2/14/2003

I had a couple of questions about the pattern for this stripy hat. I can't say that there's much of a pattern to follow, but here's what I did. This is a kid's hat, you could easily make it for an adult though. Got bits of yarn sent from Kerrie :). I'm not sure where she got them, but you could easily take bits from your stash or dye with Kool-Aid or whatever.

To get a range of colors from Kool-Aid: mix maybe 4 packages of KA with a bit more than a cup of water. Put 1 TBSP. mix into one cup, 2 TBSP in a second, 4 TBSP in a third and 8 TBSP in a fourth. Add water to the cups to make them 3/4 full. Think I'd use coffee cups. Add wetted mini-skeins (maybe 15 yards each) of LionBrand Fisherman's Wool to each one. Microwave 2 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes. If dye hasn't all been absorbed by the yarn, nuke it again. Allow to cool, then rinse. Do a second batch of four in another color. Wait impatiently for them to dry. Put them in the oven with only the pilot light on.

Lay out the mini-skeins starting with the darkest of the first color, then the lightest of the second color and so on, ending with the darkest of the second color. Cast on with the first yarn an appropriate number of stitches for your head. In this case it was 82 since it was worsted weight and the hat's about 16 inches around. I worked it flat with a seam up the back, but round/dpns would be fine too.

Work in ribbing of choice for the first color, when it runs out, switch colors and switch to stockinette. Work in St. st. for approximately 3 inches. When a color runs out, switch to the next one, but always switch at the beginning of a row and keep leftover bits nearby. If you are working flat, k19, ssk, place marker, k2 tog, k36, ssk, place marker, k2tog, k to end. Purl back. On all following RS rows, make a decrease on either side of each marker. Purl all WS rows with no decreases.

When you are down to your last few stitches, run the remaining yarn through all the remaining stitches, pull snug and fasten yarn. Sew up hat. Use remaining bits of each yarn to make tassel.

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