Skip to main content

The Importance of Gauge in a Floppy Brim Hat

You may remember from a few posts back, I treated myself to a copy of "Knitting in No Time by Melody Griffiths.  I bought it because I liked the look of the wrap on the cover and wanted to have a go at knitting it.  As I hadn't really knitted anything large before, I thought that I should practice on smaller projects first.  So, this is how I got on with the Floppy Brim Hat on page 34.


The pattern uses 339 Metres of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK (double knitting) in Revel, which is a deep purple, pure new wool. Its knitted using 3.5mm (US size 3) needles. I have neither. The wool is discontinued and the local wool shop didn’t have the needles. 
 
Not one to let a small matter of lack of material stand in my way, I deviated from the pattern a smidgen. I used some unbranded acrylic DK yarn in a lovely shade of lavender on 4mm (US size 6) needles. Did I do a gauge swatch? Now, don’t be silly, of course I didn’t.


The brim of the hat is knitted first. It is worked in two full rows followed by two partial rows, followed by two full rows and so on. The partial rows are where you only knit so many stitches then turn the knitting around and stitch back to the start. This gives a fan effect.


When the brim is complete, the base of the fan shape is used to pick up stitches for the next stage. The next stage is the main body of the hat.



The pattern said that the hat could be completed in 13 hours, with another hour for making the flower and for finishing. It has taken me twice that and more and I haven’t even started on the flower.

This is the finished hat with the back seam sewn up with mattress stitch.


Up until this point the knitting pattern has been quite straight forward. I’d coped with all the SKPOs, the YBs and the YFs but then, I read the finishing instructions. 

“Fold 11 rows just before the start of shaping in half and sew to make a tuck”. 

Fold 11 rows? In half? 

Which 11 rows? Which way do I fold, inside or out? What shaping? 

The hat body or the brim? 

I have no idea what this means. 

Oh No! I won’t be able to finish the hat! 

Oh well, guess I’ll just try it on then, I could always just skip the folding part, right? I'll just turn the brim up, it'll be fine.




Maybe not. It’s a bit on the large side. Maybe I’ll grow into it. Maybe next time, I’ll make sure I check the gauge! This project has turned into a real flop-py hat! Te He.

Bye for now

Olly
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through using the Amazon links that I include on my blogs and my YouTube channel. Check out my Amazon Store!

All photographs are the property of Olwen White and are not to be used for any reason without prior permission.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How To Keep The Original Hem When Turning Up Jeans

Hi all, You’ve found the perfect pair of jeans but as always, they are 3 miles too long. I’m going to show you how to fix them so they fit your leg length perfectly.  Better still, I’ll show you how this technique will work with any pants or trousers with an original jean-like hem. Like these 511 trousers. You will need : Pair of jeans or trousers that need turning up Sewing machine Zipper foot Thread to match your jeans/trousers Tape measure or ruler Safety pins or plastic clips Iron and ironing board Pressing cloth Step 1 Stand up and try on your jeans. With the shoes you usually wear or the pair you intend to wear with them. This is important as the shoes you wear will make a difference to the size of the turn up you need. Turn up the bottom of each leg so the wrong side of the hem is showing. Then move it up or down until you are happy with how they sit on the tops of your shoes. Fiddle with them, turning them up a bit more o...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Charity Shop Find & the Headache from Hell!

 Hi all I've always been a fan of charity shops. Even before they became a fashionable way to reuse or  repurpose other people's unwanted clutter.  To me, they have always been a gateway for feeding my addiction to vintage and antique sewing machines.  Like this one.  Isn't she a beauty? According to the markings, She is a New Home machine made in West Germany so I'm guessing she's a post war... maybe 1950s... electric sewing machine.    She has a bolt-on motor and the shortest electric cable I have ever seen on a sewing machine! Look at it! It's tiny! That's never going to reach any of my electrical outlets. I'm thinking that this vintage sewing machine was made to be in a cabinet... or a previous owner cut the cable for some reason.  Maybe their outlets were mounted on a desk and they didn't want long cables cluttering the workspace?  Who knows? One thing I do know, is this sewing machine is going to give me a little bit of a headache!...
Post a Comment
Read more

A soft spot or OSMC

Hi there,  I was having a bit of a nose around a local second hand shop over the weekend and came across this: It was tucked down the side of some furniture, looking a bit sorry for itself, just sitting there all alone. Well, I couldn't leave it there.  Poor thing looks like its had a bit of a hard life. It's a Mundlos machine, originally designed to go on a treadle table judging by the lack of a tool compartment, little holes in the base just under the hand crank and the small groove just behind the wheel. The little holes and groove would have been for the belt attaching the machine to the pedal.  The tools would probably have been kept in the table. The golden badge is the Mundlos company's trade mark and the portrait is of Heinrich Mundlos, one of the company's founders.  The little switch to the side is a handy little gadget that pops the shuttle out of the bobbin compartment. Originally, this machine would have been decorated with ...
2 comments
Read more