Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Lined Thrummed Hat

My father has always maintained that he is never warm and will never be warm.  In an effort to help him be not as cold, I made a thrummed hat for him for Christmas.  The hat is lined so that the thrums do not agravate people or cause bad hair days with the static.



Lined Thrummed Hat  (pdf available on Ravelry)

Materials: 220 yards worsted weight yarn – I used almost 1 skein of Cascade 220 Superwash

1 ¼ to 1 ½ ounces roving – I used 2 ½ pigtails from Greenwood Fiberworks

Needles: DPN’s and 16” circular – US size 8 or size needed to obtain gauge. I recommend using 5 dpn’s – this will make increasing and decreasing easier.

Gauge: 4 ½ stitches and 6 rows = 1 inch



Instructions:

Using DPN’s cast on 8 stitches, join, being careful not to twist.

Increase rounds:

Round 1: Knit 1 front & back (kf&b) around ( 16 stitches)

Round 2 and all even rounds: knit around

Round 3: (k1, make 1 (m1), k1) x 8 (24 stitches)

Make 1 by inserting the left needle from front to back under the strand between the last stitch and the next stitch and place it on the left needle. Knit it through the back loop. 

Round 5: (k2, m1, k1) x 8 (32 stitches)

Round 7: (k3, m1, k1) x 8 (40 stitches)

Round 9: (k4, m1, k1) x 8 (48 stitches)

Round 11: (k5, m1, k1) x 8 (56 stitches)

Round 13: (k6, m1, k1) x 8 (64 stitches)

Round 15: (k7, m1, k1) x 8 (72 stitches)

Round 17: (k8, m1, k1) x 8 (80 stitches)

Round 19: (k19, m1, k1) x 4 (84 stitches)

Switch to the 16” circular, placing a marker at the beginning of the round.

Knit every row (plain stockinette) until piece measures 6 ½ inches from last increase.

Purl 1 round (this will be the turning round)

Knit 1 round plain.

Increase round: (k6, kf&b) x 12 (96 stitches)

Knit 1 round plain.

Begin Thrum pattern.

Round 1: (k3, place thrum) repeat to end of round

Rounds 2, 3, & 4: knit

Round 5: (k1, place thrum, k2) repeat to end of round

Rounds 6, 7, & 8: knit

Continue in thrum pattern until 9 thrummed rounds have been completed (you’ll end on round 1 of the pattern).

Knit 1 round plain.


Begin decrease rounds, switching to dpn’s when necessary:

Round 1: (knit 2 together through the back loop (k2togtbl), k10) x 8 (88 stitches)

Round 2 and all even rounds: knit plain

Round 3: (k2togtbl, k2, place thrum, k3, place thrum, k2) x 8 (80 stitches)

Round 5: (k2togtbl, k8) x 8) (72 stitches)

Round 7: (k2togtbl, k2, place thrum, k3, place thrum) x 8 (64 stitches)

Round 9: (k2togtbl, k6) x 8 (56 stitches)

Round 11: (k2togtbl, k2, place thrum, k2) x 8 (48 stitches)

Round 13: (k2togtbl, k4) x 8 (40 stitches)

Round 15: (k2togtbl, k2, place thrum) x 8 (32 stitches)

Round 17: (k2togtbl, k2) x 8 (24 stitches)

Round 19: (k2togtbl, place thrum) x 8 (16 stitches)

Round 21: k2togtbl x 8 (8 stitches)

Thread tail through remaining 8 stitches and pull tight, leaving tail on the outside. Check that your cast on tail is on the knit side of the hat.

Fold hat at purl round, putting lining up into hat and matching the cast on point with the bind off point.

Using a tapestry needle and bind off tail, sew the top of the hat to the top of the lining. Tie end of bind off tail to cast on tail, weave in ends.

If desired, tack the lining to the outside closer to the turning round.


Thrums:

Thrums are thin pieces of roving (unspun wool) about 2 -3 inches long and about the width of a pencil. They provide extra warmth and insulation.

To place thrums, fold a thrum in half and loop around needle in place of working yarn. In the next round, knit thrum, pulling ends down if needed.

© 2010 by rosegil

This pattern is for your personal use. Please do not use it for mass production. If you have any questions, please contact me via Ravelry.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

10 Things I Have Learned

While getting ready for Christmas this year.

  1. Anise Oil crystalizes at 59 Fahrenheit
  2. Rose Water has a very interesting flavor
  3. French vanilla pudding, while very tasty, is not the best choice for a peppermint pie
  4. A can of pie filling will work well to crush candy canes
  5. The Bookery is an excellent place to do Christmas shopping
  6. It is much better from a sanity point of view to pick things up throughout the year
  7. Things would be much less stressful when one sticks with the original gift idea
  8. I really do need to improve my aim with a dart gun
  9. December isn't the best time for holiday concerts
  10. There is knitting wrapping paper