The Hat

One of my favorite new artits, Ingrid Michaelson, has a great song, called The Hat. It starts out:

I knitted you a hat of blue and gold
To keep your ears warm from the Binghamton cold
It was my first one it was too small
It didn't fit you at all
But you wore it just the same

Many people may argue that I only like Ingrid because she has a song about knitting, but seriously, she is really wonderful. I also completely know the feeling of making a hat for someone and having it turn out a little ... off. I've been knitting for pay recently, trying to raise money for the Breast Cancer walk I am doing in November. Those things have been turning out really well, but I just finished a hat today that I think may not be wearable. Boo.

However, Tuesday night, I was lying in bed, and was suddenly struck with an incredible idea for a hat. I spent 20 minutes trying to convince myself that I would be able to start it in the morning, but I couldn't sleep. I got out of bed, cast on, and started knitting. Less than 48 hours later, I had made my first hat, completely from my own pattern.



Pattern : Lightening, mine
Needles: Size 8 circular
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver, black and grey
Info: Cast on 84 stitches in black. 2x2 ribbing for 6 rows. Herringbone chart pattern, repeated 4 times. Divide stiches into 11 parts, knitting in black, knitting last 2 of each section together every other row.




This hat was made specifically for me, to fit my super small head. It fits me quite well, but thus far is much too small for anyone else. They would probably need at least one more chart repeat. I finished this hat at 9:40 on Thursday night, and had to go out to show it off. I had several people ask me to knit them one when I wore it out on Thursday.

I'm super proud of it! Charlotte and I are going to do a Red Herring knit-a-long, but I was quite nervous because I had never done stranded knitting. I decided this hat was the perfect opportunity to learn on what Charlotte said was a simple pattern. It turned out incredibly well. My stranding tension was pretty good, and even the inside of the hat looks nice (pictures later)!

That was my promised update, but more will be coming soon!