Introducing the Inside-Out Hat

Note: Permission was obtained to use images of the book in this post.

A package arrived today. Have I told you how much I like receiving packages?


Special delivery


Rrrrrrrrrippp!

It's here! It's here!


10 Secrets of the LaidBack Knitters:
A Guide to Holistic Knitting, Yarn, and Life

And on page 40 is...


Inside-Out Hat

The Inside-Out Hat started out with 2 ideas, reversible and warm. I had seen patterns for hats that were knit with 2 layers, basically 2 hats joined at the bottom edge and one hat pushed into the other. I took that idea and ran with it. I used 2 coordinating colors and created a striped brim. Then I added a cool design element (well, I think it's cool), eyelets that let the inside layer show through. Of course the hat is reversible so it's really 2 hats in one.

I knit a prototype in a newborn size and hadn't sized it up or done much else with it so it sat in my stash for quite a while. Then Lisa Souza contacted me and let me know about the book that she and Vicki Stiefel were working on. Would I be interested in submitting a pattern? I didn't know what they'd think of my little hat, but I sent photos and boy were they interested! They asked for a child's version and an adult version.

I ended up delivering a pattern in 5 sizes along with 2 samples. There's nothing like a deadline to make you finish something, you know?

So here they are, the Inside-Out Hat in the child size & adult size.


Inside-Out Hat - Child


Inside-Out Hat - Child



Inside-Out Hat - Adult


Inside-Out Hat - Adult


The name of the pattern makes me smile, because now I have an Inside-Out and an Outside In.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't let you know the rest of the book looks fantastic. The Laidback Knitters share their secrets for knitting and life in a fun and casual style. Reading it makes me I feel like I'm sitting in a room talking with them. The other patterns are amazing and come from the talented minds of Norah Gaughan, Sivia Harding, Rosemary Hill, and Brenda Patipa to name a few. Somebody pinch me! Strike that. If I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up.

It's the little things

I've been pretty stressed out at work, so I've been in need of quick gratification from my knitting basket (and some relief from the stress of crocheting the same sleeve for the 4th time--that's a story for a future post).

Last weekend I started a little sock for a little boy in Phoenix. The Bobaknitters gave me advice about how many sts to cast on and I proceeded with Ann Budd's pattern for the heel and toe.

A couple of days later, I had these:


I made the cuffs a little long so they could be folded down.

Yarn: Lisa Souza Sock! Merino, Color = Petroglyph, approx 14gms / 72 yds
Needles: US1 / 2.25 mm
Pattern: K2, p2 rib for cuff & instep, heel & toe from Ann Budd's Better-Than-Booties Baby Socks (PDF)

The yarn was left over from the socks I made for myself--it's amazing how many yards you get in one hank of Lisa Souza's Sock! Merino.

I still had enough to make a matching hat.

Yarn: Lisa Souza Sock! Merino, Color = Petroglyph, approx 22gms / 112 yds
Needles: US2 / 2.75 mm
Pattern: Newborn (Preemie) Hat sized up to 13":
CO 104sts.
2x2 rib for 1-1/2".
St st until measures 5-1/4" from CO edge.
[K11, k2tog] around.
Knit all sts.
[K10, k2tog] around.
Knit all sts.
Decrease in this manner every other round until 48 sts remain. Decrease every round until 8 sts remain. Cut yarn and pass through live sts.

Work? It'll calm down in ~2 weeks. *sigh*

2006-16: MK EZ Surprise Jacket

Yarn: Approx 90gm Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK
Silver Reed LK-150; Auto-tension 3, Carriage 4
Needles: Addi Turbo 3.5mm/US4 for ribbing
Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmermann hand knit pattern adapted for knitting machines by Alethea Robinson

[Color correction was challenge with these images. Unfortunately the photos had to be taken at night. I did my best with artificial light and flash.]

The sweater is finished and and ready for baby shower this week.

The women at SnB pointed out that the cables form a heart where they meet at the corner, a neat by-product of the design that I hadn't noticed before.


Back


Back detail

Related posts
Planning and knitting the body

Time flies

I can't believe that tomorrow is October 1st. Where did the time go?

A woman at work is having a baby in a couple of months and the shower is soon approaching. Last week I realized that I had to finish whatever I was going to make in a little over a week to allow for mailing and such. What I thought was "plenty of time" turned out to be no time at all.

LK-150 to the rescue.

I ran across this pattern and thought how interesting it would be to make Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket on the knitting machine. I did a test run in 2 colors of cotton to practice the mitered corners and to understand how it came together. I could not get my mind around how the sweater folded into shape until I had the actual sweater in front of me. Armed with an iron, I folded and pressed and soon had this.

What an ingenious design!

Believe it or not, I couldn't find the right yarn in my stash so I had to go shopping--and I came home with Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK.

I planned and charted, then I swatched (man, that Cashsoft is like butter!) and planned and charted some more. Yesterday I was knitting, and today I'm blocking.

The 2x2 cable goes down the front, through the mitered corner, across the back (changing twist direction at the center back), and up the other front.

As I'm pinning it down, I'm stretching one front and compressing the other to make them match. What gives? I used the row counter--it should be completely symmetrical. Huh. Let's count the cables.

Aargh. 10 on one side, 11 on the other. A few rows before the neck decreases will have to go before the ribbing is done.

