big button beret

While waiting for the yarn to come in so I could start the 2016 temperature afghan, I pulled out a WIP started in July of last year.

The pattern is the Big Button Beret from the Adventures of the Gingerbread Lady blog, July 2010. http://gingerschatz.blogspot.com/2010/07/pattern-big-button-beret.html

I used the Knit Picks Felici yarn colorway Time Traveler. You know I had to have that yarn. LOL It's special reserve yarn made in Italy and the colorway is only available at certain times. It is fingering weight, 75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon, 218 yards / 50 grams. That is just over 1.7 ounces. I used about 1 1/2 skeins which is about 2.5 ounces for my hat. Note I have a small head so you may use more if you work this pattern.

I used an F crochet hook.

I haven't put a button on it though I'm thinking about it. :-)

I tried to take selfies of myself wearing it. I'm not great at selfies. Also, the lighting wasn't great. Of course, the model is not great. Those are my excuses. I am wearing it as a slouch hat. Note the Adipose earrings my husband made for me. :-)

The pattern is fairly simple to work. You just have to keep track of how many double crochets between the increases and decreases. There are lots of pictures to help too. Although I don't often work with fingering yarn, I found this a nice change. 

I worked this pattern before with Patons Kroy Sock variegated yarn in Cyan Stripes. Here's a pic - from January 2011. (The Gingerbread Lady herself commented on that post!)

In my blog picturing the previous hat I commented about the join. "One of the things I love about this pattern is the start of round. Rather than ch 3 and then work double crochets, the designer has you ch ONE, then work a dc in the same stitch." I want to add that I now use this method almost exclusively when I'm working in the round. 

Great pattern! Well done!

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

chemo hats

I was asked to make a few chemo hats for a local lady and of course happily agreed. 

Here are two I've made so far. 

The first pattern is from The Gingerbread Lady. It is her big button beret without a button. Though it is not a difficult pattern, the result using the variegated yarn is just beautiful. Of course, that's just my opinion. Here is a hat I made years ago using this same pattern. It is one of my favorites and it was hard to give up.

Here is the hat I made over the past couple days. My model took the day off. LOL 

The bottom brim is folded up in the picture. The yarn is the lovely Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable. The wrapper says this is worsted yarn and to use a J hook. IMHO that is just totally ridiculous. This is at the most a sport yarn and I would even go down to a #2. 

I used a G hook but could easily have used an F. I've been having this skein a while and it was also waiting for a special project. This was it. I think it is the Parrot colorway. I can't lay my hands on the wrapper right now. 

I worked the rounds of the pattern until there were 11 dc between the decreases. This made it close to 12" . Then I worked the decreases until it fit my head snugly. Now I have a small head. If it is too small for the recipient, I think I can undo the work even rows and last decrease to make it wider though I might have to work fewer rounds as there is only a tiny ball of yarn left. The skein is 270 yards (3.5 ozs, 100g). 

The other one is made with another skein I picked up at Michael's one day and had put aside for something special. It is Isaac Mizrahi Carlyle (super bulky) in colorway Algonquin. A flower may be added to it. I'm not sure what color would bring this out best. 

The yarn is pretty soft but the design of it is different. There are what I would call clumps every now and then. These are hard to get through the stitch when you're trying to sew the tails in. This is not an error in the yarn. It is throughout. I didn't realize it when I started out so hopefully the bumps won't cause a problem when worn on a head with no hair.

I used a K hook which seems to work fine. The recommended hook is M. I worked the rounds in double crochet as follows: 12, 24, 36, 48, 54, then work even. I worked even for 7 rounds, then added 3 rounds in single crochet. So it's a total of 12 rounds dc and 3 rounds sc.

I hope to get more soft yarn and make a few more so there is some variety and also figuring at least one would fit the head comfortably.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie