Monday, August 19, 2013

Leftovers Hats

You know how things are when kids are little... Life is not easy!  It is blessed, that for sure, but it can get quite complicated, especially with 2 babies (my second son was born when my first was 18 months old)...  So we didn't think of holidays much back in those days, I have to be honest...

But a couple of years ago, my husband and I decided our boys were big enough to travel comfortably, so we started travelling as a family.  Oh, what wonderful times we've had together!

We have always gone to cities where it is really cold, so as I looked through our photographs, I noticed that we always look the same!  Cause we wear our jackets all the time, in our pictures we are always wearing the same clothes... So I thought that if I made new hats for everyone, 2 or 3 for each, then we can rotate them, and we won't look like all our pictures were taken the same day.

If you have travelled as a group, you might know that it is important not to loose your group, so I decided to use bright leftovers to make matching hats for the whole family.



I am making these using straight needles and knitting them flat.  Once I am done knitting the hat, I sew them and weave in ends, though I must confess I am totally postponing the weaving part :)
Also I'd love to add a neon yellow pompom to each of them, so that I can locate the kids easily in the crowds, but the boys are not too happy with the idea (although they are really tempted by anything neon).  The neon yellow I am using is Tosh DK in Edison's Bulb colorway.



How do I make them?
I CO a certain amount of stitches, I am not being to precise with these.  For the kids' ones, I CO 86 st for the ribbing, and then I worked 4 rows in 1 color and 4 rows in another.  Then I switched to stockinette, increasing about a 20% percent of the stitches (increased to 102).  The stripes are not random, actually they go in a sequence: 4 rows, 2 rows, 6 rows, 4 rows...  when the hat measured 6 inches, I worked decreases for the crown.  I divided the stitches in groups of 10 (I left out 1 stitch for each seam), and I decreased a stitch from each group  every 2 rows.  Then I drew the yarn through the remaining stitches (10) and seamed the body.

As you can see, their hats are done, but now that I've made a couple, I am dreaming of new projects, so my husband's one is currently in this state, and it looks like it's going to stay this way for some time...  I am going through a terrible "startitis" crisis!


Here in Buenos Aires winter is already leaving, and we are having warmer, longer days...  However I always, always dream of new sweaters... I have some Arroyo yarn from Malabrigo that's been calling me for a long time... Long time no Mal on my needles!  I'll have to remedy that soon.

Hope you have a great week!!

~Joji


4 comments:

Karin van der Heijden said...

What a nice hat! Makes me want to make one for my little nephew too :)

Karin

Lori said...

Great way to use up leftovers. And they don't even look like that's what you were doing! Nice job.

GretchenG said...

Cute kids in cute hats! I bet those stripes will stand out in a crowd, even without pompoms.

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog in a link from Mason Dixon. Love your work!! When you make these leftover hats, what needle size do you use? Do you use only the same weight yarn, or varying? Thanks!!