by Dez Crawford
Picture courtesy Brenna Dill
Need to use up some oddballs and small bits? Try Dez’s Wacky Hat. It’s simple. Just a garter stitch earband, with the main body of the hat done in ridges of knit/purl welt. Each band is done in an alternating colour, giving a “peekaboo” effect. I did mine using up a small ball of rainbow variegated and a small ball of royal blue, but of course you can use any two (or more) colours you wish. Contrasting colours give a neat effect, using the darker colours for the purl welts and the lighter or brighter colours for the earband and knit-stitch bands.
Materials and Gauge
Worsted yarn and gauge of about 5 st./in This happens for me on size 8 needles.
Pattern
In colour A (use variegated yarn, a light colour or a bright colour), use a provisional cast-on and cast on 14 stitches. Knit 88 ridges of garter stitch
Take the cast on stitches off the piece of waste yarn and either graft together with the last row or cast-off together, whichever you prefer
Fold this strip in half length-wise so the outside edges are together
Using a darker colour yarn as Colour B, pick up 90 stitches through the edge stitches of both edges. Use a circular needle, of course. This makes a nice, double-thick ear band
Purl five rounds (not counting the row on the needles)
Change to colour A. Knit two rounds (not counting the row on the needles)
Change to colour B and knit one row.
Repeat these two purl and knit welts until you have made 6 purl “ridges” and 6 knit “valleys”
On the last knit round, change to colour B and K7, K2 tog all around.
Change to dpns at the point you feel is appropriate during the decrease rounds. The point is to do the decreases on the knit rounds, where they won’t show.
Purl 5 rounds.
Change to colour A and K6, K2tog all around.
Knit two rounds.
Change to colour B and K5, K2 tog all around.
Purl five rounds.
Change to colour A and K4, K 2 tog all around.
Knit two rounds.
Change to colour B and K3, K2tog all around.
Purl five rounds.
Change to colour A and K2, K2 tog all around.
Knit two rounds.
Change to colour B and K1, K2 together all around.
Purl two rounds. K 2 together all around. Draw remaining stitches together and bind off.
You may add a pom-pom, tassel or other embellishment if you wish.
Weave in all lose ends and wear immediately.
This is a fun, fun hat. It also looks nice in a solid colour for the whole thing. Actually I did one in a solid colour for the prototype.
It occurs to me that for increased silliness you could add several more welt pattern rounds before you begin the decreases. The hat would look rather like Marge Simpson’s hair
This pattern is Copyright © Dez Crawford [email protected] 2000, all rights reserved. Used with permission. Image copyright Brenna Dill 2001