Monday 8 September 2008

Good Project?

My hat is finished and I think the pattern matches the pinkness pretty well.So well in fact that I tried another pink one. This one took 1 afternoon to knit. It took me longer to figure out something in my house that was head sized to display the hats on than it did to knit it up. There are a couple of cereal bowls stacked up under there if you are looking for something yourself sometime.This leads to the question we get asked quite often - 'How can I make this in a different size or using a different weight of yarn?' The first pinkness was made with sock wool at a gauge of 7 sts per inch (28 sts = 4"/10cm) and is a small adult/large child size with 144 stitches cast on. The second pink is made with aran weight (heavy worsted) at a gauge of 4.5 sts per inch (18 sts = 4"/10cm) and is a small kids hat with 80 stitches cast on. Same stitch pattern worked on both hats.They look slightly different. They feel Really different. The sock wool hat is very, very stretchy and soo light. I did it with a 50 gram ball and have some left over (although that's the same for both hats actually). The heavier weight hat took a nanosecond to knit while the sock wool hat took the time it would take to knit one sock. You might think that the size makes a difference in the time taken to knit the two hats since one is for a small child and one is for a large child but the sock wool hat for a small child would still need 120 sts. And it would still take you a while to knit that up.

When I write out the pattern it will read the same for both hats except for the number of stitches cast on (which depends on the yarn you choose) and the height of the hat before beginning the crown (which depends on the size of hat).


This is my new idea for a hat booklet. Showing the same pattern in different weights of yarn so you can choose your yarn first and then pick the number to cast on to get the hat and size you need. Start by rummaging through your stash or strolling through your local yarn store and pick something fabulous you would like to knit your hat in. Then go to the pattern from there. Opens up all kinds of options I think.

Do you think this makes a good project?

-Deb

4 comments:

  1. to your question the answer is Yes

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  2. Definitely yes. My kids usually pick out the yarn they want for a hat, then I have to find an appropriate pattern. That can sometimes take longer than picking out the yarn!

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  3. YES
    (not that my teenager will wear a hat these days)

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  4. This is exactly the kind of pattern I love!!! Will you do a book of hats etc. that offer the option to use different yarns? Hope so! samm

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