Friday 19 January 2018

A Tale of Two Hats



The winter cardigan that I made was screaming out for a hat.  I had plenty of wool left over and the time and energy, so I cast on and started ribbing.



All seemed to be going well.  I knitted the brim, then worked a band of purple inside the brim as a way of saving on the random grey yarn. 

Because I was using a circular needle I was able to stretch the knitting to check for fit.  Every now and then I would have a few minutes in front of the mirror, with balls of wool trailing and the knitting needle waving around like a pair of antennae, wrapping the knitting around my head.

Then I made an interesting discovery.  Not being a fan of patterns, I thought I had made a fair estimate of how many stitches I needed.  I was woefully adrift.


The solution, I thought, was easy.  I picked up stitches at the edge of the rib and started knitting in the other direction until I thought it was wide enough, and then cast off.  It still wasn't right, so then I had to do the same thing all over again, picking up stitches from the other side of the rib.  

This meant that for the top, I had to pick up yet more stitches from the edge of the additional stitching before decreasing for the crown.

After all the improvisation, the hat turned out pretty well, so it deserved a flower.

Then I tried it on.  My husband, ever the diplomat, didn't say much.  My daughter was more forthcoming and said it looked like a tea cosy, especially with the flower, it was just too barmy.  My answer was I don't care how nuts I looked, I want a warm head.  

I had to admit defeat.  It was too small, the brim didn't cover my ears properly, and it kept slipping up to the top of my head.


Nice hat, wrong head.  I needed to find the right head. 

At New Year I took it with me when we went to visit my brother.  I insisted my sister in law, Mary Ann, who has a dainty little head, try it on.  Suddenly the hat looked a proper jaunty number on her, 1930s home made chic.  She chose a button from her mother's button box, and now the hat is hers. 


Meanwhile, I had already cast on a frighteningly large number of stitches and was working on hat 2.  Here it is, complete with deeper brim...


... no extra sections to pad out the rib, a satisfying halo effect at the crown...


... and just to wind my daughter up, two flowers.

This is the hat that keeps my ears warm.  I love it.

Linking up to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

10 comments:

  1. Not being a knitter, got lost in the process, but it turned out lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Angie. Yes, I got pretty lost myself.

      Delete
  2. Daughters, nieces and other young women seem to have a deep concern for us looking "barmy." I'm sure we worried about that, too, long ago. One of my favorite things about my current age is not giving a rat's patoot about that anymore. Bring on the Barm, I say!

    Your hats are lovely and the flowers especially so!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lol! A mum's prerogative to wind up their children - especially daughters!
    Happy endings for both hats. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. love the flowers, also do you know anything about a singer 31-47?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry Anna, but there are a few videos on YouTube about Singer 31s.

      Delete
  5. I especially like the flowers! "heehee"

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Muv, I'm really happy that you were able to find a head to fit the hat :-) They both look great with the two flowers and the buttons!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think you did excellent on your 1st hat even though you didn't follow a pattern. Your sil was lucky her head fit the hat. I totally think you nailed it on the 2nd one. I like 2 flowers too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dar. Improvisation is the name of the game.

      Delete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...