See this hat? It’s too big. I’m going to cut myself some slack, since I actually knit this while I was in (early) labor with my son four years ago. While this may be an exaggerated instance, the fact is that I have knit many hats that are too big for myself or their recipients.
This year I want a hat that is going to fit me, darn it, and not be hanging over my eyes by the end of the season. And since Pam and I have been all talkity talk about gauge (check out episode 1 of knit.fm) I thought why not apply this knowledge, both for myself and for all of you, when I set out to knit myself a new hat!
So I designed this Simple Hat. And along with it, I've created a knit-a-long on Ravelry.
The first hat I knit is the one featured in the pattern, in Osprey. I thought I was going for negative ease, turns out I cast on too large a size and I ended up with no ease. I’m still very happy with the finished results, but I’m going to try again and knit the next size down. For reference my head measures 23” around, this is the 23” size.
My hope is that through the course of the KAL we'll all learn from each other and be able to knit hats that truly fit. Gauge is funny thing, but we're going to wrestle with it together.
What you’ll need to participate in the KAL
Pattern! Knitbot Simple Hat
Yarn! The pattern is written for bulky, worsted and dk weight yarn. That’s right, the one pattern includes ALL three weights. Specifically it features Quince & Co. Osprey, Lark & Chickadee. In my opinion the bulky version of this hat is the best bang for your buck. One skein of Osprey, and I only used about 60% of it to knit the largest size. This allowed plenty of extra yarn to knit my gauge swatch. In fact I knit two, one in the round and one flat both of which I will share tomorrow.
Knowledge! You HAVE to knit a gauge swatch and you’ll need to know the circumference of the head you’re knitting for.
With all this in hand we’ll set out to knit perfectly simple hats, together!
There will be loads more that will turn up in the group, plus I'll be posting here on my website. My dream is that by the end of next week there will be oodles of well fitting hat photos turning up on Ravelry. I do hope you'll join us!
average head circumferences
Baby 16” (Toddler 18”, Child 20”, Adult 22”, XL Adult 24”)
version a: bulky weight
finished circumference 15 (17, 19, 21, 23)” / 38 (43, 48, 53, 58) cm
yarn: Quince & Co Osprey (100% American wool, 170 yds / 155m, 100 g) 1 skein Peaks Ferry #132 OR 45 (56, 70, 88, 110) yds / 41 (51, 64, 80, 100)m of bulky weight yarn
gauge: 14 sts and 20 rows = 4” / 10 cm in St st
version b: worsted weight
finished circumference: 14.5 (16.75, 19.25, 20.75, 22.5)” / 37 (42.5, 49, 52.75, 57.25) cm
yarn: Quince & Co Lark (100% American wool, 134 yds / 123m, 50g) 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skeins Clay #113 OR 75 (95, 115, 140, 170) yds / 69 (87, 105, 125, 155) of worsted weight yarn
gauge: 20 sts and 28 rows = 4” / 10 cm in St st
version c: dk weight
finished circumference 15 (16.25, 18.75, 21, 22.75)” / 38 (41.25, 47.75, 53, 57.75) cm
yarn: Quince & Co Chickadee (100% American wool, 170 yds / 155m, 100 g) 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skeins OR 92 (116, 144, 180, 215) / 84 (106, 132, 165, 197)m of dk weight yarn
gauge: 24 sts and 32 rows = 4” / 10 cm in St st