Hat #2

For Hat #2 I wanted to play with adding different patterns to the same basic hat recipe from the Feitelson book. Mary Jane Mucklestone’s book “200 Fair Isle Motifs” is the perfect resource for this kind of experimentation. The motifs are arranged like a directory and organized by row and stitch count.

I picked out some colors I liked – but not necessarily colors I would normally be drawn to - Poppy, Lichen, Sunrise, Yell Sound Blue, and Earth. To me it has a vintage Scandinavian look. (I am noticing it’s a little tricky to accurately capture the color but this is pretty close)

I decided to revisit the two color long tail cast on just because I think it’s such a clever way to start working with two colors right off the bat.  Do you know this cast on? It’s like a regular long tail cast on but you hold two different colors together rather than doubling back yarn from one ball – the bonus no need to quesstimate how much yarn to double back. In the end what did I discover?- While it’s a clever way to cast on, I don’t really like the look of the edge. I also wasn’t really happy with the look of the 2by2 rib. I think the contrast is a little stark.

The Motifs I used are #33, #126, and #185. I ended up with 47 rows of pattern in the body and made a slight adjustment in where I started the crown chart.

For the crown I used the slip 2 tog, Knit 1, Pass the slipped stitches over decrease in the background color. The end result looks like a flat knitted chain that appeals to me.

I decided to keep this hat in a beanie shape after soaking.

I’m visiting back home this weekend and my sister Nancy has adopted this one. Looks so cute on her and goes really well with a jacket she brought home from a recent trip to Scotland.