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July 02, 2006
Witterings
Witterings
© Anna Bell, 2006
All rights reserved
Foldable, washable, squashable, a graphic striped cotton sunhat with a deep floppy brim.
Skills
Stocking stitch, working in the round, increases, slipped stitches, kitchener stitch
Materials
DK Cotton, 50gm (85m). I used Rowan Handknit DK for the white and Jaeger Aqua for the black.
A (black) 2 balls
B (white) 2 balls
Set of 5 x 2.75 mm (US 2) dpns
2.75 mm (US 2) circular needle (80cm)
Stitch marker
150 cm (59 inches) 5mm cord
Laundry starch
80 cm (31 inches) millinary Petersham or grosgrain ribbon
toning sewing thread
tailor’s pins
Size
To fit womens’ size medium 57 cm (22.5 inches)
Gauge
After blocking, 6 sts to 2.5 cm (1 inch) knitted in the round.
Stitch instructions
St st: Stocking (stockinette) stitch (knit every row)
tbl: through the back loop
Kfb: Knit into front and back of stitch (1 st increased)
sl: slip
wyif: with yarn in front of work
Instructions
Working with cotton at a tight gauge is hard on the hands so take it gently, especially at the hem of the brim where the stitches are very cramped on the needle. Instructions state a tubular cast off for the neatest finish, butif you can't face all that sewing, a three-needle bind off will be effective.
Crown
With yarn A, cast on 8 sts and distribute evenly between 4 needles. Join for working in the round. Place stitch marker at beginning of first round and slip marker with each subsequent row. Work on dpns until needles become crowded, then change to circular needle.
Round 1: K all sts.
Rnd 2: (kfb) across all sts (8 sts increased). 16 sts. Join yarn B and work next 2 rows in B
Rnd 3: K
Rnd 4: (K 1, kfb) across all sts (8 sts increased). 24 sts. Change to yarn A
Rnd 5: K
Rnd 6: (K 2, kfb) across all sts (8 sts increased). 32 sts. Change to yarn B
Rnd 7: K
Rnd 8: (K 3, kfb) across all sts (8 sts increased). 40 sts. Change to yarn A.
Cont in stripes of two rounds, working 8 increases on second row of each stripe as set ending with an inc row of yarn B and 88 sts.
Cont with stripe sequence but now working increase rows on yarn B stripes only (every 4th round), ending with an inc row and 136 sts.
Cont in stripe sequence without shaping for 18 more rows (ending with yarn A).
Next round (yarn B): K all sts
Next round: K all sts tbl.
Change to yarn A and rpt last two rnds.
Inc rnd (yarn A): (Ktbl next 15 sts, kfb into next 2 sts). Rpt across all sts (16 sts increased). 152 sts.
Brim
Change to yarn B and revert to 2-round stripes for brim.
Round 1 and all odd-numbered rnds: K all sts.
Rnd 2: (K 18, kfb) across all sts (8 sts increased). 160 sts.
Rnd 4: (K 19, kfb) across all sts (8 sts increased). 168 sts.
Rnd 6: (K 20, kfb) across all sts (8 sts increased). 176 sts.
Cont in stripes of two rounds, working 8 increases on second row of each stripe as set until brim measures 8.5 cm (3.25 inches), ending with an inc row of yarn A. 272 sts.
Edge
Break off yarn B. With yarn A, Kfb into every stitch (544 sts). Turn work so wrong side is facing you. From here on you will work back and forth across the stitches, turning at the end of each row, instead of working in the round.
Row 1: (K 1, sl 1 wyif) across all sts.
Row 2: (K 1, sl 1 wyif) across all sts.
Rpt rows 1 and 2.
Leaving a long tail, break off yarn A and work tubular (sewn) cast off as shown here: http://autoscopia.com/amelia/archives/2006/06/tubular_sewn_ca.html
Finishing
Wet-block hat around circular form approx same diameter (or slightly less) than your head. This entails tying the base of the crown firmly around the form with string, and spreading the brim out flat around it.
When the hat is totally dry, cut millinery Petersham to fit comfortably around your head, plus a 2.5 cm (1 inch) overlap. Sew ends together to make hat band. Pin band in place on inside of crown, and sew in position along lower edge only.
You may choose to add more structure to the brim by threading 5mm cord through the hem opening. I used cotton laundry line: a plastic fibre core with woven cotton outer, and pinned a safety pin through the end to feed it through. Bind ends of cord tightly together and sew hem openings shut around join.
Apply laundry starch to brim only following manufacturer’s instructions.
