The seasons are changing, that is for sure. The egrets are back and spring is in full bloom. NCAA basketball’s March Madness, finished in April, just as Major League Baseball’s opening day rolled around. Hockey season will finish next month? The first full moon following the vernal equinox brings us both Passover and Easter this week.
On my own personal calendar, I’ve finished hat and scarf season and switched to socks!!!
Since I finished the FrankenSocks/Sockzilla quartet of socks last August, I have been wrapped up (pun intended) with the Vienna scarf, two blue hats and two green scarves for Ski and company, two argyle hats (different colors), two lace hats (different sizes), two zigzag striped hats (different colors), a basket weave scarf, and a cowl, which is a cross between a scarf and a hat. I finished the hat season, with my 2009 Concept Hat. (The Auto Shows have their concept cars, I have my concept hat.) Ta-da, the Gear Head Hat! The picture shows its inspiration and the top view. If you want me to string you along with whole yarn of its design, please read on. For the rest of you, Happy Spring!
The Gear Head hat is designed to match the Marquis’s Sockzilla socks, since I had leftover yarn, and he is my favorite gear head. 😉
1. Swatch the maze pattern from the sock cuffs, using two strands of yarn.
2. Decision point. Knit in the round, casting on 140 stitches, or sideways with 18?
Sideways wins, since if I did run out, I’d have a nice bookmark or cell phone cozy. With the edges’ tendency to roll in, it looks like a cardigan for a snake!
3. Sew the band together end-to-end,
4. Pick up stitches on the bottom edge and add the ribbing. First time, I added an increase every 5th stitch. This makes it ruffle, so I rip it out, and redo it without the increases. I had slipped the edge stitches to make it easier to pick up from the edges.
5. Pick up stitches on top edge, and knit the top. I probably should have done a few more rows before starting the decreases. I’m going to add ear flaps, later.
(Place 8 markers, evenly spaced. A) Knit until 2 stitches remain before marker, K2Tog.
B) Knit next round without decreasing.) End on a decrease row (A) before cogs.
6. Cog row pattern is done in contrasting color, over a 4-stitch repeat. Leave a long tail.
A. P3 on RS. Turn work, P3 on WS. Continue turning the column, K3 on RS and P3 on WS, ending on K3 row. (I used 6 rows following initial purl row.) Purl 4th stitch in group. Repeat around hat. This will give you the first part of cog stitch, a series of columns.
B. The next row is done on the wrong side of hat, so you will be going back and forth instead of in the round. The long tail you left will be used to sew up the gap. Continue working in contrast color. Using a cable needle, place the needle through the three stitches you purled on RS at beginning of column. These three stitches will be joined to the stitches on the top DPNs by K2Tog each picked up stitch with its partner. Knit the 4th stitch. Repeat around all the columns.
C. Switch back to main color, and knitting in round on RS. Do decrease row, knit row and 2nd decrease row from Step 5a and 5b. Repeat cog patterns as many times as you can stand it. Then finish decreases in main color until 8 stitches remain. Run thread the 8 stitches and weave ends in. (Oh, I left out part about going to yarn store to buy more of the gray yarn when I ran out. Rats!)