  And decided to gather it.  Which resulted in the following.

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Sateen (100% Acrylic; 300.7 yards [275 meters]/100 grams); #24 Orange Poppy - another one skein masterpiece.

Once again, the kid wanted to help. 
Of course, he still refused to smile.

Needles: One 24" circular needle in size 4

Notions: Stitch marker, tapestry needle, one 5/8" button

Gauge: 24 stitches = 4 inches

Cast on 180 stitches, place marker, join in round.  Knit two rows in seed stitch, or in other words:

First row of seed stitch: k1, p1 around

2nd row: p1, k1 around

Now it's time for the main pattern!

Row 1: * yo, (sl 1 knitwise, sl 1 knitwise - k1 - p2sso), yo, k1; rep from *

Berry Swirl Hat



Berry Swirl Hat

And here's my second hat, which you will probably notice is in the exact same yarn as the Ripple Lattice Hat!  True story: I had two balls of the yarn.  Also, it's kind of fun to see how the same yarn knits in different designs, especially when that yarn is variegated, which always brings in an element of the unknown.  As far as this particular hat is concerned, the swirl effect is obviously a product of the variegation, so my recommendation if you're looking for a similar effect is to find a yarn that, in a ball, looks like it contains roughly the same amount of variegation.  In other words, not too much of a second color (see ball below).  And yet again, please see the Glossary if any of these terms are unfamiliar.  Otherwise, let's begin!

Yarn: SMC Riana Color (50% New Wool, 45% Acrylic, 5% Viscose; 131 yards [120 meters]/50 grams); #5843 - don't know the color name, might be discontinued, but this hat, like the other, only uses one skein.

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

Notions: Marker, tapestry needle



Yeah, it's the same picture as before!!!

Gauge: 19 stitches x 25 rows = 10 cm x 10 cm

Cast on 96 stitches, place marker, and join in a round

* k1, p1 * 1 inch in ribbing

The majority of this hat is knit in Berry Stitch, which I found in one of my favorite knitting books, or in other words on page 221 of Barbara G. Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns