Hats. I hate them. With a vengeance. Some people look fantastic - even stylish - in a hat. I just look ridiculous. So what would induce me to make not just one but TWO knitted hats?
Earache. I like to go for a walk in the afternoon or early evening with DH but at this time of year, the slightest hint of a breeze makes my ears ache. Excruciatingly so. Sometimes the pain has been so bad I've been more concerned about getting home to warmth than I have been in watching the traffic. Not good. Not good at all.
While I've tried this pattern and this one that can be worn with long hair (especially if that hair is in a bun), they still failed to keep my ears totally warm.
So ... enter the slouchy hat. Apparently they are all the rage with celebs and wannabe stars. My kids told me I looked like one of the "cool" kids when I modelled my finished work. I have a feeling that's NOT a good thing for a woman my age but at least it kept my ears warm. And I could still wear my hair in a bun - with a hair stick if I wanted to - as it all fitted inside that nice "slouchy" bit.
My inspiration for this pattern came from here. Due to my choice of colour - navy - I had problems seeing the lace panels so in the end gave up and instead did a pretty lace cable alternating with seed stitch panels. Very easy, still lacy looking, and - in my opinion at least - very pretty.
I was amazed at how warm this knitted hat was that I turned around and knitted myself a beret. What had gotten into me?
I took this pattern and added a reversible cable rib for the brim. I don't know if I'd ever wear it inside out but at least I have that option. I think if I'd used a hand-dyed yarn it might have been different, but with the navy, there's really not that much difference between the inside and outside.
I began my beret from the top down thus: Cast on 4 sts.
Row 1: inc into the front and back of every st (8 sts)
Row 2: Repeat Row 1 (16 sts)
Row 3: (K1, inc in next st) rep to end …(24 sts)
Row 4 and alterate rows: purl
Row 5: (K2, inc in next st) rep to end … (32 sts)
Row 7: (K3, inc in next st) rep to end … (40 sts)
Row 9: (K4, inc in next st) rep to end … (48 sts)
Row 11: (K5, inc in next st) rep to end … (56 sts)
Row 13: (K6, inc in next st) rep to end … (64 sts)
Row 15: (K7, inc in next st) rep to end … (72 sts)
By now the pattern of increasing should be obvious. Continue in this manner until desired number of stitches have been attained. When it comes time to decrease do the same thing as before except knit two together rather than increase. So if your last row had been Row 15, you would knit 7, knit two together and repeat this until the end. The following right side row would then be Row 13 but decreasing - i.e. knit 6, knit two together, repeat until the end. It's really quite simple once you start knitting and not nearly as confusing as I've made it sound.
The really weird thing is that I can knit socks on circular needles and I can knit jumpers/pullovers on circular needles but for the life of me I cannot knit hats on circular needles so I decided to use straight needles. It only takes a minute or two to sew up the seam and it’s almost invisible – especially on the navy that I chose. Now I'm thinking that a nice pair of wristwarmers knit on straight needles are just the go for my next project.
Earache. I like to go for a walk in the afternoon or early evening with DH but at this time of year, the slightest hint of a breeze makes my ears ache. Excruciatingly so. Sometimes the pain has been so bad I've been more concerned about getting home to warmth than I have been in watching the traffic. Not good. Not good at all.
While I've tried this pattern and this one that can be worn with long hair (especially if that hair is in a bun), they still failed to keep my ears totally warm.
So ... enter the slouchy hat. Apparently they are all the rage with celebs and wannabe stars. My kids told me I looked like one of the "cool" kids when I modelled my finished work. I have a feeling that's NOT a good thing for a woman my age but at least it kept my ears warm. And I could still wear my hair in a bun - with a hair stick if I wanted to - as it all fitted inside that nice "slouchy" bit.
My inspiration for this pattern came from here. Due to my choice of colour - navy - I had problems seeing the lace panels so in the end gave up and instead did a pretty lace cable alternating with seed stitch panels. Very easy, still lacy looking, and - in my opinion at least - very pretty.
I was amazed at how warm this knitted hat was that I turned around and knitted myself a beret. What had gotten into me?
I took this pattern and added a reversible cable rib for the brim. I don't know if I'd ever wear it inside out but at least I have that option. I think if I'd used a hand-dyed yarn it might have been different, but with the navy, there's really not that much difference between the inside and outside.
I began my beret from the top down thus: Cast on 4 sts.
Row 1: inc into the front and back of every st (8 sts)
Row 2: Repeat Row 1 (16 sts)
Row 3: (K1, inc in next st) rep to end …(24 sts)
Row 4 and alterate rows: purl
Row 5: (K2, inc in next st) rep to end … (32 sts)
Row 7: (K3, inc in next st) rep to end … (40 sts)
Row 9: (K4, inc in next st) rep to end … (48 sts)
Row 11: (K5, inc in next st) rep to end … (56 sts)
Row 13: (K6, inc in next st) rep to end … (64 sts)
Row 15: (K7, inc in next st) rep to end … (72 sts)
By now the pattern of increasing should be obvious. Continue in this manner until desired number of stitches have been attained. When it comes time to decrease do the same thing as before except knit two together rather than increase. So if your last row had been Row 15, you would knit 7, knit two together and repeat this until the end. The following right side row would then be Row 13 but decreasing - i.e. knit 6, knit two together, repeat until the end. It's really quite simple once you start knitting and not nearly as confusing as I've made it sound.
The really weird thing is that I can knit socks on circular needles and I can knit jumpers/pullovers on circular needles but for the life of me I cannot knit hats on circular needles so I decided to use straight needles. It only takes a minute or two to sew up the seam and it’s almost invisible – especially on the navy that I chose. Now I'm thinking that a nice pair of wristwarmers knit on straight needles are just the go for my next project.
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