Pattern #52 Cabled Scarf Hat

Hey It's Em!

I'm working on the Cabled Scarf Hat right now. I am using Berant Alpaca Yarn and Patron's Wool for this project. (It wasn't my idea! I'd use 220 but I needed a thicker Alpaca Yarn that was within my tiny tiny tiny yarn budget!) At first I was a little worried about starting this project. To me, it looked a little strange to have a scarf attached to a hat. It also looked hard. I'm not good at following cabled charts. Well, when my co-worker Cathie wanted me to make one for her, I figured I could try to keep an open mind and try something new.

I really like this pattern because it is a great cabled pattern to work with. If you are learning how to use a chart, it is a great beginner project to do. I recommend using a post-it note to track your progress. This way you can move it while seeing the work you did in the previous row as seen below.

(I purposely kept the rows hidden from the camera because I fear that somebody will interpret this photo as me giving away part of the pattern. The intention is to show how the post-it note works with a cabled chart.)

It is a quick knit. I did one tail of the scarf in a weekend. The pattern is simplistic. The bobbles were also very easy. It is one of those patterns where you have to do what it says and you won't know how it works out until you finish your first one. Now, after doing a few bobbles, it makes a lot more sense. I recommend using a sharper needle to do the bobbles. I had a hard time preventing my yarn from splitting when I had to P3 tog.

I will be blocking this scarf, which I am looking forward to doing with one of my good friends. (If she's willing to help me!)

Connecting the scarf to the hat was frustrating for me. First of all, the pattern requires you to CO 44 stitches, k 2 rows and then put these stitches on a holder. Then, repeat. Then use a circular needle to add all the things together.

I decided to do this in one step.

This is how I did it.
CO44 Stitches, place one scarf onto the circular needle, knit/purl stitches as they come, CO44 more stitches, place the second scarf onto the circular needle. Knit/Purl stitches as they come, place marker and join round.

P44, knit/purl stitches as they are for the cabled scarf section,
P44, knit/purl stitches as they are for cabled scarf, sl

K44, row 1 of scarf pattern, K44, row 1 of scarf

and so forth.

I had to change the needle size for my hat too. I used a size 7 but the hat was becoming too large. I ripped out the hat and started again on a size 6. This time, it works a lot better.

I am still working on the scarf pattern. I will be writing another blog entry about the hat once the hat section is complete. However, I know there are people out there that are wondering how the scarf part of the pattern works.

This pattern has a few downfalls. First of all, it is too short. The scarf part that is. All of the people who made this scarf on Ravelry, made the scarf part of the pattern longer. I hypothesize with the popularity of long scarves today, it is possible people just want longer scarves. For me, the original 3 pattern repeat did not work as a scarf. Instead it worked as long ties. I did a four pattern repeat and the scarf works for Cathie. (I would have done one more repeat.)

Over all, I am enjoying the adventure I am having with this scarf!
Happy Knitting!

E

Pattern #22 Bobbles & Cables Cap

Hello readers, this is Brittany! Yesterday, I finished the bobbles and cable cap. This pattern was another pattern that I knew I had to make almost from day one. It could have been the purple in the book (as I have an addiction to the color purple) or the texture and look, but I just had to make this hat!

As I do with almost every pattern, I first did a little research. This step is something I encourage everyone to do. If you are going to invest your time in making something it is good to see what other people found about the pattern and learn from others mistakes. After all, many people that blog about their projects or write descriptions on Ravelry are not just putting it up there for their health. They are documenting their mistakes or things they would change for themselves (in case they want to make that pattern again in the future) and in hopes that they can save other people from the mistakes they made. If you are looking to do some research on a particular pattern, I would definitely suggest first checking out Ravelry. I am sure if you are reading this you probably already know all about Ravelry, but if you do not you should definitely check it out. You can learn a lot and meet a lot of interesting people.

When doing research on this pattern I found out the following information: First, there is an errata in the pattern. You can find information on many erratas in the book here. However, you will notice there is no errata for this pattern. The errata for this pattern would be the fact that there is no bobble pattern. This is quite a problem as it is a Bobbles & Cables Cap. The errata is mentioned in the pattern notes on the Ravelry pattern page. It states that you should make the bobble as follows:
K1, p1 twice in same st, making 4 sts from one; slip these stitches back to left hand needle and knit them again; then pass the 3rd, 2nd and first sts over the last st made.

Then after doing a bit more research I found that the pattern was used over 30 times on Ravelry. Many reviews talked about the bobbles and stated things like this:
Noreen1009 - The bobbles the pattern calls for are pretty puny--just increase 4 in one stitch (K1, P1, twice) and then pass the stitches over the last one in sequence. To me, it doesn’t look right. I’m doing a two row, 4 stitch bobble instead. (k1, p1, k1, p1 into one stitch; turn work and knit 4, turn work and purl 4, and then pass the stitches over the last one in sequence).
Hatlover - Modifications: Used Noreen’s Bobble to make it stand out more.
Pprincess626 - Bobbles not big enough - but turned out cute!
Bdorner - Got all the way to the decreases and decided the bobbles were too small.