So how did it happen? I felt something was wrong when the top cable didn't cross on the same row as the cable on the other side, but I thought the cables were offset by a row. Unfortunately that's not the case. I think there's a flaw in the adapted pattern. You can see in blue & white practice sweater that one front is longer than the other.

But the good news is that I should have this finished in time. Unless of course I just jinxed myself by saying that!

Pattern: Newborn (Preemie) Hat

7/15/08 update: Pattern details on Ravelry
10/27/2007 update: Added 13" hat instructions.
12/09/2007 update: Decrease description changed to "spiral".

Description:
The hat is worked in stockinette st with a spiral decrease and a turned up ribbed cuff.

The 10" size is small enough to fit newborns in developing countries--consider it a preemie hat.

If you are knitting for Caps to the Capital, make the 10" hat and follow the guidelines in their Action Kit (PDF download) and use a smooth, washable yarn.

Materials:
Approx 17 (23) gms sock weight yarn
Set of five 3.0mm DPNs or size needed to obtain gauge
Waste yarn for tubular cast on (optional)

Size: 10" (13") circumference

Gauge: 8sts/inch in stockinette

I like a Tubular Cast On for a stretchy edge and have included instructions below.

If you'd rather use a different cast on method:
CO 80 (104) sts, join in the round and proceed to the instructions for the Cuff.

Tubular Cast On
Using waste yarn, cast on 41 (53) sts onto one needle.
Row 1: Using the project yarn, *k1, yo* repeat between *'s until 1 st remains, k1. Turn. 81 (105) sts
Row 2: p1, k1, *sl1wyif, k1*, repeat between *'s until 1 st remains, p1. Turn. 81 (105) sts

The cuff will now be divided onto 4 DPNs and joined in the round.
Round 1: *k1, sl1wyif* 10 (13) times. 20 (26) sts on Needle 1.
Onto an empty needle, *k1, sl1wyif* 10 (13) times. 20 (26) sts on Needle 2. Repeat for Needles 3 & 4.

Transfer the one remaining st from the last needle in the round onto the Needle 1, making it the first stitch of the round. 21 (27) sts on Needle 1; 20 (26) sts on Needles 2, 3, & 4.

Round 2: Make sure the round is not twisted. K2tog to join in the round, p1, *sl1wyib, p1* repeat between *'s around; 80 (104) sts total.
Round 3: *K1, sl1wyif* repeat between *'s around.
Round 4: K1, p1, *sl1wyib, p1* repeat between *'s around.
Remove the waste yarn.

Cuff
80 (104) sts total.
*K1, p1* repeat between the *'s until the cuff measures 1-1/2" from the cast on edge.
Note: I like the cuff in a k2, p2 rib for the larger size.

Hat
Knit all rounds until the hat measures 5" (5-1/4") from the cast on edge.


Crown decreases
Round 1: *K8 (11), k2tog* around, 72 (96) sts.
Round 2: Knit all sts.
Round 3: *K7 (10), k2tog* around, 64 (88) sts.
Round 4: Knit all sts.
Round 5: *K6 (9), k2tog* around, 56 (80) sts.
Round 6: Knit all sts.
Continue decreasing every other round in this manner until there are 48 sts total.
Decrease every round until 8 sts remain. Cut yarn and pass the end through all 8 sts. Weave in the ends and turn up the cuff.

Abbreviations
k: knit
p: purl
k2tog: knit 2 stitches together
sl1wyif: slip 1 st purlwise with yarn in front
sl1wyib: slip 1 st purlwise with yarn in back
st: stitch

Newborn caps

Top to bottom: Lana Grossa Meilenweit, Trekking XXL #90, Elann's Sock It To Me Colori in Seadrifter

Knitting for a good cause, Caps to the Capital. Each hat uses about 17gms of sock yarn and only takes a few hours to make.

2006-08: Baby "UGG" Booties

Pattern: "Suede" Booties from Knitty Gritty
Yarn: Berroco Suede and Crystal Palace Kiddo
Needles: Sole-Denise US5; Uppers-Denise US6; 3st i-cord-Inox US4

Quick to knit, these booties were cast on and finished in a day and a half.

The fake suede was from a trade with Spinnity--she got a lace book and I got 2 partial balls of Berroco Suede. One was the color used for the boot uppers. The second ball was a variegated colorway with the dark brown, a reddish brown, and a light tan. The variegated yarn allowed me to knit parts of the boots in different colors--the soles in dark brown, and the ties in the reddish brown--and I really like how they turned out.

The pattern also calls for Berroco Plush, but the 2 stores that I went to didn't carry it. Emy at Commuknity found a substitute for me, Crystal Palace Kiddo. It's a bit hairy as you can see in the photo, but a quick trim with some scissors will fix that.

I wanted to add ties to the booties to help keep them on the little one's feet, so I improvised and added an eyelet row and i-cord. Unfortuately my handy dandy i-cord maker couldn't handle Berroco Suede, so two 16" i-cords had to be knit by hand. Ugh. Or should I say UGG?

I thought the ties dressed the booties up enough so I opted to not add more "shearling" trim across the instep and down the sides. There's just one word for these, CUTE!

Soon they'll be on the feet of a little boy in Idaho. Hope they send photos.