The Recession Continues! Free Pattern #3

The Shackleton Hat! For your Recession enjoyment!

Behold, to fit a 21" head! I spun the yarn for this one with one ply of Blue Face Leicester that I dyed bright yellow and one ply spun from a triple-play batt from Spunky Eclectic. I'm pleased with how I was able to make the yarn color progress from yellow-brown to yellow-orange!

How much yarn do I need? Approximately 100 yards of chunky weight yarn. Handspun yarn is perfect, single or multiple plies.

Needles: US #10 16" circulars

Gauge: 3 stitches/inch in stockinette

If you don't get gauge on US 10 needles, or your yarn is too chunky and dense, try going up a needle size and subtracting 4 stitches from the number of stitches you cast on. To make a hat for a really big head, cast on 4 more stitches than specified.

Instructions:

Cast on 52 stitches (48 stitches if you're working at a larger gauge, i.e. fewer than 3 stitches/inch; 56 stitches if you're making this for a really big head). Join stitches into a round, being careful not to twist. Place a marker at the beginning of the round.

Work in knit 2, purl 2 rib for 8 rows. On the next round, change to stockinette stitch (all knit. Just knit round and round) and increase 8 stitches evenly around. You now have 60 (56 for bigger gauge; 64 for really big head) stitches.

Continue to work in stockinette stitch until hat measures 8 inches from the cast-on edge.

After 8 inches, fold the tube you've knit in half and push both halves to the two tips of your circular needle. Bind off the top of the hat using the three-needle bind off technique: place a third size 10 needle (straight or circular, it doesn't matter) through one stitch from each half of your tube (that is, from each end of your circular needle) as if to knit, and knit these two stitches as one. Do the same with the next sttich, and pass the first stitch over this second stitch. Continue in this manner until only one stitch remains. Cut yarn and draw through this stitch.

Make little tassels at the two corners of the hat using four strands of yarn, if you like.


Ta da!

In other news, don't cut apples while watching Maury. That big knife did a number on my left index finger yesterday. Note bandaids. I've managed to customize one that allows me to knit, if slowly.