Stand-Out Charlie Becomes a Silly Hat
A couple posts back I showed you some Cotswold yarn I bought from Wild Geese. It's a lustrous 2-ply Aran weight ... but as I was going over it to take the photo I discovered a "Stand-Out Charlie" - an oddball looking skein. A slightly darker shade of natural with a much tighter twist and different look. I set it aside because I could never use it with the rest of the lot. There was something appealing about it though so I kept it out where I could see it. It kept saying to me "I want to be something different!". I told it it would have to wait until I finished some other projects first. I can't cope with too many things on the needles at once - really! 4 or 5 is my limit - and even that gets a bit "I'll never finish anything" discouraging. Anyways, I finished the handspun gift-hat, the Finn wool sweater and the Kyla mitts. Charlie had waited long enough!
Charlie felt rugged to me - kind of "rough and ready", not silky and tame like the rest of the skeins. Charlie, I was sure, could tolerate some abuse and come back smiling.... so I found the perfect pattern - the "So You Think You Can" lace hat a friend of mine found on Ravelry. (I'm sorry I can't post the link but I'm not "on" Ravelry so don't know where to find it. My friend was kind enough to just email me the pattern.) But that's not all I had in mind - I wanted to use beads on this hat - mini crow beads - which are fairly heavy but sparkly. Yes! Charlie was going to be really different!
Before I started though I wanted to unravel the mystery that was Charlie. Even in this pic you can see the difference in color. What's more, Charlie is a 3-ply not a 2-ply. Charlie also has about 14 twists per inch compared to only 7 for the 2-ply Aran. Yup! Charlie was a stand-out!
Then I did something I seldom do - I swatched!! (sorry if that word offends some of you!) but before you faint, it wasn't a "real" swatch - I just had a super long tail left after I cast on the 96 stitches the pattern called for. The original pattern called for a cotton-blend yarn (NOT gonna happen!). I was pretty sure Charlie was the right weight - but after all, this was a hat, intended for a human head, not a doll or an elephant, so I knit a strip 15 stitches wide and about 2 1/2 inches long and the gauge was close enough for my math calculations.
Next I started threading beads. I find wrapping the end of the yarn with a bit of scotch tape makes a perfect threading end.
In my usual fashion, I didn't count them, I just piled them on until it looked like enough. I hadn't really solidified in my mind where I wanted to put them in the lace pattern which makes it a little hard to know how many to string... (d'uh!) I pulled out quite a number of yards of yarn, divided the beads into 3 groups and then spaced the beads at the beginning, middle and end of the yarn pile.
I knit the ribbing in 1x1 and knit through the back loop of the knit stitches. I like the effect and it makes the ribbing really pop! Then on to the lace pattern... done not very well, the first few rounds I must admit. I changed my mind half a dozen times as to where to put the beads. I finally decided to put them on the middle "seam" of the lace point - slip 2, knit one, pass the 2 slipped stitches over. I put the bead on the "knit 1" and slipped the slipped stitches over one at a time. It really secured and framed the beads and made quite a nice row. Since ripping out was not a part of the written pattern I knew not to do it. I simply took a pair of jewelry pliers and broke the beads that were in the wrong place. I won't mention that this was partly due to mistakes in the lace pattern... that would be too embarrassing.... or like admitting I actually had to cut the yarn twice more and string more beads because I was too lazy to count them. Each time I was sure I wouldn't have to do it again, I mean, I strung a lot of beads this time - how many could it take???
By the second lace repeat I finally had the lace pattern pretty much under control. The only thing I wasn't so sure about was that the pattern called for 4 repeats. The diameter of the hat was fine but somehow 4 repeats was starting to sound rather long for a human hat..... nevertheless, the pattern was right about not giving instructions for ripping out so I knit along and completed 4 full repeats before doing the decrease-to-cast-off rounds. I deeply regret that I didn't take a picture of the hat before I washed it. Unwashed, it looked a bit scrunchy and lumpy, but pretty much the right size for a moderate to small head.
I ran lukewarm wash water which quickly turned grey when I immersed Charlie. Several rinses later, Charlie emerged squeaky clean and much softer... and much too long, unless maybe you're related to the Coneheads (old Saturday Night Live reference - if you're over 35 you'll get it! LOL!!)
There really wasn't anything else I could do but undo the cast off and rip back to the end of the 3rd pattern repeat.... my apologies to Susan Chang who wrote the pattern! I know ripping out wasn't part of it!
For those of you with weak constitutions, just skip over the next picture - it's too horrible for words.....
There were only 5 decrease-to-cast-off rounds so I ripped back until the hat was about as long as I wanted it to be, when finished, then cast off again. Victory!! And it walked off on DD #2's head because the beads matched her jacket - how did THAT happen?? I was planning to wear it myself!
