Free LIMERICK HAT Pattern

I am offering this pattern for individual use, only. Please do not use this pattern in any way, to make a profit, unless you have my consent.





Limerick Hat

by Roxi Willoughby

Experience Level: Advanced

Sizes: teen/adult

Materials:
300 yards worsted weight yarn
Size 6 straight or circular needles
Size 8 straight or circular needles
Size 8 double pointed needles
Cable needle
Circular ring marker
Darning needle

Gauge: 10 sts/14 rows=2” in St st using smaller needles. Your row gauge is more important, in this pattern, than your stitch gauge.

Special Instructions:
C6F: Transfer next 3 sts to cable needle and hold them in front of work. Knit next 3 sts. Knit 3 sts from cable needle.
C6B: Transfer next 3 sts to cable needle and hold them in back of work. Knit next 3 sts. Knit 3 sts from cable needle.
W&T: Move working yarn to opposite side of work (if you are knitting move the yarn to the front and if you are purling move the yarn to the back), slip the next st to the right needle, again move the yarn to the opposite side of work (if you are knitting move the yarn to the back and if you are purling move the yarn to the front), return the slipped st to the left needle and turn your work.
K next st tog with wrap: From front of work (the knit side), insert tip of right needle into the wrap and the stitch at the same time, sliding sts onto right needle. Transfer both the wrap and st to the left needle and knit them together.
P next st tog with wrap: From the back of work (the knit side), insert the tip of the right needle into the wrap and pull it up onto the left needle. Purl it together with the st it was wrapped around.

NOTE: When knitting the brim and cabled band of this hat, you will be slipping the first st of each row purl-wise, and knitting the last st. This will create a nice edge that looks similar to a crocheted chain. This edge will make it easier to see where to sew when assembling your hat. It will also make it easier to pick up the sts for the crown.

Brim
With smaller straight or circular needles, CO 30 sts.
Row 1: P.
Row 2 (W&T row): Sl 1 pw, k22, W&T, p16, W&T, k16, k next st tog with wrap, k6.
Row 3: Sl 1 pw, p22, p next st tog with wrap, p5, k1.
Row 4: Sl 1 pw, k to end of row.
Row 5: Sl 1 pw, p to 1 st from end of row, k1.
Repeat rows 2 thru 5, until you've worked 35 W&T rows. If you turn the brim to the wrong side, you'll be able to see the little bumps where you've work the W&T. This makes it easy to count. You should end up with 35 of those rows. BO. With RS together, and holding the CO and BO edges together, sew the back brim seam. Set the brim aside.

Cabled Band
With larger straight or circular needles, CO 28 sts.
Row 1 & all odd rows: Sl 1 pw, p to last st, k1.
Row 2: Sl 1 pw, k to end of row.
Row 4 (first cable row): Sl 1 pw, k1, C6F, k6, C6F, k8.
Rows 6 & 8: Sl 1 pw, k to end of row.
Row 10 (second cable row): Sl 1 pw, k7, C6B, k6, C6B, k2.
Rows 12 & 14: Sl 1 pw, k to end of row.
Work rows 4 thru 15 until you've worked 13 of each of the cable rows.
Then work rows 4 thru 13. BO. With RS together, and holding the CO and BO edges together, sew the back cabled band seam.

Hat Crown
With dpns, pick up 84 sts along one edge of the cabled band.
Rnd 1: K, placing a st marker at the beginning of round.
Rnd 2: (K12, k2tog) repeat around.
Rnd 3: K
Rnd 4: (K11, k2tog) repeat around.
Rnd 5: K
Rnd 6: (K10, k2tog) repeat around.
Rnd 7: (K9, k2tog) repeat around.
Continue decreasing in this manner, knitting one less st before the dec each rnd, until 12 sts remain.
Next rnd: K2tog around. Break yarn, leaving 8". Using a tapestry needle thread yarn through remaining 6 sts. Pull tightly and fasten off.

Finishing: With RS tog, sew opposite edge of the cabled band to one edge of the brim. The cabled band is slightly wider so you'll need to ease it onto the band evenly. Fold the band in half, WS tog, and whip stitch it over the inside seam. Weave in ends.

ABBREVIATION KEY:
BO = bind off
CO = cast on
Dec = decrease
Dpn = double point needles
K = knit
K2tog = knit 2 stitches together                                                      
P = purl
Rnd = round
RS = right side(s)                                
Sl 1 pw = At the beginning of every row, with the yarn in front of work, slip one st, move yarn to back.
St(s) = stitch(es)
St st = stockinette stitch  
Tog = together
WS = wrong side(s)
           

Copyright November 2008 - Lamb’s Ear Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Please respect our copyright. Thank you.

A Very Crazy Christmas

Nothing like a nasty head cold for the holidays. All that mucus is making it difficult for my brain cells to rub together. I've been sick for 2 weeks and I just remembered, today, that I have the fixin's for Hot Toddies! What's the fun of being sick if you don't guzzle toddies?!???

All you need is boiling water, a large mug, a shot of Bushmills and a heaping tablespoon full of Korean citron tea. Which isn't really tea, at all. More like a marmalade made of citron (including seeds, so be careful), sugar and honey. After a couple of those you'll feel much better. Oh, you'll still be sick. You just won't care. I'm enjoying one as I type.

