Phil Collins - Another Day In Paradise

This is the heart of Hats for Helping the Homeless! What more can I say?

The Classic Cloche

As I was looking through the first few entries of my blog, I realized I haven't shown one classic cloche. This is one of my personal favorites because of the neutral color scheme and the "knit-in" hat band. The flower is actually a pin that can be taken off for the classic look, or left on for the bonnet look. This hat looks great on everyone. The flared brim is about two inches and the hat is a medium size, about 22" around. I start the knitting on the outside edge with 95 stitches, knit 2" and decrease 10 as follows: (k7, k2tog) x 10, then k5. Then I knit another 2" and decrease another 10 stitches: (k6, k2tog) x 10, then k5. That leaves a nice 75 stitches with which to knit the dome of the hat. I knit this for 8". Then I begin the crown by decreasing the next row by 10 as shown above, then knit a row, then repeat. Once you get to 55 stitches you decrease 11 times around on every other row until you end up with 11 stitches. Slip the yarn through the last 11 stitches at least twice and then weave the end in. For the band I used an alternate yarn for 4" immediately after completing the brim. I don't usually follow an exact pattern as I am always making adjustments for yarn, hat band width or other small style variations, so don't be afraid to experiment. Any flower pattern works, because the flower is a separate item. This flower is crocheted. I don't actually follow a pattern for it, but I really do need to write one at some point. Both are felted in the washing machine for 10 minutes with hot water, a little soap and an old pair of jeans. I allow them to go through a cold rinse and the spin cycles. Then it is pull, stretch, and form onto the hat form. (If you don't have a hat form you can use your head or a bowl.) It should take about a day for the hat to be dry and ready to wear. Because different yarns felt differently, always knit and felt a square to see how it shrinks. The primary yarn in this hat is Fishermen's Wool (Cream Color) by Lyon Brand and the hat band and flower are "Iceland Print" (Roses) by Crystal Palace. Remember that making felted hats is not an exact craft. It is an art. Each hat will come out with its own unique personality. Happy knitting!

It's a New Year and a Fresh Start!

Okay, I have been absent for the holidays, but I have been knitting! When I actually have someone following this blog, I'll make sure I update it regularly. So, let's get caught up. I'm designing my personal signature hat now. Currently I'm calling it the splat hat, but as the design gets perfected I'm considering changing the name to "Spot On". It's a fun design that uses any hat pattern. The idea is to knit in stripes and then pick a contrasting color for the spot on the top. Then add a flower in that accent color. I use the basic rose design because it can be made to look a lot like another spot. Here are a few color schemes, including one that isn't striped. What do you think?

Day 35, 26 hats, oh my!

Oh my goodness, am I behind or what??? 9 hats behind, in fact! This is a tough time of year to be keeping this schedule. There are winterizing things to do and Christmas things to do and Thanksgiving things to do. Howmsoever...I'm sure I'll have lots of time to catch up after the first of the year, so why worry? It only takes 4 hours for me to make a hat; one would think I could fit that in every day. But, stuff happens and, well, here I am. This picture is one of the hats I made in the last couple days. It doesn't show as well as I'd like in this picture, but the yarn is really beautiful. It is so gorgeous in person that I called the company I bought it from originally to see if I can buy more. They are going to send me pics of what is available now, but this one is not. I'm so sad. The color is called Mermaid and includes blues, purples and greens. The derby is definitely my favorite hat style. I looks great on everyone and it's easy to add flowers and other embellishments.

Day 27, Catching up today

Here is an example of a felted hat using one of the fancy yarns. I added a popcorn style yarn and knitted it along with my wool yarn to get this effect on a cloche style hat. It has an adorable bell shape, but could have been shaped into a regular cloche type flair. If you want a pattern for this hat, just leave me a comment asking for it. Today I get to knit all day! Hopefully I'll get two or three knitted so I can begin to catch up with my 365 goal. Also, I will be putting some of the hats in a local shop so I can provide more support this year. Yesterday I scouted out other people doing things like this in other communities and I'm so heartened by how many are involved. Sometimes a great idea just happens.

Day 25, What a surprising process

Making felt hats by knitting them first is always a risky process when you are using a yarn you’ve never used before. I knitted a small square in the yarn and processed it in the washing machine to see how it would shrink. It came out really short, so I decided to knit a really tall hat, and just hope I could stretch and pull it into shape. It looked like a long veil when I finished knitting. (She was cracking up under there!) Then I washed it in the washer for 10 minutes in hot water with a little soap and an old pair of jeans. After the first wash it looked like something the cat-in-the-hat would wear and slid right down over her head. So, I washed it again for 10 minutes using the same process, but omitting the soap. It was a much smaller version of the cat-in-the-hat. And so the work began. I used a large bowl to stretch it over just to get the basic shape to change from long and tall to short and round. This can only be done when you take it out of the washer and it is still wet. Once dry, the felt is set. Then I formed it on a hat form. The mannequin was still laughing when I tried it on her, but I think she was expressing how much she liked the finished hat, don't you?

If you are interested in the pattern for this one, drop me a note.

Day 24, Election Day

Here is a finished hat using Lion Brand fisherman's wool. I wish it came in more colors than the basic beiges and browns, but it is really nice to work with. We might be able to get color by dyeing it. I thnk I'll try that.

I'm still working on the blue hat using the lacey yarn. Yesterday was completely scheduled with appointments for a local homeless charity. But, today is the first day of the rest of the year!!! I will finish it today! I will! I will! Right after I go out and vote!

First Post, Day 22

Well, here we go! I'm on day 22 and guess what?!! I've only knitted 12 hats!!! Oh well, there will be snow days and holidays and all those sleepless nights to catch up this winter.

The hat I'm knitting right now is very strange indeed. I bought this yarn on Ebay a couple of years ago. First of all it is dyeing my hands as I knit. Oh boy. And secondly, it is so thin that the hat looks like lace. I have knitted and washed a square already so I know it will felt nicely.

If you have never knitted and felted a hat before I recommend you give it a try. It's easy and forgiving. For your first hat, try Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool. There are many patterns online. Try this one http://www.knitaddicted.com/html/28.html; it's one of my personal favorites. Also, http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/ is a great place for patterns. There is one using Iceland and Splash that I particularly like: http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns/iceland-splash-feltedhat.html