Husband Hat Quasi-Pattern

I had a request for the Husband Hat pattern, so here is what I did, to the best of my recollection. My memory is crappy, and I don't take very good notes, but hopefully you can improvise from what I do remember.

Yarn: one skein each Paton's Classic Wool in black and olive, or any felt-able worsted weight yarn

Needles: size 8 16 in. circular and DPN's, and a size H crochet hook

I didn't pay any attention to gauge whatsoever. Sorry.

Using the black yarn and circ. needle, cast on 114 stitches- my husband has a big ol' Fred Flintstone head (23 7/8") so you might need to cast on less.

Place marker, join, being careful not to twist, and work in stockinette for about nine inches or so- again, this should be adjusted by the size of the wearer's head. Felting makes knitting shrink by about 30%, so make it that much longer than you would normally have it.

Decrease for the crown, switching to DPN's when necessary:
Round 1. (K17, K2tog) around
Round 2. K
Round 3.(K16, K2tog) around
Round 4. K
Round 5. (K15, K2tog) around
Round 6. K

Continue in this fashion, knitting one less stitch before the k2tog in every other round, until you get to the (k2, k2tog) round. Skip the knit round and go straight to (k1, k2tog) around. Then k2tog around, and cut yarn leaving a long tail (about a foot). Thread the tail onto a needle, and draw through all stitches twice. Pull tight, and fasten yarn to the inside of the hat.

Ear flaps:
Mark where you want the ear flaps to be. I did this by putting it on my hubby's head, and noting where his ears were. Again, I added a little to account for the felting.

With right side facing, pick up and knit the number of stitches you get from that (I think I got 13), and knit in stockinette until your flap is square.

To form the point, stay in stockinette and decrease one stitch each row until you have three stitches remaining. Bind off. Repeat for the other flap.

Edging:
Stick a slip knot on your crochet hook and single crochet around the edge of the hat.

At this point, weave in any ends and you're ready to felt!

I threw it in the washer on the hot cycle with a pair of jeans, and pulled it out before the spin cycle. I rolled it in a towel to remove most of the excess water (the spin cycle makes it too fuzzy). Then I threw it in the dryer to shrink it further. Check it's progress often, and stop when it's the right size. I let it dry completely on a bowl on the kitchen counter.

Once the hat was completely dry, I added the braids to the flaps. To attach them, I threaded yarn right through the fabric so it was sort of folded in half, and braided them together. You can do it before and felt them, or make crocheted chains or whatever you want.

Good luck!

Update 2- The Sequel

I am so sad that Thanksgiving is over. We had an awesome feast with all the trimmings, which also provided meals on Friday and Saturday. There was football, and pie, and a Christmas movie (Mixed Nuts) to start the holiday season off. I'm already looking forward to next year.

On to knitty things! I already mentioned the garter scarf is finished:

And I'm also done with the hat for my (other) brother in law...

The colorway made a goofy pattern, but I'm going to go with it. I started some fingerless mitts but I may start over, as I'm not entirely thrilled with the pattern I chose.

And here is the cabled wrap I started... so far I like it.

It's knit up with the angora I was going to use for the Buttony Sweater. Silly me figured that the gauge would be the same if I used the same needles, but I didn't realise how much cables pull in. So the wrap is a smidge narrower than planned, but still okay.

I also started the Brother in Law Sweater v. 2.o last week, and already finished the back without too much effort. If I put my nose to the grindstone, I think I can bang out the front by tonight. It's going so fast, I may start using chunky weight yarn for all my future sweaters! Again, the sweater is a smidge big, but this time it's sort of on purpose- the pattern gives finished chest measurements for 41" and 45" and the BIL has a 40" chest. I didn't want to make the 41" and have it be too snug, so I went with the 45". Time will tell if this was a mistake, but I figure I may be able to do some creative seaming to cinch it in a bit to make up for the difference.

On Friday, the husband went camping with a friend, leaving me to my own devices. I had received an email informing me of a sale at my favorite yarn shops, Eleganza yarns, so that's exactly where I headed.

I picked up some Regia sock yarn...

Some Garnstudio linen yarn...

and six skeins of Noro Silk Garden...

I planned on using the linen for some washcloths, and giving them for Christmas with some nice soaps. I have no idea what to do with the Noro, but I loved the colorway and had to have it.

One last thing (because I love to brag)- we still haven't turned on our heat. I think we might be able to make it to December. Granted, it was like 70 degrees outside last Wednesday, but now it's back down to the typical highs in the forties. The poor dog is constantly squirming his way onto our laps to stay warmer. I may have to knit him a sweater.

