Easy As Pie Crochet Hat Recipe

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Main Entry: easy as pie

Synonyms: duck soup, easily done, easily managed, easy as can be, like falling off a log, like shooting fish in a barrel, like stealing candy from a baby, no sweat, simple as ABC.

Use this recipe to make an easy crocheted hat in any size (literally).

What you need:

• Approx. 100 g, 220 yds (201 m) of almost any yarn. You might need more if you are using a very bulky yarn.
• Hook to suit yarn – check your label or make a gauge swatch and see how you like the fabric (you don't want it too dense or stiff, but not too loose or else it's not very warm)
  

Mmmmm, pie.

Instructions:

Chain enough sts to fit around your head (or the recipient’s head). 
Now you get to count all those little guys!  

Your chs should be a multiple of 6 + 1. 

Make sure the string doesn’t fit too tightly – you should be able to comfortably fit a finger or two between your head and the string. This takes a little bit of intuition since wool has a little bit of ease whereas some fibres, like cotton, have no stretch or give.

Using a slip st, join your string in the rnd. Try not to twist your chs. 

Work a sc in every st around. 
Note: I usually like to insert my hook through both loops, depending on the project, but you should do what feels right for you.

Keep working in a spiral (just keep single crocheting, see Note below) until your hat measures approx. 4” for a baby, 4.5” for a child and 5” for an adult. (Use your judgement and instincts to find the right size – if you try your hat on, it should look like an oversized headband with the crown of your head just peeking out.)

Note: Usually, to work a crochet rnd, you would ch1 at the beg of each rnd and then sl st into that ch when you come back to the beginning to keep everything straight. Some people find this easier so that they can keep track of their rows - for a hat like this, though, I like to keep it simple. However you prefer to do it, just make sure you aren't skipping chs and gradually making your hat smaller.

Decreases:

Use a scrap piece of yarn to mark the beg of the rnd. Slip it as you go.

Rnd 1: *work 5 scs, sk one st*, rep from * to * to end of rnd.

Rnd 2 (and all even rnds): work sc in each st around.

Rnd 3: *work 4 scs, sk one st*, rep from * to * to end of rnd.

Rnd 5: *work 3 scs, sk one st*, rep from * to * to end of rnd.

Rnd 7: *work 2 scs, sk one st*, rep from * to * to end of rnd.

Rnd 9: *work 1 scs, sk one st*, rep from * to * to end of rnd.

Rep Rnd 9 until you run out of sts. If it looks like your hat is getting too pointy at the top, omit the even numbered rnds from the last few inches of the hat.

Cut yarn and weave in ends.

Get Creative:

• Add earflaps
• Tassels (twisted or braided)
•  Add a little brim
• Trim (hold yarn double stranded and single crochet around the bottom)
• Pom Poms!
• Hold two strands together for entire hat (see photo, bulky weight wool with a variegated fingering weight)
• Make patterns, designs or stripes by combining scs and dcs
• Slouchy (make the body of you hat longer before you begin the decs)  

Check out: fakefoodonline.com....for some reason I find this really funny...in an amazing way. Can you believe that pie is fake? 

Knitting Outside the Lines

My last post was a little silly, but it's time to get down to brass tacks and talk about designing knitwear. I work for a fantastic yarn shop where I write, teach and in my spare(?) time, knit! 

www.knitandcaboodle.ca 

This article was originally published in our monthly newsletter.

 

Titan's Stole

I began designing my own knitwear for one reason only: control. Despite the availability of remarkable patterns, I am incapable of following instructions to the letter. Or maybe I'm just a control freak. But whether you are creating something from scratch or altering an existing pattern, here’s why I think you should get your creative juices flowing too... 

The first reason is obvious. We are all shaped differently. Sometimes it’s necessary (albeit kinda scary) to alter a pattern to fit your specific form. Long arms? Big bust? Slender shoulders? Most patterns can easily be adapted to accommodate every figure. Consider how much time, energy and money is being invested in that garment - it is usually worth it to take a bit of risk in order to get a better fit in the end. And most mistakes are re-doable (the beauty of knitting and crocheting).  
 

The second reason is also a no-brainer. By altering a pattern or creating your own, you will get the FO that you want. How many times have you looked at a design and thought, “It would be perfect if it weren’t for that hideous _______ .” One of my favourite things about designing is seeing how people change my patterns to suit their own needs and tastes.

The third reason to relax your grip on those instructions is to give yourself confidence as a knitter. You will have an immense sense of pride and satisfaction when you complete an object that you created yourself from start to finish. 

Titan's Stole

Some things to consider before casting on:

1. Choose your item. First, decide what you want to make. Sometimes you will have a clear vision of what you want or sometimes a yarn or a pattern stitch will inspire something inventive. For my “Titan’s Stole” (see photos) I was inspired by the wrap worn by Io in the “Clash of the Titan’s” movie. For "Oceana Toque" (also crocheted, see photo below) I was asked by a friend to replicate a favourite hat that he had lost. (See links to patterns below.)

