Cable Chevron Hat

Cable Chevron Hat

The inspiration for this hat was simple: our neighbors keep blowing the snow out of our driveway, and my husband suffers from a monumental guilt complex about it. So he asked me to make a hat for the man across the street, presumably to keep his head warm while he's taking care of our snow... 

Update 12/24/2014: I have had a few comments that this hat has ended up on the small side, when finished. As a cabled hat worked in large yarn, it will definitely get a bit tighter than gauge. Therefore, I highly recommending working it on size US 11 needles if you're making it for a large head, and to double-check gauge! Furthermore, this yarn is very sturdy and chunky, and doesn't compress much. If you're working with a fluffy fiber, you may need even larger needles to produce the correct result. Or, you could simply cast on 12 extra stitches, for a total of 84 rather than 72. This modification will change the finished appearance of this hat very little :)

Yarn: Berroco Blackstone Tweed Chunky (65% Wool, 25% Superkid Mohair, 10% Angora Rabbit Hair; 60 yards [55 meters]/50 grams); #6656 Narragansett - 2 skeins

The back. Pretty, no? (in a manly way of course)

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size 9, one 16" circular needle in size 10.5, one set of double-pointed needles (dpns), also in size 10.5, and a cable needle (cn) or double-pointed needle for cabling

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker or scrap yarn to mark row

Gauge: 13 stitches = 4 inches

Using your size 9 needle, cast on 72 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Knit six rows in a k2, p2 ribbing, and then switch to your size 10.5 circular needle. Now, we'll get started on the main pattern, which is Cable Chevron from page 290 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. And it goes like so:

Diagonal Weave Cowl

Diagonal Weave Cowl

So here's the deal; I was so inspired by the yarn-mixing of my Little Bowknot Hat that I finally allowed myself to buy another one of the loner skeins of clearance yarn I've been dying for (in this case, the Berroco Versa, which is a light chunky-weight cotton acrylic blend that comes in sort of a knit tube, if you're looking for something similar). And I have to admit that I've very pleased with the results of this pattern, especially considering how little yarn I used, and how fun it was to knit. Worked with an asymmetrical line of eyelets, then, the Diagonal Weave Cowl is a great opportunity to combine a couple of stash skeins into a striking project.

A close-up of the weave pattern itself.

Yarn: Schachenmayr Ragge Yarn (70% New Wool, 30% Polyamide; 87 yards [80 meters]/50 grams); #102 Cream (color A) - one skein & Berroco Versa (50% Cotton, 50% Acrylic; 81 yards [75 meters]/50 grams); #3671 Travertine (color B) - one skein

Needles: One 24" circular needle in size 8, and one 24" circular needle in size 10

Notions: Tapestry needle, two stitch markers or scraps of yarn to mark stitches

Gauge: 16 stitches = 4 inches

So let's do this! Using color A (for us, the cream) and your size 8 circular needle, cast on 100 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Knit 3 rows in a k2, p2 ribbing, placing your additional stitch marker after you've worked 49 stitches. Slip marker when you come to it during your ribbing rows, and transfer piece to your size 10 needle when you're finished with this. Knit one row around, still slipping extra marker when you come to it.

Kids' Blue Ice Beanie

Kids' Blue Ice Beanie. Taken while my husband was removing a certain
scratchy jammy tag.

Why did I name this hat the Blue Ice Beanie? Well, definitely not because I was inspired by one of the singles off of indie pop group Shout Out Louds' 2013 release. Whatever I named it for, however, I knit the toddler version of this hat with the yarn I had left over from the Little Bowknot Hat, and it's another medium-weight, springy hat. I also recommend that you knit it on smaller needles than I did if you've got a one-year-old in mind (I knit the toddler version on size 7s, and you could probably go down to size 4 - 5 for a 1-year-old, gauging down your ribbed band as well). Anyway, let's get started!

Sizes: Toddler (Youth) - Toddler is roughly ages 1 - 3, and Youth is roughly ages 4 - 10

A clearer picture of the pattern.

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn VITA (85% Recycled Cotton, 15% Recycled Cashmere; 136 yards [124 meters]/50 grams); #120 Blue Mist (color A) - one skein & Plymouth Yarn Grass (65% Cotton, 35% Hemp; 115 yards [105 meters]/50 grams); #9088 Multi (color B)

Needles: one 16" circular needle in size 5, one 16" circular needle in size 7, one set of double-pointed needles (dpns), also in size 7

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 20 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette on size 7 needles

And now that we've gotten the details out of the way, let's get to the pattern. Using color A and your size 5 circular needle, cast on 90 (96) stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round. Knit 3/4" (1 1/2") in a k1, p1 ribbing and then switch to your size 7 needle and knit one row around. And then it's time to begin the main pattern, which goes like so: