FO - Short-Row Hat

Wow, I can't believe I've finished another project! Quickie projects are great, though I really would like to work on and finish something more substantial. I actually had a reason for knitting this hat, though, since it's been pretty chilly around here and all the winter hats I made last year were left at home. Figures it would have been warm today, since I'd finished the hat and could have worn it.

I have yarn for a couple of hats, but since I decided I dislike the beads I bought for my Odessa, and can't find yarn to match my Silk Garden for the entrelac hat, and I had some more Paton's SWS just waiting to be turned into another hat, I went ahead and started on the Short-Row hat from IK's website.

This pattern confused me at first... I'm sure if you had done short-rows quite a bit, it would be no problem for you, and though I've used the short-row technique twice before, I still don't didn't totally understand it. I'm not sure that I could use short-row bust shaping for garments yet... I think I am going to have to work a pattern that includes them to see how it works. But this was really good practice, although my turns are not very well hidden. Some of them look pretty good, but there are some pretty big gaps between the diamonds.

Also, there is a pretty obvious mistake I made, and didn't notice until after I'd not only seamed the hat, but felted a bit and blocked it as well! I don't know whether there's a way to fix it, since I obviously can't rip. This pattern goes really quickly, and definitely does not get boring! The SWS yarn looks beautiful with the diamonds, too.

And didn't I mention somewhere that I felted the hat a bit? Yes, I did... and no, it's not called for in the pattern. The hat came out a little too big. I carefully felted a little bit by hand, trying the hat on in between. It's still a little longer than I like my hats; if I had my way, I'd remove three or four of the garter stitches in the band, since I have to fold them under now anyway. I had to stop felting because it was getting too tight. The felting did another nice thing, too... it made some of the gaps from the short-rows a bit smaller. The hat is very warm (I'm sure that's due to the slight felting), and overall, I'm pleased with it. Despite the obvious mistake I made, I think it will get a lot of wear this year.

Also, I didn't knit the "nipple" at the top, because Dusty looked at the picture of the pattern, and said, "Why is there a nipple on the top of that hat?"

Pattern: Short-Row hat from IK website
Needles: recommended size (7?)
Yarn: Paton's SWS, Natural Geranium, ~1.25 balls
Mods: felted a little, left off the icord thingy

I know, I know... quit babbling, you nut, and show us the pictures!!

Here they are... aren't the color changes beautiful?






This is my attempt to show how much the wonky part sticks out. It's actually in the back of the hat, but I turned it so it would be easier to get a picture.


Here is a close up of the mistake. I don't know what to do about it, other than pretend it's not there. It's pretty noticeable, but since I worked pretty hard on this hat and don't know how to fix it, I'm choosing to not notice it. Haha. Unless you have a suggestion that doesn't involve ripping.

I have one skein left that I am going to use for a scarf. I really do love this yarn!

Oh, and finally fixed the cables on Gatsby Girl. Yay! Now I won't dread picking it up and working on it a bit when I have spare minutes!