Yay! It's March!

I'm back! I still haven't written up any patterns yet, but I have been knitting. Starlight is now 32 rows past the joining of body and sleeves. Not much progress, but any progress is good.

Here are some pics of the Large Lattice cabled hat (too long for the mannequin, of course, but it fits me just fine):



And here is a hat made from 2+ skeins of some lovely Noro Silk Garden (color #84) that Glaistig traded me for the Pemaquid hat:



(Why yes, I do regret letting The Wibbles play with my poor, now-noseless mannequin.)

The entire hat is double-knitted, on a size 5 circular. I started with 240 stitches, decreased fairly rapidly to 180 to make the brim, and then continued straight up to the crown. I decreased 20 stitches every 3 rounds (that sounds like a lot, but remember it's double knitting, so it's really like 10 stitches) until I had 20 stitches left, then did a k2tog around, then closed it up. The brim was kind of floppy, so I stuck some millinery wire in there. It could also use a blocking, which I will do later tonight.

I really want to make another one of these! I got some mossy green semisolid Koigu Kersti for another try. This time I want to make more of a cloche shape, with less of a brim. I will also try casting on to the millinery wire instead of threading it in afterwards, because it was a b*tch and a half to get that wire in there.

I Hate February

I do asset-liability management. If you don't know what that means, don't bother looking it up; it's boring number-crunchy kind of stuff. All my assessments and reports and whatnot are due March 1, so I don't get to do much in February (or January, really, but especially February) besides work.

I have knit a total of 6 rows on Starlight since the last photo I posted. So much for my wear-it-on-Valentine's-Day goal.

I still haven't written up the pattern on the short-rows hat.

I designed two new stitch patterns, both involving ribbing and cables (although not reversible). The first one is small, with an 8 stitch and 12 row repeat:


I started a hat with this stitch pattern, but it became clear early on that it was way too big, so I frogged it. I'll try again, with fewer repeats, when I have time (hah!).

The second stitch pattern is huge: 32 stitches and 40 rows for one pattern repeat.
(click to make bigger and actually be able to SEE it)


I actually managed to make a successful hat with this second pattern! I used beige merino wool (Zara) on size 4 needles. I even managed to come up with crown decreases that blend in with the stitch pattern, which I should probably write down soon before I forget.

I'm debating whether or not to write up this pattern, since I'm not sure anyone other than me can use it. I've noticed one thing that happens almost all the time when other people knit my hat patterns - they leave out one or more row repeats before starting the decreases. Although my head is only slightly larger than average, it is apparently freakishly tall. This is confirmed by my mannequin. The circumference of the hat fits her perfectly (it's very stretchy and should fit just about anyone), but lengthwise it's pretty bad. Bad as in, it covers her ENTIRE FACE. However, you can't just leave off a row repeat if it's 40 rows. Even half a repeat (the decreases would still blend) is 20 rows. So I'm not sure if it can be adjusted for normal heads. It might be worth trying a heavy worsted yarn and leaving off one stitch repeat and one row repeat. Or using a thinner yarn, with a smaller needle, and adding a stitch repeat but leaving the row count alone. I'm not sure. Hopefully I'll get a chance to take some photos of the hat this week. If there's interest, I will write up the pattern exactly as it was knit, and feel free to experiment to get your size.

A Few FOs

Firstly, the short rows hat worked! I haven't written up the pattern yet - I have my scribbled notes, but I want to add one or maybe two more size options. But here's a sneak peek (sorry for the blurry):

It's easier to tell from the non-modeled photo how the crown is slanted toward the back of the head:


Next are two recipe cloches:



My new favorite closures for the recipe cloches are these rhinestone buckles I got at Les' Bon Ribbon.

The black one is for my cousin Megan. It's a 2x2 rib brim, and the main stitch pattern is "Chunky Rib Pattern" on p.170 of the Readers' Digest stitchionary. I did one and a half repeats of the pattern, ending on a 2x2 rib round. The crown decreases are 8 stitches decreased per round, in a spiral, in 2x2 rib. The yarn is Rowan Kid Classic, color Smoke. I used about one and a third skeins for both the hat and the band. The hat is 144 stitches cast on, using a size 3 needle. The band is 3 stitches cast on, then 1x1 rib, also with a size 3 needle.

