Elements Hat
This is a hat I made. The original idea was to do a four sided hat with each side having a cable pattern for each element: earth, air, fire water. I picked four cable patterns out of a book, did a gauge swatch for stockinette (5 st/inch) and started.
The yarn is Black Water Abbey. I used #4 needles which is MUCH too small for this worsted weight yarn but I wanted a tight fabric that would be kinda stiff. I got it.
I also wanted a liner so the hat would be extra warm.
The entire hat was 100 stitches. Each cable pattern got about 25 stitches with a few stitches moved here & there to accomodate the particular repeat of that pattern.
I made a few miscalculations. If I do this hat again, there are some things I'd do differently.
For the liner, I should have reduced the number of stitches by about 10%. I've done hats like this before I knew that I should do that but I just didn't remember. This was especially important because some of the cable stitches compressed more than others. The Celtic braid especially came out at a MUCH tighter gauge than regular stockinette. While my inside liner was stockinette, the outside of the hat ended up being MUCH smaller. Again, this is something I knew would happen but I just hadn't really thought about it. Next time...
The final result ended up being smaller than I'd wanted. Next time, I'd make a taller hat. I basically stopped when I got tired of doing the cable patterns. I didn't find them all that fun to do, especially the Celtic Braid with all the twists.
I washed the hat and put it on a spool of thread to dry for a couple days. The blocking process helped with size & shape. I will wear this hat. It's quite warm and I like the way it looks.
2003.12
This is a hat I made. The original idea was to do a four sided hat with each side having a cable pattern for each element: earth, air, fire water. I picked four cable patterns out of a book, did a gauge swatch for stockinette (5 st/inch) and started.
The yarn is Black Water Abbey. I used #4 needles which is MUCH too small for this worsted weight yarn but I wanted a tight fabric that would be kinda stiff. I got it.
I also wanted a liner so the hat would be extra warm.
The entire hat was 100 stitches. Each cable pattern got about 25 stitches with a few stitches moved here & there to accomodate the particular repeat of that pattern.
I made a few miscalculations. If I do this hat again, there are some things I'd do differently.
For the liner, I should have reduced the number of stitches by about 10%. I've done hats like this before I knew that I should do that but I just didn't remember. This was especially important because some of the cable stitches compressed more than others. The Celtic braid especially came out at a MUCH tighter gauge than regular stockinette. While my inside liner was stockinette, the outside of the hat ended up being MUCH smaller. Again, this is something I knew would happen but I just hadn't really thought about it. Next time...
The final result ended up being smaller than I'd wanted. Next time, I'd make a taller hat. I basically stopped when I got tired of doing the cable patterns. I didn't find them all that fun to do, especially the Celtic Braid with all the twists.
I washed the hat and put it on a spool of thread to dry for a couple days. The blocking process helped with size & shape. I will wear this hat. It's quite warm and I like the way it looks.
2003.12
