What do you do when you've got a birthday party for a friend's 3 year old planned last minute for the next day? Design and make a knitted hat using techniques you've never tried before of course!
I used the off-white Pound of Love yarn I had remaining from the previous week's last minute baby-shower blanket (*rolls eyes* I'm a glutton for punishment.) and some lovely dark burgundy soft acrylic of who-knows what brand I had in my stash.
I had seen the square top n' tassles hats before online and thought they were so cute. I found a simple pattern at MAG knits called
Sprout.
The only things I kept was the cast on of 80 stitches and the needle sizes. I winged the rest.
My Firsts:
--Finished knitted wearable item (hat)
--Circular knitting finished object
--2/2 rib
--Fair Isle
--Chart for Fair Isle (no matter how simple, I drew it and made it fit the number of stitches.)
--3 needle bind off
So the only bits I've done before were the stockinette stitch and the tassles. :D
My Errors
--"But Where'd the Stitch Go?" I'm not sure what happened but, at the end of the first or second patterned row, I had one fewer main yarn stitch that I should've.
--"Where'd THAT Stitch Come From?" To confuse me further, when I went to bind off, there was one extra stitch. I just knitted the last three together so there wouldn't be any obvious decrease.
Rough instructions for Heart Fairly Isle Belled Pillowcase Kid's Hat
Age 3-7ish
I used size 5 12" circular needles for ribbing, 7 for rest of hat
Cast on 80 stitches
Join for circular knitting, place marker
2/2 rib for 6 rows
Attach contrast color, knit one row
Pick up main color, knit one row
Follow standard Fair Isle practice of weaving. It's basically dropping last used yarn and picking up new yarn from under previous yarn. Next time you drop last used yarn, bring new yarn over it.
Knit 5 in main, knit 1 contrast, knit 5 main (repeat) I suggest weaving contrast yarn in between the 2 sets of 5 main.
Knit 3 main, 3 contrast, 3 main (repeat to marker)
Knit 2 main, 5 contrast, 2 main (repeat)
Knit 1 main, 7 contrast, 1 main (repeat) Again, I suggest weaving the main yarn 3 stitches into the 7 contrast color.
Knit 2 main, 2 contrast, 1 main, 2 contrast, 2 main (repeat)
Knit main
Knit contrast
Knit main for 7 inches
Divide work by putting 40 stitches close to each needle and pulling cable out between. This way the needles are parallel to each other.
Manage to turn the whole thing inside out.
Perform 3 needle bind off across top.
Make tassles by wrapping contrast yarn 25 times lengthwise around a credit card or other suitable stiff cardstock. Use 6" yarn to slide under loops and tie in double knot. Cut bottom of loops. Use another piece of yarn for shank, wrap tightly around tassel, tie. (I used tricks learned by doing kumihimo tassles and monkeying around with a crochet hook. I doubt I can remember what all I did to fasten everything.) Trim ends even. Put another length of yarn through tassle top. Knot in middle leaving equal lengths hanging off. Use crochet hook to pull the ends of this piece through the corners of hat. Leave about 1/4 of an inch between the top of the tassel and the hat for better dangling properties. :) On inside, knot 2 or 3 times. (Here, I pulled these ends back to the outside, knotted it again, went BACK inside and again knotted the heck out of it.) Trim ends to be only about 3/4" long.
I also added two small bells to each tassel by using the long lengths left over from the first knot around the tassel. I threaded (with thread) the tiny loop on the bell, pulled a loop through, evened it so the bell hung in the middle of the yarn, pulled the free end through the loop, tightened it, then did some more monkeying around with the crochet hook to fasten it to the shank. The bells did not fall below the ends of the tassel for safety and aesthetic reasons.
This is a quick gift. I know, I finished it in about 6.5 or 7 hours. And that's with me not knowing what I was doing!
The model is Nicky who kindly offered his head for sizing purposes. :D