The green one is for the fall collection. The ribbon looks a bit loose on the mannequin, because I sized it on myself. This one is three repeats of Barbara Walker's "Wickerwork" stitch pattern (from the Second Treasury), with a 2x2 rib brim and an 8-section spiral decrease in stockinette for the crown. The ribbon is 7/8" wide grosgrain. I cast on 96 stitches for this hat, and used a size 7 needle. The yarn is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran (I love this yarn, BTW), color #106 "Batik," just under 2 skeins.

Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading

Grief of a Girl's Heart

O Donal Oge, if you go across the sea,
Bring myself with you and do not forget it;
And you will have a sweetheart for fair days and market days,
And the daughter of the King of Greece beside you at night.
It was late last night the dog was speaking of you;
The snipe was speaking of you in her deep marsh.
It is you are the lonely bird through the woods;
And that you may be without a mate until you find me.
You promised me, and you said a lie to me,
That you would be before me where the sheep are flocked;
I gave a whistle and three hundred cries to you,
And I found nothing there but a bleating lamb.
You promised me a thing that was hard for you,
A ship of gold under a silver mast;
Twelve towns with a market in all of them
And a fine white court by the side of the sea.
You promised me a thing that is not possible
That you would give me gloves of the skin of a fish;
That you would give me shoes of the skin of a bird;
And a suit of the dearest silk in Ireland.
O Donal Oge, it is I would be better to you
Than a high, proud, spendthrift lady:
I would milk the cow; I would bring help to you;
And if you were hard pressed, I would strike a blow for you.
You have taken the east from me; you have taken the west from me,
You have taken what is before me and what is behind me;
You have taken the moon, you have taken the sun from me,
And my fear is great that you have taken God from me!

- Translation from the Irish (Anonymous) by Augusta Gregory

In Search of Lost Time: Short Rows

I wanted to talk a bit more about my short rows ideas (this was not clear from my Ideas post, but I have two separate ideas involving short rows). I’m finding it very interesting how some of my designs just work perfectly on the first try, as if by magic, and others make their way into the world over a period of years, leaving many failed attempts in their wake. I wonder, do other designers experience this also? Or are the "slow" designs just a result of my ideas being way ahead of my knitting ability?

In the first short rows idea, the short rows all occur over the same stitches, making the front of the hat significantly taller than the back. This results in a cloche shape, with the top of the crown toward the back of the head rather than centered on top of the head. In the second idea, the short rows occur "randomly" throughout. I say “randomly” because, although it appears random, it's actually arranged so that after a given number of short row segments have been completed, the same number of rows have been worked for each stitch in the round.

My first try was Idea 2, in Zara. It starts with a ribbed band, as did all my hats at the time. The short row sections are in stockinette, with one strand of burgundy held together with one strand of lilac. Between the short row sections, I knit a few rounds in reverse stockinette, with two strands of burgundy held together. This hat was not actually a total failure; it was just kind of mediocre. I probably would have posted about it, but I wasn’t blogging yet. It fits well (at the time, it was actually my best-fitting hat – I was having some serious size issues back then). The biggest problem with this hat is the colors. I used one MC + one CC (instead of 2 CC) for the reverse stockinette bands on purpose, because I thought it would obscure the little jog that occurs where you switch to reverse stockinette. It does obscure the jog, but the whole thing just looks kind of, um, muddy. And, I no longer care about jogs. You can’t really get around them in circular knitting, so I’ve learned to just accept them. Another, more minor problem is that I continued with the short row sections for too long, then did a final band of reverse stockinette, followed by some very fast decreases in stockinette. Due to the decrease speed, the last band of reverse stockinette puckers a bit.