Charlie felt rugged to me - kind of "rough and ready", not silky and tame like the rest of the skeins. Charlie, I was sure, could tolerate some abuse and come back smiling.... so I found the perfect pattern - the "So You Think You Can" lace hat a friend of mine found on Ravelry. (I'm sorry I can't post the link but I'm not "on" Ravelry so don't know where to find it. My friend was kind enough to just email me the pattern.) But that's not all I had in mind - I wanted to use beads on this hat - mini crow beads - which are fairly heavy but sparkly. Yes! Charlie was going to be really different!
Before I started though I wanted to unravel the mystery that was Charlie. Even in this pic you can see the difference in color. What's more, Charlie is a 3-ply not a 2-ply. Charlie also has about 14 twists per inch compared to only 7 for the 2-ply Aran. Yup! Charlie was a stand-out!
Then I did something I seldom do - I swatched!! (sorry if that word offends some of you!) but before you faint, it wasn't a "real" swatch - I just had a super long tail left after I cast on the 96 stitches the pattern called for. The original pattern called for a cotton-blend yarn (NOT gonna happen!). I was pretty sure Charlie was the right weight - but after all, this was a hat, intended for a human head, not a doll or an elephant, so I knit a strip 15 stitches wide and about 2 1/2 inches long and the gauge was close enough for my math calculations.
Next I started threading beads. I find wrapping the end of the yarn with a bit of scotch tape makes a perfect threading end.
In my usual fashion, I didn't count them, I just piled them on until it looked like enough. I hadn't really solidified in my mind where I wanted to put them in the lace pattern which makes it a little hard to know how many to string... (d'uh!) I pulled out quite a number of yards of yarn, divided the beads into 3 groups and then spaced the beads at the beginning, middle and end of the yarn pile.
I knit the ribbing in 1x1 and knit through the back loop of the knit stitches. I like the effect and it makes the ribbing really pop! Then on to the lace pattern... done not very well, the first few rounds I must admit. I changed my mind half a dozen times as to where to put the beads. I finally decided to put them on the middle "seam" of the lace point - slip 2, knit one, pass the 2 slipped stitches over. I put the bead on the "knit 1" and slipped the slipped stitches over one at a time. It really secured and framed the beads and made quite a nice row. Since ripping out was not a part of the written pattern I knew not to do it. I simply took a pair of jewelry pliers and broke the beads that were in the wrong place. I won't mention that this was partly due to mistakes in the lace pattern... that would be too embarrassing.... or like admitting I actually had to cut the yarn twice more and string more beads because I was too lazy to count them. Each time I was sure I wouldn't have to do it again, I mean, I strung a lot of beads this time - how many could it take???
By the second lace repeat I finally had the lace pattern pretty much under control. The only thing I wasn't so sure about was that the pattern called for 4 repeats. The diameter of the hat was fine but somehow 4 repeats was starting to sound rather long for a human hat..... nevertheless, the pattern was right about not giving instructions for ripping out so I knit along and completed 4 full repeats before doing the decrease-to-cast-off rounds. I deeply regret that I didn't take a picture of the hat before I washed it. Unwashed, it looked a bit scrunchy and lumpy, but pretty much the right size for a moderate to small head.
I ran lukewarm wash water which quickly turned grey when I immersed Charlie. Several rinses later, Charlie emerged squeaky clean and much softer... and much too long, unless maybe you're related to the Coneheads (old Saturday Night Live reference - if you're over 35 you'll get it! LOL!!)
There really wasn't anything else I could do but undo the cast off and rip back to the end of the 3rd pattern repeat.... my apologies to Susan Chang who wrote the pattern! I know ripping out wasn't part of it!
For those of you with weak constitutions, just skip over the next picture - it's too horrible for words.....There were only 5 decrease-to-cast-off rounds so I ripped back until the hat was about as long as I wanted it to be, when finished, then cast off again. Victory!! And it walked off on DD #2's head because the beads matched her jacket - how did THAT happen?? I was planning to wear it myself!
This hand-knit hat is so pretty as I like what you've done and the colours are so pretty.You should've choose beads in the colour of your coat though so then your daughter wouldn't steal it.It looks nice and warm though.
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Thank-you! I'm glad you like it!
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Gorgeous! You need to make one for you now.
What the heck did I send you?? 3 ply...natural...hmmm...maybe a skein of one of the 3 ply sock blends I had, there was one with corriedale that looked kind of like that.
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Lucky dd#2
I love the addition of the beads.
Doris
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I think I have it! Does it have kind of a spring, and feel sort of cottony?? If so, it's Shropshire. (I was restocking and found some in the corner that I never did get listed)
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Charlie is indeed a very springy crimpy yarn that likes to grab himself. Superb stitch definition even after washing. I'll have to be careful not to felt him. Charlie came in the first lot of Cotswold I purchased, not in the second, most recent batch. Before washing Charlie felt rather scratchy but softened considerably after washing. So am I confirming or confusing??? Sorry to be so slow to reply but I'm nearing the end of 'year-end' and it's very time absorbing!
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