Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Kaa Hat

Remember The Jungle Book? And remember the python with the mesmerizing googly eyes, Kaa?



I wanted to make myself a hat with some nice cream colored yarn I bought about a year ago that's been languishing in the stash waiting for the perfect pattern. I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I made one up, inspired by the "Eyes of Kaa." It's just what I wanted, and I used stash yarn to boot!

Total Yards: 16,710
Total Grams: 10,479
Number of Skeins: 123.6
Finished Objects from Stash: 2


Robyn’s Brimmed Kaa Hat.
Yarn: Worsted Weight (Berroco Lustra)
Needles:  16” circulars, size US 8 (5mm)

Instructions
Cast on 101 stitches.  Join in the round, knitting first and last stitch together to eliminate the jag. This leaves 100 stitches.
Brim
K2P2 around for 4 inches.  Increase for a larger “roll”.

Body
Make 1 stitch before you start body to allow patter to “swirl”.  (101 sts)
K9, P1 around.
Continue in this pattern for desired length of hat.  Approximately 5 inches is a medium-large size. (I stopped at about 4 because I have a smallish head, but could definitely have gone another round or two)

Decrease
To keep the swirl moving, decrease knit stitches by one (K2tog) every other round until 1 stitch remains for each pattern repeat.
Row 1: K7, K2tog, P1.
Row 2: K8, P1
Row 3: K6, K2tog, P1
Row 4: K7, P1
Row 5: K5, K2tog, P1.
Row 6: K6, P1
Row 7: K4, K2tog, P1
Row 8: K5, P1
Row 9: K3, K2tog, P1
Row 10: K4, P1
Row 11: K2, K2tog, P1
Row 12: K3, P1
Row 13: K1, K2tog, P1
Row 14: K2, P1
Row 15: K2tog, P1
Row 16: K2tog.
Break yarn and run through remaining stitches.  Pull tight and tie off. 

3 comments:

  1. Oh knowledgeable knitting friend, I have this beautiful yarn that a friend got me from Sweden, but it's oh so itchy. What do I do with it? Have you ever made a hat or mittens and then sewed fleece on the inside? This is all I can think of doing. Thoughts, go!

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  2. Do you know the composition? Sometimes you can wash wool (once it's knit) in a bath, like Soak (http://www.soakwash.com/), and they will soften right up. I've never done the fleece thing, but I know it's done all the time. You could thrum (http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/thrumfaq.html) with soft fiber and they would be ridiculously warm, but that happens with fleece, as well. My hands often get so hot in mittens that I would lean away from wool and fleece, but I live in mild Seattle. Might be appropriate for Missoula. I might try lining with flannel? That way you get something soft against your hands, an extra layer of warmth -but not too much - and you don't have to knit a size bigger to take into account the added bulk of the fleece.

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  3. Thanks Robyn! That's really the help I needed. I believe it is wool. And I'm always looking for something super warm for Missoula. I can't remember the last time it WASN"T snowing.

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