Second try: Idea 2 again, in camel and grey Margrite Bulky. After a ribbed band, everything is in stockinette stitch. The short row sections are in the grey. The ribbed band, and the rounds between each short row section, are in the camel. Problem 1: There is not enough contrast between the two colors, so the camel bands do not stand out enough against the grey background. Problem 2: The hat is ginormous. Biggest problem: My short-rowing technique is awful, and you can see little puckers and/or holes where the wraps were picked up. I wonder why that didn’t happen with my first try. I’m assuming it has something to do with using two strands held together.

Third try: Idea 1, in grey Misti Alpaca Chunky. The entire hat is in garter stitch. Minor problem: I didn’t know yet about the alpaca issue, so although the hat fit perfectly right after I made it, it quickly became too big. (I did manage to wear it twice before it grew.) Major problem: Since garter stitch was used throughout, the short row sections don’t stand out AT ALL. It may as well be a plain old garter stitch hat. The good news is that my short rows don’t look bad in garter stitch.

Fourth try: Idea 1 again, in brown Ribbon Twist. I figured I’d get around the Major Problem by knitting the short row sections in garter, as before, then doing the crown decreases in stockinette. This idea may have worked, had I been a better knitter at the time. However, I grossly miscalculated the point at which the crown decreases should begin. Newbie that I was, I figured I could fix that by decreasing more slowly. Result? The hat comes to a very pointy point on top, and looks like a Hershey’s Kiss. (It certainly doesn’t help that it’s brown.)

Fifth try: Back to Idea 2. Cashmerino Aran. (Side note – you can tell how surprised I was by all these failures, by the quality of the yarn I was using. Nowadays, when I try out low-confidence ideas, I use cheap yarn!) I decided to use garter stitch for the whole hat, so I wouldn’t have short row issues. I decided to use black and white, so I wouldn’t have contrast issues. I did the short row sections in black, with a few rounds of white in between. This idea may also have worked, had I been a better knitter. When you knit garter stitch in the round, you have to knit one round then purl one round. You get a subtle “seam” at the end-of-round, where you switch between the two. If you don’t pull the first couple of stitches of each round tight, you can get some gapping at the “seam,” which is a Bad Thing. There are also some tension issues when you are switching colors with several rounds between switches, and carrying the yarn up rather than breaking it. These two things combined completely overwhelmed me, and my “seam” was Gap City. With Puckerville in the suburbs. Also, I didn’t really like the color jogs - they were very noticeable due to the high color contrast.

Sixth and current try: I’m back to Idea 1. I’m using a skein of Noro Kureyon that I had in my stash. I’m doing the short row sections in garter stitch, with a few rounds of stockinette in between. Due to the self-striping, the short rows would have been visible (albeit in a more subtle way) even without the stockinette breaks, but I like them anyway (and besides, I could make another one in a solid yarn and it would still work). I’ve been trying the hat on as I go, and it fits. The short rows look good. The stitch jog (aka the garter “seam”) is very subtle and does not bother me. Using one yarn means no color jogs and no gapping problems. Last night I believed I was headed directly for success and then BLAMMO! I ran out of yarn. But it’s Kureyon! So I can get more, without worrying about matching the dyelot (or even the colorway, for that matter – anything that has a significant amount of either black or grey in it should work)! I’ll be off to the LYS this afternoon. Of course I can’t say “success” until the hat is actually off the needles, given my history of crown decrease nightmares, but it’s looking pretty good. I think I’ll buy 2 skeins, so I can take a similar stab at Idea 2 when this hat is finished. Time Regained!

The Blob

Starlight, 5 loooooooooong rows after joining the sleeves to the body:


The blue yarn is holding the underarm stitches. I'm going to do three-needle bind off rather than grafting. Same goes for the shoulders. Since I'm going for more of a jacket-y look than a sweater-y look, I want that "seamed" look of 3NBO over the continuous look of Kitchener.

Side note: It's sunny today! No flash, so the color is true for once. All my other Starlight photos look bright red.

Kyoto

As I said before, I luuurve this hat.

I made up 2 extra sizes for the pattern, since size appears to be important - it fits me well, but is obviously too big for the mannequin. However, be warned that only the large size has been tested out.