Since I saw so many comments about the bobbles I looked at pictures and experimented with different ways I could do the bobbles. I finally decided to make my bobbles the same way I did on the starfish cap. If you would like to do the same thing I did, here is the bobble pattern I used: K1, p1, k1 in same st, making 3 sts from one; turn. P3, turn. K3, turn. P3, turn. SK2P.



In the end I really liked the way it came out. I would agree with some comments made on ravelry that it is a little big. I would have liked it to be a little bit more snug, but I do not feel as though it will fall off my head.

Yarn Information: Cascade 220 - #9924 (Blueberry Bliss)

I hope you learned a bit about the importance of researching and I hope that my post helps you with your own project. If you would like to see more pictures of this project or any of my other projects check out my Flickr Account.

Brittany

Pattern #48 Starfish Hat

I fell in love with this pattern from the second I laid my eyes on it. It is so beautiful. I chose a nice pale pink that I thought would match both of my coats. My mom was surprised by the color because I normally choose purple, but for some reason I was just drawn to the pink. I wanted to pick a somewhat light color that really drew your eye to the starfish in the back of the hat.

Before starting the project, I read many reviews on the pattern and noticed many people saying that the hat seemed to small or did not slouch enough. To change this I decided to use a size 7 knitting needle instead of a size 6. If I were to make this hat again I would use a size 6 needle on the brim and then switch to a size 7 needle. This would make the brim tighter on my head, but still give the hat a nicer slouch. I like the amount of slouch my hat has, but some might not think it is slouchy enough. If you don't seem to think the hat has enough slouch (based on my own pictures) you could always add a few extra rounds of -K17, work twisted rib panel over next 5 sts; rep from around-. The directions say to repeat the rows until the piece measures 7 1/2" however if you want it more slouchy maybe keep knitting until it measures about 8 1/2" or 9".

I can honestly say this was one of my favorite patterns in the whole book and I would happily make it again in the future. (As soon as I'm finished with my other 60 Quick Knits projects)

Yarn Information: Cascade 220 #9475 (Cotton Candy)

More pictures of this and other projects on my Flickr Account
Brittany

Pattern #49 Slip-Stitched Hat

It is always difficult to figure out a good gift for my dad. I searched through this wonderful book and finally found a pattern that would work. The picture in the book made it seem a bit feminine, but without the leaf pin it definitely works for a man, too. I must have redone this hat about 3 or 4 times before I liked it. My dad loves burgundy and gold, but this hat was difficult to do color changes on. If you would like to do color changes here is what I did:

Color A (burgundy)
Color B (gold)

Garter Stitch - Rnd 1-2 (color A), Rnd 3-6 (color B), Rnd 7-8 (color A)

Slip-Stitch Pattern - Rnd 1 (color B), Rnd 2 (color A), Rnd 3 - K4 (color A), follow direction with color B, k7 color A
Idea is that gold is loose strand then you knit with burgundy and when pulling up the gold use gold.
After about 12 rnds of color A being the base color I switched to color B being the main color, then after about 20 rnds of B being the main color I switched back to color A being the main color and finished off the hat.



I will probably eventually add a piece of fleece inside the hat. The slip-stitches cause a lot of strings inside the hat. If you do the color changes as I have done you will notice even more strings lining the inside. Make sure to knit somewhat loose so that the hat is not too tight when you are finished!

Yarn Information: Cascade 220 Heather #4008 (Carmine) & Cascade 220 #2415 (Sunflower)

Hope you enjoyed! If you would like to see more pictures check out my Flickr Account.
Brittany

Pattern #5 Tweed Watch Cap

This hat was created for my brother. This was yet another pattern that I knew just had to be made for a family member. I found the perfect colors a nice brown, green, and blue. This hat was a very simple and quick knit, but not boring at all. I hate patterns that are repetitive without any color changes or changes in pattern. They are easy, but I get bored easily. This pattern had just enough change to keep my attention and keep me knitting.

There were absolutely no mistakes in the pattern that I noticed and there was nothing I wanted to change when it was finished. The hat fit my brother wonderfully, as you can see in the picture. When he opened it, he was not the only one who wanted to try it on:


Yarn Information: Cascade 220 Heather #9458 (Bainbridge Island Heather), Cascade 220 Heather #2452 (Turtle), & Cascade 220 Heather #2424 (Summer Night)

For more pictures take a look at my Flickr Account.
Brittany

Pattern #27 Scalloped-Edge Beanie

I made this hat for a friend from college. She went through my 60 Quick Knits book and told me she wanted this hat. When Christmas rolled around I decided to make it for her. I had to restart this hat several times because I did not do the yarn over correctly, at first. I really liked the colors I chose to make this hat. I purposely chose these colors because they matched the scarf I made her for Christmas 2008. The only thing I was not sure I liked about the hat, was it seemed a bit short when it was finished:

I know in the picture (in the book) it was kind of short too, so it may just be the pattern. My friend Katie was happy with the finished product, which is all that matters. Right?

Yarn Information: Cascade 220 Wool - #7808 (Purple Hyacinth) & Cascade 220 Paints - #9921 (Caribbean Sea)

If you would like to see more pictures check out my Flickr Account.
Thanks for reading and looking,
Brittany