Witterings
Witterings
© Anna Bell, 2006
All rights reserved, this pattern not to be copied or distributed in any form without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Foldable, washable, squashable, a graphic striped cotton sunhat with a deep floppy brim.
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)
Tension
After blocking, 6 sts to 2.5 cm (1 inch) knitted in the round.
Instructions
Working with cotton at a tight tension 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://needleandhook.co.uk/journal/2006/06/tubular_sewn_cast_off.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.
Price:
Send Inquiry