For an even stiffer brim, you could use milinery wire which is designed for just this purpose, but that may mean you can no longer fold the hat.
Posted by Amelia at July 2, 2006 01:23 PM
Comments
Too Cute!! Really just fabulous!
Thanks so much for the pattern.
Posted by: Leah at July 2, 2006 03:36 PM
oh my goodness... the picture is gorgeous! love the hat. thank you for sharing the pattern!
Posted by: blossom at July 2, 2006 03:43 PM
That hat is absolutely brilliant!
Posted by: Claudia at July 2, 2006 04:01 PM
This is really nice, and it's so cool of you to offer it for free.
Posted by: Wanett at July 2, 2006 04:09 PM
anna, this is the cutest hat ever! love the picture as well; will you keep the weather like that for us until august?
Posted by: kris at July 2, 2006 04:21 PM
great hat! Thanks for creating & sharing the directions.
Posted by: heather at July 2, 2006 04:28 PM
Wonderful picture!
The hat is lovely, thanks for the pattern1
Posted by: Mandy at July 2, 2006 04:38 PM
Love it! Thanks for the pattern- I just know I'll feel better about the heat if I'm wearing a hat like that!
Posted by: Mary-Heather at July 2, 2006 04:53 PM
What a great idea! I am mulling over other striping possibilities...The photo is elegant, too.
Posted by: Birdsong at July 2, 2006 05:10 PM
Wow! I love this! This is exactly what I need to keep the sun out of my face while we're canoeing/beaching. I love that it's knit at a tight gauge which will be good with keeping the sun out. Thanks for sharing another unique pattern with us. :)
Posted by: Liz at July 2, 2006 05:23 PM
Lovely hat!! Thank you so much for making this a free pattern. Must make some for my small nieces - they are completely hat crazy. Thanks!
Posted by: Maria J. at July 2, 2006 05:31 PM
This is so lovely! I only wish I had time to knit one up before I leave for the carribean tomorrow!
Posted by: Leah at July 2, 2006 05:39 PM
what a great looking hat! very cute!
Posted by: erica b. at July 2, 2006 06:46 PM
Thanks for sharing the payyer, it looks great!
Posted by: Aija at July 2, 2006 07:05 PM
I think it's so cool that you knit that! I am definately adding it to my list of things to make.
Posted by: Joan at July 2, 2006 07:39 PM
I could have really done with that today as we sat on Hampstead Heath in the sun. I amsure that I have some Cotton DK somewhere that would be perfect for that.
Posted by: Amelia at July 2, 2006 07:46 PM
Very pretty pattern! You're inspiring me to go see what I have in the stash that would work.
Posted by: keri at July 2, 2006 08:11 PM
WOW!! That's so cool!! Love you even more for sharing the pattern ;)
Posted by: yuvee at July 2, 2006 08:28 PM
Wow, that looks lovely! Someone should paint you in that hat. Thanks for sharing the pattern.
Posted by: Anne at July 2, 2006 08:35 PM
Beautiful picture and great hat!
Posted by: Leslie at July 2, 2006 08:37 PM
Beautiful! And the hat is pretty cool as well!
;O)
Posted by: knittingnurse at July 2, 2006 10:04 PM
Fabulous photo! Lovely floppy brim on the hat too
Posted by: erin at July 3, 2006 12:44 AM
Lovely photo and lovely sunhat. I've added yet another of your beautiful patterns to my list of projects. Let's see if I can finish this one before its season is over!
Posted by: Bottom at July 3, 2006 02:16 AM
I was reading British Vogue (just Vogue to you, I would guess), and I thought of you when I saw that hat. I also thought (after suffering in the sun at a flea market), "I really need hat with a floppy brim", and viola! You have delivered. Thank you!
Posted by: Gina at July 3, 2006 02:44 AM
This is really lovely! Thanks for the pattern!
Posted by: Siow Chin at July 3, 2006 03:23 AM
Wow, it's gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing the pattern - what a perfect summer hat!
Posted by: Carrie at July 3, 2006 03:39 AM
What a fabulous summer hat! Love that color combination. Thanks for sharing the pattern!
Posted by: joy at July 3, 2006 04:26 AM
Wow, that's such a beautiful hat!
It's so generous of you to share the pattern, thanks a lot! I can just see lots of these blooming around soon.
Posted by: stefana at July 3, 2006 05:06 AM
Thanks for sharing, Anna. The hat is darling! And you look so stylish in it, even from the back. ;)
Posted by: lorinda at July 3, 2006 06:36 AM
I love it! And want one immediately.
Posted by: Noo at July 3, 2006 11:57 AM
Wonderful. Just what Eliza Dolittle/Audrey Hepburn would have worn to the beach.
Posted by: Jane at July 3, 2006 12:27 PM
Wow - that's just awesome. Thanks so much for sharing the pattern - I'm going to have to try this one.
Posted by: Elizabeth at July 3, 2006 04:22 PM
Oh Anna, you're too good to us! The hat is lovely. And if I'm right in guessing you're on holiday in West Wittering, I hope you're having a lovely time.
Posted by: Philippa at July 3, 2006 04:40 PM
Lovely! I've been looking for a pattern like this, and here it is! Thank you, all I have to do now is to actually knit it!
Posted by: Distant Knitter at July 3, 2006 08:25 PM
That's a great hat! I wish I didn't have carpal tunnel. Maybe I could knit it if I did one round a day? ;)
Posted by: Maryann at July 3, 2006 10:07 PM
What a fab hat, I shall be raiding my stash to make one. Thank you!
Posted by: Jacinta at July 4, 2006 07:09 AM
Thankyou so much for the pattern Anna, it's very generous of you, and the hat is gorgeous, something lots of people could wear.
I love the photograph, you could be sitting on a cloud, such a stunning backdrop. You take a lot of time and put thought and effort into your photos, which really adds to the appeal of your blog.
I'm waiting for my order of Alchemy synchronicity to arrive in the post from Loop in London, because I'm going to start your Sargeant Pepper Jacket. It's cost a fortune, but will be worth it, the colours will sing, it's very exciting.
Posted by: Vanessa at July 4, 2006 09:36 AM
What a wonderful and creative project! I can hardly wait to try it--and use up some nice brown and white cotton yarn I've had in my stash for year. Thanks so much for an innovative pattern.
Posted by: marjorie at July 4, 2006 07:36 PM
I LOVE that picture! Where in London is there a sunny sky like that??
Posted by: Christina at July 5, 2006 04:53 AM
Hi! I have started to knit witterings, and I think there is a little mistake:
for the 2nd round, if I knit (K 1, kfb) across all sts, there are 4 sts increased, and not 8. And so on for round 4, 6. So, should 1 knit kfb across all sts for round 2, in order to have 8 sts increased, and K1, kfb for round 4, etc?
Posted by: la.ptite.lili at July 5, 2006 07:45 AM
Oh, and I forgot to say thank you for sharing the pattern! ^_^
Posted by: la.ptite.lili at July 5, 2006 07:47 AM
Thank you so much for sharing this fabulous pattern.
Posted by: carol at July 5, 2006 02:41 PM
Oh Anna, that's beautiful! Must make some for the kids! Do let me know about the email I sent you yesterday as well when you get a minute. x
Posted by: kerrie at July 5, 2006 02:43 PM
OMG! Anna! So fabulous. I love the photo as well. Hurrah!
Posted by: Julia at July 5, 2006 03:02 PM
That is a great hat! And a great picture as well! Thank you for sharing the pattern!
Posted by: hege at July 5, 2006 04:10 PM
super cute! I love the photo too.
Posted by: Diana at July 5, 2006 07:25 PM
This is so impossibly cute, I'm considering making one! Seriously!
Posted by: grumperina at July 5, 2006 09:08 PM
The hat is awesome; thanks for posting the pattern!
Posted by: Sara at July 5, 2006 11:06 PM
Um, excuse me, did you Photoshop your back? because it is STUNNING. I have never seen such a lovely back.
(Hat? what hat? Where?)
Gosh, you have a nice back.
(Aside...is anyone else concerned about my apparent crush on Anna's back? I seem to have been dealt a leveller, and I've never been so lost in admiration of someone's back...I'm a bit worried about it, actually.)
Posted by: Shannon B at July 6, 2006 07:03 AM
Thank you, Anna! The patten looks lovely and I am so pleased that you shared it with us. You look very elegant in it!
Posted by: Robin at July 6, 2006 04:48 PM
I'm just terrible with summer sun hats. I abuse them something awful, so a squishable, washable one like this will be just perfect!
Beautiful design AND picture.
Posted by: Siri at July 6, 2006 06:08 PM
that is an ABSOLUTELY gorgeous photo of you!
and a pretty cute hat too :)
Posted by: stinkerbell at July 8, 2006 11:00 AM
God how I wish I had a back like that! The hat is gorgeous also.
Posted by: Claire Birtles at July 8, 2006 11:29 PM
Thank you for that great pattern! :)
Posted by: Isabelle at July 20, 2006 05:41 PM