The decreases may look slightly different for the smaller sizes, but should still look pretty much like this:


I definitely recommend wet blocking this hat; it was a bit puckery in places before the blocking. I didn't pin it out or anything, though - I soaked it in tepid water and Eucalan for about 10 minutes then put it on the mannequin head to dry.

Yarn
Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran (100% wool; 88m per 50g ball):
One skein color 281101 black (MC)
One skein color 281706 natural (CC)

I like this quality, but the black tweed has natural flecks and the natural tweed has black flecks. Sometimes, at first glance, this may make it look like you've made a mistake:

If that bothers you, I would consider a yarn substitution. I wonder if something like Cashsoft Aran would knit up to the same gauge.

Other Materials
Size 7, 47" Addi Turbo circular needle (as usual, I recommend Magic Loop)
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends
8 stitch markers; one different from the rest

Measurements
Gauge: 17.5 stitches and 22.5 rows to 4", after washing and blocking.
Circumference: 18"[20", 22"] for sizes S[M,L], unstretched.

Abbreviations
CDD (centered double decrease): Slip 2 stitches together as if to knit, k1, pass the 2 slipped stitches over
K1CC, for example, means knit 1 stitch with CC. Similar meanings for K1MC, P1CC, P1MC, P2MC, P3MC, and CDDCC.

Kyoto Rib
Worked in the round over a multiple of 4 stitches.
Make sure that both yarns are held to the BACK when changing colors.
Rounds 1-3: *K1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Round 4: *K1CC, P1MC, K1MC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Rounds 5-7: *K1CC, P3MC, repeat from * around.
Round 8: *K1CC, P1MC, P1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Rounds 9-11: Same as rounds 1-3.
Round 12: *K1MC, P1MC, K1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Rounds 13-15: *P2MC, K1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Round 16: *P1CC, P1MC, K1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Repeat rounds 1-16 for pattern.

Hat
With MC, cast on 80[88,96] stitches (I used the alternate cable cast-on). Work a setup row: K1CC, P1MC across. Join into a round, being careful not to twist. Use the distinct stitch marker to mark the end of the round. Work in Kyoto Rib until hat measures 5.5"[5.5",6"] tall (or desired length - the 6" length just covers my ears). Be sure to end on either Round 8 or Round 16 of the pattern.

Work marker round, following Round 1 of the stitch pattern: *Work 11[11,13] stiches, place marker, work 9[11,11] stitches, place marker, repeat from * around (omit the last "place marker," since the end of round marker will already be there).

Begin crown decreases:
"Work stitch in pattern" means that if the next stitch is a CC knit stitch, then K1CC. If the next stitch is a MC purl stitch, then P1MC. Half the time on the row after a CDDCC, you will need to K3CC. (The other half, will be P1MC, K1CC, P1MC.)

Size L only: *Work 5 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 5 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 11 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 88 stitches remain.

Sizes M and L only: *Work 11 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 4 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 4 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 80 stitches remain.

All sizes continue here:
*Work 4 stitches in pattern, CDCC, work 4 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 9 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 72 stitches remain.
*Work 9 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 3 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 3 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 64 stitches remain.
*Work 3 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 3 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 7 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 56 stitches remain.
*Work 7 stitches in pattern, slip marker, Work 2 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 2 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 48 stitches remain.
*Work 2 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 2 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 5 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 40 stitches remain.
*Work 5 stitches in pattern, slip marker, Work 1 stitch in pattern, CDDCC, work 1 stitch in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 32 stitches remain.
*Work 1 stitch in pattern, CDDCC, work 1 stitch in pattern, slip marker, work 3 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 24 stitches remain.

From here on, all stitches will be in CC only.

*K3, slip marker, CDD, slip marker, repeat from * around - 16 stitches remain.
*CDD, slip marker, K1, slip marker, repeat from * around - 8 stitches remain.

Cut CC yarn, leaving a tail. Thread the tail through remaining stitches and pull tight to close. Cut MC yarn also. Weave in ends.

