TWO HATS - The Isolation Hat pattern and the Jason Hat

 

The first hat is the Isolation hate by Thorbjorg Saemundsdottir.  

This was, at the time I downloaded it, a free pattern on Ravelry. The author was at that time in Isolation from Covid-19 hence the name of the pattern. You have to pay for it now but this is the link https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/isolation-hat

Its deceptively difficult to knit this. Or at least I found it difficult.Challenging!

The brim (which should have been wider but I copt out due to finding the seed stitch, which is ribbing but the opposite way round so you K1, P1 then P1 K1 ( in the round this is - flat would be the opposite) on next row and is somehow much more difficult than ribbing to knit) is made from 2 strands of lace weight kid mohair together and the body of the hat is three strands of lace weight kid mohair.Yes still trying to use up my stash.

For me this is a very understated garment - well ignoring that its bright orange and green but the design is in appearance very simple with the band of star stitches going around half the hat at a diagonal. It reminds me of 1920's cloche hats rather than the more common beanie design. Its actually not meant to be so gathered at the top. I cocked it up. I may have to make another of these just because I found it so hard to knit and it does make a nice change from my usual cables and lace and the other more colourful patterns I usually knit. I found knitting it alongside my sockalong and a fairisle jumper ( for Mick so bigger than my usual garments) it went very well and was a relaxing knit until I realised I had somehow missed a star stitch about 30 rows back. Still never mind. I put that right and reknitted etc.

Let me tell you this is hard to knit! I had to rip the body of it back 8 times and the crown I did three times. In the end the crown is not quite the same as the pattern but does work so I gave in at that point. In the end this has a crown similar to the Jason hat which I had already finished so I used that design to get this one to work.

This hat is part of my new "Faery" clothing theme. Now why? Well hard to say. Partly colour, partly design which will work for colder spring days and it will I believe co-ordinate with the watercolour velvet patterns I am currently working with - more later on this fabric and these spring clothes. I think orange and green remind me of daffodils and spring flowers and the design is lightweight, not bulky and very simple so will work with the clothes I am planning.  

Possibly a yellow velvet cushion does not make the best backgound for this colour scheme.

The top is imperfect. I got a bit lost in the directions. I probably should have gone back and redone it again really but 2 months of knitting this was gettinga  bit much and spring has arrived and I want to wear it now not next year. I started this before my Dads Jason Hat (below) which I finished on 23rd December.

The selfie pictures have a different version of the hat really cos I undid the top after that and reknitted it a few days later. My partner could not see the difference but I can. I was just not happy with it as it was. I am glad I took the time to redo it even though all I did was a few more decreases and added one row to the length. I am not so sure you can actually see though!

I also just a few days before Christmas made the Jason hat 

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This was an emergency make and I do not have many photos. My poor Dad was freezing waiting for my Mum outside the shops. Both my parents are in their 80s (well my Mum is 79 till June!) and my Dad is in a wheelchair having lost a leg back in 2011. And because of this he is unable to get ito many of the shops where they live. The shops all have steps which is not very inclusve but just the way it is. So my Mum bought him some piece of rubbish hat which kept sliding off his head. He showed me so when I was visiting the weekend before Cristmas and the wind was bitter outside. So when I went home I set to work making a hat as quick as I could. This hat took me 3 days. I knew I would be visiting them just before Christmas so I rushed this and dropped all my other projects.

The cheap Aldi double knit yarn becomes something a bit special when mixed with lace weight kid mohair.

Its one strand of double knit with a strand of lace weight mohair which in theory bulks the double knit out to make aran. I was happy with the ribbing but I think the hat itself was a bit thin. My Dad has said though its perfect and it keeps him warm so thats what matters. Maybe at some point I will make him another one.  It was very cold at that time and I did not want him to wait so this was not a Christmas present because he needed it immediately. It would have made a good present though but next time I will use two strands of mohair on the body part to make the body thicker. If I make another one.

No pictures on my Dad I am afraid. Just a couple on Dolly who lives in the conservatory and goes back to my market trading days. I used to make a sell soap and tie dyed T shirts at festivals and markets. Ah I miss that life but it really was so hard to pay the bills then. But it was free. Or at least I felt I was free then. Now I am not.

The top decreases really evenly and sensibly hence when I got stuck on the Isolation hat I referred back to this and despite this was on 5mm ( I think from memory) and the Isolation is on 3.5mm the same idea worked well.

The Jason pattern is free and its from here: http://sweetfiberyarns.com/blog/2015/11/22/jasons-cashmere-hat

There are some other really nice patterns there as well. Most you have to buy but I think its worth it sometimes.

For now though both of these hat patterns were free when I got them and both are really nice. I have only ever before knitted one other hat back in 2016 and it was a pixie inspired hat.

Ah and a baby hat but I cannot post pictures of my friends baby here so that will remain a mystery 😀

Maybe I should do another Isolation hat but with the pixie top next time? I have no idea how I achieved that it was competely ad-libbed but I should be able to do it again.  There is shapig all down it to make it like a flower bud and the stem bit on the top. Sometimes when I look back I am amazed at what I have done. Not sure if its repeatable yet though but I will write everything down for my next version.

Though I think thats probably it for hat knitting till summer at least. Now I know it will take me 2-3 months for a hat I should start knitting in Jue or July I suppose.

Take care and enjoy your week,

Bracken