Circus Hats
I did it! Finished these four hats for the Afghans for Afghans special project to provide 400 hats for the circus kids. Got them in the mail this afternoon.Due date (to reach San Francisco) is February 28, so if you've got a day or so to whip out a quick hat, they're requesting wool or natural fiber hats in these four solid colors... Red, blue, yellow, green. They'll be hand-carried to the kids at the circus school.
These were done in Peace Fleece, and the green one was particularly fun to make. I would not normally knit anything yellow, so the basket stitch one was was a nice change, too.
posted by Kristin Summerlin at 7:22 PM
8 Comments:
Cool hats. Great colors. Those look like they were fun to make.
Isn't Peace Fleece wonderful?
(((hugs)))
Please tell me what the pattern for the green hat is called! It's wonderful!
Love the hats! Would like to make the green one but don't know the pattern name (yeh, I am a new knitter). Please tell me.
Thanks, guys. The green hat is based on the "Textured Two-Tassel Toque" by Christa Giles in the 2007 Knitting Pattern-a-Day Calendar (November 9).
It's really simple... Knit in the round and grafted at the top. Just start out with stockinette until you get to the amount of roll you want for the brim, then use garter stitch to border sections of basket (AKA box) stitch, a simple diamond stitch, and seed stitch.
I modified the original pattern a bit. Email me if you'd like particulars. Or you can try contacting the pattern's author at www.christagiles.com -- I checked, and she doesn't have it posted, but she might be willing to send it to you.
A hint: instead of grafting the top of the green hat (I personally *hate* kitchener stitch), you can turn the hat inside out with half of the stitches on each of two needles and do a 3-needle bind-off. Slip a stitch from the back needle to the front one & knit them together (stitch A), repeat (stitch B), then lift stitch A over B just like a regular bind-off. It makes a very neat "seam" not only for the top of a hat like this one, but for shoulders on sweaters & vests.
Love the hats! I also have that calendar for the green hat so I'll have to look that one up.
Wow, the things that I find when Googling myself :)
Glad you like the hat pattern.. and yes, if you email me, I can send it to you... I'll have to check publication rights, 'cause I don't remember what I agreed to when I submitted it to the calendar!
Three needle bind-off is a wonderful technique, but I'd recommend either kitchener/grafting, OR a zig-zag bind-off (I'm making up the name, don't look for it in reference books): set up like a three-needle cast off, but DON'T knit these stitches together (it makes a big, bulky seam that doesn't let the hat drape nicely)..
Instead, use the spare needle to take a stitch from A and a stitch from B, pull the first (A) over and off the second (B). Then take a stitch from A, and pull the new first (from B) over and off. Keep alternating a stitch from each needle.
You can snip a length of yarn to help fasten off the last loop, OR do a bit of set-up ahead of time and make it so that you start this cast-off exactly halfway around the hat from the last place you were using the yarn, so you will arrive at the yarn tail when it is time to fasten off the last stitch!
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