Now, if I am going to polish off the front of that sweater, I had better get going!

Monday Night Quickie

Just a quick update... I finished the body of the sweater for my brother-in-law a few days ago. And it's huge. What is it with me and sweaters coming out huge (whether I swatch or not)? Husband tried it on, and it was big (but not silly big) on him. He kept trying to convince me it would be fine, but I just don't believe him. There's not enough time to frog and start again, so I went to Plan B: get some Wool-Ease Chunky and make a different (faster) sweater. The old sweater will eventually be finished and given to the husband.

I finally finished the scarf for my father-in-law, pictures will be posted later. It turned out pretty well, but I won't buy that yarn again- it was from a local spinner/dyer. The blue dye rubbed off on my bamboo needles, so I had to switch to aluminum, which I friggin' hate. And the dye still turned my fingers blue every time I knit. When it was done, I let it sit in a sink of cool water with a little vinegar, so hopefully that either set the dye or rinsed off the excess. I just hope it won't turn my FIL's neck blue. Or worse, his clothing. That would suck.

I started another hat for my other brother-in-law, and am nearly done with that. I want to knit something to go with it, but what? Maybe some fingerless gloves?

I also started a wrap, which I'm super excited about. I designed it myself, and wrote up the pattern and everything. If it doesn't suck, I'll post the pattern here when I'm done. It's also my first attempt at cables, and so far it's going pretty well. I found out I hate cable needles, and have been using a DPN (soooo much easier), but otherwise cables are easy breezy.

Time for bed now. Tomorrow is Cleaning Day and Wednesday I'll be making pumpkin bread and giving the dog a bath (he is seriously stinky), then Thursday is Thanksgiving! Yay! It's my absolute favorite holiday by far. I'm so excited! So expect a decent post (with pictures) sometime this weekend.

Hats (I Finally Finished Something!)

I finally finished the hat for Scott! Finishing it gave me a much needed boost in confidence, but it was a close call. I had tried to knit it big enough to felt- about 30% bigger. I crocheted the green trim, and threw it in the washer. But when it came out it had barely shrunk. Crap. I nearly gave up at that point, but Scott suggested putting it in the dryer to see if that would shrink it more. So we tossed it in, and when he pulled it out it was perfect. The knitting gods had smiled upon us.

And I don't think I ever posted a picture of the finished hat for my father-in-law for Christmas.

It looks better on a head than in the picture. The scarf is still coming along, slowly. I don't know what I was thinking with a garter stitch scarf (could anything take longer?) but I feel like I'm too far into it to rip it and start over. Oh well.

The body of the brother-in-law sweater is nearly done, I'm about an inch from starting the ribbing at the hem. So far, so good... I just hope it will fit! I'm trying to dig my heels in and get going with all this Christmas knitting. I hate how time goes so fast this time of year.

I had a crazy-awesome dreamy moment last weekend, as the husband and I were driving around West Virginia looking at cheap real estate. Scott mentioned a house he saw for sale in Sharpsburg MD (near Antietam- very old, very far, very red). He said part of the house was separate, and had been used as a business. He said something about how it would make a good knitting studio, and maybe one day a yarn shop... how awesome would that be? I could sit and knit all the time, and be surrounded by yarn. Mmmm. Maybe one day.

A Case of the Sickies

I've been sick the past couple days. It started out as a cold, but yesterday I woke up with the full-blown sickies. And today I am in recovery. Somehow, lazing around on the couch for two days makes me feel even crappier. I sort of want to jump up and run outside screaming.

I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago for a physical, and had the bright idea of also getting a tetanus booster (thanks for planting that seed, MSN). Did you know that tetanus shots are notoriously painful? It felt like a gremlin was chewing through my arm for the better part of a week. I also got the HPV vaccine, at the behest of my doctor. I told her repeatedly that I didn't need it, as I'm married and neither of us bangs other people. But I think when you're young and married (and got married young), everyone assumes you'll be divorced in a manner of months. Eventually, I figured it's free (to me- insurance covers it) so why not.

So I've felt continuously shitty for about a week and a half. I hate going to the doctor. And I'm not getting another tetanus shot unless I have an unfortunate run-in with a shiv.

I started knitting a hat for the husband yesterday... just a basic hat in black Lion Brand wool. I think I'm going to add earflaps later. I'm still slowly chipping away at the sweater, and I've got about 6 inches left on the body. I expect to get a second wind at that point. That's all I got for now.