how can I fix my hat?

[llnmaw]

Okay so my trek into unfamiliar territory - hats (vs dishcloths....) didn't go so well.

I'm making a rolled brim hat for my dd and guess I screwed up my math. Well...I know I did but now I need to fix it.

'Recipe' for the hat: measure swatch (5 stitches per inch), measure head (17 inches), multiply the two (85) and there you have your cast on.

I did 82. I think I figured smaller was better. Dunno why. No worries as the hat seems to fit. Since I did 82 stitches and now it is time to decrease...well you see my problem here. Nothing divides into 82 except 41. That just ain't gonna cut it unless I want the hat to be a foot long.

Question. Do I fix this by knitting 3 together (is that only a crochet thing or can you do the same with knitting?) and knit around? The on my next row with 81 stitches remaining knit 7, knit 2tog and so on?

Or should I just continue on the way I am with 82 stitches and no decreases - seaming the hat across the top and putting some cute little pom poms on the ends? Cute hat I'm sure but I really wanted to be able to try decreasing on something other than the aforementioned dishcloths.

Wah............

~L.

[cristeen]

Unless you were planning on patterned decreases, it doesn't have to be perfect. On my first hat (I didn't count stitches at all), I believe I did K4, K2tog for one round, knit one round, repeat once or maybe twice. It didn't get me totally closed, but it allowed me to practice decreases and then I just cinched the hat up so it was gathered at the top and it looked great.

HTH

[texmati]

Hi! It's aquarian here, I changed my name!

Cristieen's right, it doesn't have to be exact! So you have 82 stitches on the needles now, right?

Knit one more row thusly:
knit two together (remember to tighten those decreases!) then knit half way around the round (31 stitches), then knit two together again, and then finish knitting the round.

Now you have 80 stitches on the needles. 10 goes in to 80 evenly, and 10 -2 = 8.

for the next rounds, knit 8, then knit 2 together. I avoid counting by placing a marker before each "knit two together." Then, I know that right after I move a marker, I need to decrease. No counting!

LMK if it works out!

[llnmaw]

Originally Posted by texmati

Hi! It's aquarian here, I changed my name!

I saw that in my other post in your siggy...was confused for a moment.

So it worked!! I finished the hat last night and it fits. A little roomy, but all in all I'm counting it as success! I think it fits my 3yo a little bit better. The good news there is I can essentially make another one and I know it will fit him.

Things I wished I'd have done differently (in case someone else who is new to knitting hats is reading):

Put my stripe in earlier. The strips sits like a crown on the top of the hat. Still I'm impressed with myself that not only did I manage to knit on circs, knit a hat - I ALSO changed colors!:

Paid attention when the pattern said to knit each row. I started the project 5 times and did a knit purl alternate (as if knitting flat) in order to get the stocking stitch (is that the right word?). It always came out wrong. Finally it clicked: knit all the time. Reminder to self - read the pattern.

Made the hat a little less 'tall'. There is a substantial roll at the bottom. I guess it gives lots of growing room eh?

My model is sleeping right now and quite frankly unless I sneak the hat on her she won't wear it. She happily wears hats, just not this one. I'll try to snap a picture next time we are going out and she has it on.

Despite all of its flaws, I love it!! Thanks for the help and encouragement.

~L.

[texmati]

congratulations! I'm so glad it worked out. I'm sorry the size didn't work out the way that you wanted, but it's wonderful that you have a hat!

On the same site, there is a pattern called "ribbed for her pleasure" ! That's the raciest part of the pattern I promise! It's basically a hat with ribbing along the brim instead of a rolled brim. It might be a neat next project.

[TortelliniMama]

I just wanted to add, your instinct of "smaller is better" is true for hats. You want them to have negative ease (meaning they're smaller than the body part they're meant for) so that they stretch a bit to go on. Actually, when you measure a head for a hat that you're making with a "recipe" like this, it's a good idea to subtract an inch or two (how much depends on how big the head is -- it's safer to subtract more with a bigger head than a smaller one) before you multiply by your gauge.

(But, if you're making a hat with a full-blown pattern that says something like: Size small for heads 15-16 inches, size medium for heads 17-19 inches, etc., then you should probably go with your actual measurement because the designer (hopefully) has already allowed for the negative ease. Sometimes the pattern will tell you the finished circumference of the hat, in which case you'd go back to looking for the size that will be a touch smaller than the head.)