Vascular Cardigan

2. Choose your yarn. 

Make sure you have enough supplies for what you want to make. Match your yarn to your project. For example, baby items should be made with yarn that is washable and soft. Also, you don’t want to match a variegated yarn with complicated cables or lace or you will lose the effect of both. For my "Vascular Cardigan", I chose "Smooshy" by Dream in Color because the subtle variations in colour don't overpower the lacey pattern. (Pattern in progress.)

3. Choose your pattern stitch.  

This process is all about experimentation. You might decide that a stitch you saw on a scarf would make a pretty cardigan, or maybe something in a stitch dictionary or calendar caught your eye. For me, I almost always have something in mind and try to figure it out from scratch. Again, there are many considerations when choosing a pattern stitch. Most stitches take on a whole new life depending on the needles and yarn you are using. 

4. Choose your tension. 

Consider what is going to happen to the finished fabric. This is the part where you make a gauge swatch (no excuses!). Just remember, the bigger the swatch, the more accurate it is. Also, try to use the same needles that you will be using for your project. There may be variance between bamboo, birch and steel needles, and also between straights and circulars, even if they are the same size. 

All ball bands should provide an average sized needle or crochet hook to suit that specific yarn. My general (very general) rule is that you should use a slightly larger needle for scarves and shawls (not including lace shawls) to provide a nice drape. For hats and mittens/gloves, I usually go down a size from the recommendation because those are items that you want to be extra warm. (Note: I mean, up/down a size from what your yarn label recommends, not what the pattern suggests.) 

5. Choose your size. 

How wide do you want your scarf? What is the circumference of your head? Measure your gauge swatch and figure out how many stitches you have per four inches. Now you just have to do some simple math to figure out how many cast on stitches you will need. Remember that knitting is not an exact science. Sometimes you just have to take the plunge and see what you get.

Oceana Toque (with or without brim)

It’s true that there is more work involved in creating a pattern from scratch, but here are some tips to help you out:

• Check out similar patterns for inspiration (not to be confused with plagiarism).
• Always write down your process and keep an eraser, calculator and measuring tape nearby.
• Check and double check your math and stitch counts.
• Go with your gut - if it looks wrong or feels wrong, then it probably is.
• Get comfortable with frogging. I have reached the point where I can zen-frog. Just keep reminding yourself that it's all part of the process.  

 Final advice:

• Be patient - anything worth doing well takes time and practice.
• Give yourself credit – designing isn’t easy!

As a post script to the article I would like to add that making up a pattern exactly like the original (as many of us are wont to do as perfection is sometimes hard to improve upon) can be very difficult even if you use the same yarn and needles. Individual gauge, style, and dyelots etc. accounts for a lot of that. Any time you actually alter a pattern you are taking a risk. I am happy to help with any advice you need regarding one of my designs.  

Featured Patterns:

Titan's Stole:

Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/titans-stole

Etsy http://www.etsy.com/listing/59044326/pattern-titans-stole-pdf?ref=pr_shop

Oceana Toque:

 Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/oceana-toque

 Etsy http://www.etsy.com/listing/59044326/pattern-titans-stole-pdf?ref=sr_list_1&ga_search_query=bohoknits&ga_filter=

Stallone Unwinds

"Look, I don't know what you guys put into my cryo-sludge, but when I 

thawed out the first thing I wanted to do was knit!" 

(Oh, Stallone, I know the feeling.)

My boyfriend has a habit of bringing home fistfuls of DVDs. Usually I get all excited only to discover they are macho, Schwarzenegger-infused action films. Now don't get me wrong, I love a little Arnold now and then (child of the 80's, right here). But when I sat down to begrudgingly watch “Demolition Man” for the first time, I decided to knit my way through the grunting, kick-boxing and lame one-liners, and had no idea that Sylvester Stallone would be joining me on the needles.

To my shock and awe, partway through the futuristic film, Stallone - whose character is a tough cop put away in a cryogenic prison for 30 years for demolishing a public structure and accidentally killing 30 civilians - picks up a ball of yarn with two needles stuck through it, and with no explanation whatsoever, begins to calmly skein the ball around his bulging biceps (see first photo). I am fascinated. I am hooked. My needles are idle in my lap. My boyfriend is bored.

 

Cut to the next scene in which Stallone presents his love interest (Sandra Bullock) with a freshly made, bright red, cabled sweater. Cue swoon. (Don’t ask how he managed to make an entire sweater in one night with one ball of yarn or why he was skeining already balled yarn). She is thrilled with the gift, naturally, and explains that while in prison he was “programmed” to knit and sew as part of his behavioral engineering. The knowledge and desire to carry out a skill or trade is implanted while the prisoner is frozen in cryo-prison. The skill is chosen to fit the prisoner’s genetic disposition. Stallone’s trade? Seamstress. 

See how happy she is with her sweater?

Now, any knitter will tell you it’s virtually impossible to knit an entire sweater in one night - especially a cabled number. Consider, though, that Stallone’s character is not only shredded, he has basically been brainwashed. I think his combo of muscle power and brain power speaks for itself. The rest of you are just jealous that Sly can knit faster than you. And if you start to pick apart this movie, you will find it never-ending. Just take it for what it is: a movie about guys blowing shit up with a little knitting thrown in. I’ll take it.