I'm a Designer!

I'm also very easily impressed with myself. I posted a link to the Melinda Hat on Ravelry. I am now a designer. Woo hoo!

I worked on the prototype a bit during school today. Students were impressed. Does that mean the hat has trans-generational appeal?

I should work on tweaking the numbers now for true bulky yarn.

Melinda's Chevron Hat from Ghost Whisperer on 11/23

So, I wonder how many knitters were watching last Friday when Melinda and Jim were camping. "Suddenly from across the land came up the cry, 'I want that hat pattern!'" First problem, no one could find any good still photos from that show. (Oops, okay, someone found one and there it is.) Second problem, no one else understood our collective angst. I'm sure others have come up with a pattern; here's mine.

This is very much "in progress" as I had to work with the yarn in stash. Luckily, I still had some Noro Kureyon, so I played with that. Remember I knit loosely. YM Will V! You may want to tweak numbers, as in change the caston count and the number of stitches on the flat sides of the chevrons for thinner or bulkier yarn.

So, let's get started already! On size 5 needles (or whatever you're comfortable with), cast on 84 stitches. Join, being careful not to twist, yada yada. Mark the first stitch, moving marker as needed.

Row One: Knit

Row Two: Purl

Row Three: Knit

Row Four: Purl

Row Five: Knit

Row Six: Purl

Rows Seven AND Eight, and all subsequent even rows: Knit.

Row Nine, and all subsequent odd rows until you're ready to decrease: *increase by picking up and twisting the bar between the stitches, k1, increase by picking up and twisting the bar between the stitches, k5, double decrease by slipping the next two stitches TOGETHER as if doing a k2tog, knit the next stitch, pass the slipped stitched back over the knit stitch so that the center of the three is stacked on top, k5* repeat between ** five more times, end k1 (the loop from the first increase) and slip marker showing beginning/end of round. BTW, if you want to throw in a purl row instead every ten rows or so, it looks pretty cool. On the "hat in question", there was a purl row about six rows up from the edging.

When the resulting tube is about ten inches long (otherwise known as "long enough"), begin your decrease rows on an odd row.

Decrease Row: Just don't do the increases! *Knit to one stitch before your DD line. Slip the next two stitches together, knit the next stitch, and pass the slipped stitches over.* Repeat around. Knit one row even.

Continue in this manner (switch to dpns when you need to) until you have completed the round that is k1, DD around. K2tog around. Cut the yarn, leaving yourself a generous tail. Thread a yarn sewing needle and go through all the remaining loops. Let them come off the needle and snug up the yarn. Work the needle through those final six loops again if possible, then go down through the "donut hole" in the center of the gathered stitches and sew in your end on the inside of the hat. Do the same with any remaining tail at the beginning.

Voila hat!

Another Sunday.

Thanksgiving is this Thursday. We're still waiting to hear from Bill and other Alaskans about their intended arrival time at HIA. (It's a good thing that I can take yarn and knit while waiting!)

Sissy spent three weeks at "grandma camp" and did a good job scaring mice, not so good a job at actually catching any. Next thing we're going to try is rotating "kitty blankets" between Saltillo and Helltown in an attempt to keep a cat smell in the house.

I did frog the sweater mentioned in the last post and turned it into four pairs of mittens of various sizes. I'm going to try to get them in the mail to the reservations, along with at least one pair from the Knitivity yarn I got a few weeks ago. Off to knit!