I will end with a bonus innards shot:

Ideas

It always feels like I have way more hat ideas than I have time to try them out. Trying out an idea is a big investment for me, because

a) they often don't work out (I have many, many hats that I've finished but never posted about, because I consider them unsuccessful), and even though I do gain information from a failed idea, it's still a lot of time and yarn spent on pretty much nothing, and

b) I have very limited knitting time, and - particularly this year - things that I need (OK, want very badly) to get finished. Like my hat collection.

However, when I get an idea it tends to plague me mercilessly until I try it out. I am currently being plagued by a host of ideas, so I thought I'd temporarily appease the Furies by posting about them, since I can't knit them anytime soon.

1. Felting/fulling. I have a two-color Fair Isle stitch pattern I made up that looks like zebra print. I would love to try a felted cloche using this stitch pattern. Unfortunately, this is the last thing I would ever try, since it would be my first felting attempt and pretty much a certain disaster.

2. Earflaps. This idea is not plaguing me too badly, so I'll probably leave it alone for a while.

3. SHORT ROWS. This baby has had its claws in my back ever since I bought Loop-d-loop and saw that short row Fair Isle pullover. I already have several unsuccessful experiments under my belt, so I have pretty low confidence with this idea. However, the plague factor is extremely high, so I will try again. This is one that I probably won't let go until I make it work. Especially since most of the problems seem to come from my crappy technique rather than my actual ideas. Eventually I'll be a good enough knitter for this idea!

4. "Freeform" hat made out of a bunch of knitted flowers made separately and then sewn together. Low confidence factor + low plague factor = not anytime soon.

5. High-confidence idea: More Recipe Cloches! There are stitch patterns I know will work (Wavelet, certain ribbing variations, etc.) - some of these are already in progress and some are on my short list. There are some other stitch patterns where I'm not quite sure how to do the decreases and/or the eyelet round (knot-type stitches, or this one stitch pattern I've got a hankering to try where you just cast on an odd number of stitches and keep doing right twists until the thing is done). Those are of course lower-confidence and will have to wait. (I've actually got a few failed twisty-all-over hats. I've tried some different things for the decreases and they all look terrible.)

6. Colorwork. This is pretty low-confidence in general, although the plague factor is pretty high so we'll see. I've never attempted intarsia or mosaic knitting, and my few attempts at Fair Isle have had very wonky tension. However, the Kyoto hat came out really well, so I just might try some of the very simplest FI patterns, where you change color pretty much every stitch like in Kyoto - the tension doesn't suffer as much when the floats are short. In particular, I have one idea for a hat that is entirely 2x2 corrugated ribbing. Two colors per round, but there are color changes throughout, so six colors for the whole hat. I've already ordered the Spindrift - when I receive it I'll probably cast on right away.

7. I-cord hat. This one requires two colors of the same yarn, and a head form (I've got my Styrofoam mannequin). With MC, knit a super-long I-cord. Pin it onto the head form, starting at the top of the crown, into a big spirally hat shape. With CC, slip stitch crochet the thing together, removing the pins as you go. Medium confidence, medium plague factor - maybe I'll get to this one after some recipe cloches and the corrugated ribbing hat.

8. The Frankenhat. High confidence, but low plague factor. I should do this one, though, because I think it will look cool. It's basically a plain stockinette hat, but in random places a random number of stitches would be bound off and then re-cast on the following round, creating what amount to large, various-sized buttonholes all over the hat. These "buttonholes" would then be stitched shut on the right side in a contrasting color, using a very noticeable stitch, kind of like Frankenstein scars.

9. My last idea is the Turban. I've got a neckwarmer I made out of Classic Elite Montera. It's 48 stitches, and three repeats of a giant ribbed cable. (Every row is 2x2 rib, and every 23rd row the center 40 stitches are cabled.) I used a provisional cast-on, and grafted the two ends together to make the neckwarmer. I never posted about it (or wear it) because my grafting was really, really bad. However, it fits very nicely on my head and (except for the fact that it has no top) it looks just like one of those early 20th century turban-style hats. Now that I've got that finishing class under my belt and can graft properly, I'm thinking I could make another one in Manos, then pick up stitches for the crown to make a proper hat.