The husbeast took me out to lunch for some Holiday Pho. A hot tub sized bowl of noodle soup sounded like just what the doctor ordered (besides lots of toddies). I decided to wear my latest finished knitted object, a Noro Sweater. I finished this back in June, right before I took a sabbatical from knitting to focus on weaving and quilting.

Yes, this old broad is still rockin' the FUGGS (faux UGGS). There's nothing more cozy than an inside-out sheep on your feet. Please note the festive bow on my head. Once back from lunch, the husbeast and I exchanged gifts. He got me just what I wanted, a box of Padron 2000's. Christmas cigars. Sweet! He is much harder to shop for. But he does enjoy watching those HBO and Showtime series' with me on the weekends. I had always heard this one was the best, ever. Neither of us has seen it. So I got him the super duper awesome gift set, complete with astro turf and a gravestone.

Now to finish my toddy and go play with my toys.

Enjoy your holiday!

My "Work In Progress" Noro Sweater

For the first time, in a very long time, I am excited about a sweater I am knitting. In the past I have had to knit with the goal of being able to sell that particular yarn or pattern. I found that very restrictive. Especially having to knit in absolute accordance with the pattern. But this project is all about me. And I like to improvise. My sweater will be quite different from the one shown in the pattern's photo. I have altered the stitch gauge, to make the sweater longer, and added more rows to make it wider. Here are the back and 2 front pieces. I love that it is knit vertically, as I am getting quite pudgy in my old age.

I did not have enough of the Noro Kureyon yarn to knit the sweater with long sleeves, and I like 3/4 sleeves, anyway. Since the sleeves were supposed to be knit from the cuff to the shoulder I had to reverse engineer them to be knit from the shoulder down. When I ran out of yarn, that would determine the length of my sleeves. The sleeves are knit horizontally and I was able to manipulate the stripe sequence in order to make the sleeves identical (spit splicing is our friend).

I have barely enough of the Noro yarn left to seam up the pieces. I will use the solid color yarn (at the top of the first picture) to knit the trim and button bands. I may also add a little bit of crochet to the edges. We'll see. I chose brass colored buttons that have a woven pattern, in honor of my new weaving adventures.

Borders Books Bargains

The local Borders Books is closing. Probably thanks to Amazon.com and the new e-book craze. This is a huge loss for Tacoma. A customer had stopped in, during my own clearance sale, and told me she had seen a book on dairy goats at Borders, and had thought of me. I couldn't get over there until this past Monday and was shocked at how bare the place looked. I wandered around, trying to find books on livestock or farming. I wandered upstairs, downstairs, and back upstairs again. I was just about to give up when I spied a row of books on "dogs". I was getting warmer. On the opposite side of this row I finally found books on livestock. I grabbed up 4 books on bees, 2 on goats and 2 on hobby farming.

I also found a couple of interesting gardening books. One on compost and one on gardening year round in unheated green houses.

I regret I didn't look through this one before bringing it home. I bought it based solely on the title. But when I got home and actually leafed through it I discovered it should really be titled "Off Grid Mansions".

These aren't any kinds of homes I'd be likely to afford. They are pretty to look at, though. And I'm sure we can glean a little useful information from it. But I wish I'd left it and brought home that book on ducks, instead.

This last book was my unexpected treasure of the day. I used to stock it in my shop and had sold the last copy thinking I could reorder. But then I made the decision to retire at this time and never had a chance to get the book back in. I was crouching low to the ground, searching the titles for farm type books when I spied this out of the corner of my eye.

Hurray! The one knitting book I was lusting after, and there it was. For 50% off. Why did I want this particular book?

It contains the knitting charts for making this baby sweater. I can take those charts and plug them into an adult pattern and have my very own bee sweater. I ended up spending over $130 for 12 books, but they were all half price.

More Shelves = More Progress

Today I lugged 2 more of the short Billy Bookcase shelves across the alley and up the stairs, to the craft room. This has allowed me to get even more of my reading material organized. (Double click on the picture to read the titles).

For someone who doesn't read, I certainly have a lot of books. These are just a small part of my collection. The top 2 cubbies house my weaving books, as well as a few on felt making and natural dyeing. The bottom left cubbie holds books on hand spinning, and a few on soap and candle making. The bottom right cubbie holds my collection of books and magazines on traditional rug hooking. One more short bookshelf, and 2 of the taller ones, and I should be able to get all my books and magazines whipped into submission.

Now that I am getting ready to sell off my fixtures I have begun bringing my personal items home. Here is my beloved picture of the patron saint of knitting, Gromit, of 'Wallace & Gromit' fame.

Christmas Socks

I've been working on these for a while. Truth be told, when you own a yarn shop you get precious little time to knit. But I got them done in time to wear them a bit before Christmas. In fact, I'll be wearing them tomorrow.


The design is my own, made up as I went along. I like how the trees came out. The center stripes are a nod to the Christmas ribbon candies my grandparents used to have around when I was a child.

Gnome Socks Are Finished

Here they are, ready to keep my little tootsies warm. I just love these socks. They make me happy! (click on photo to enlarge)


What took me so long? I had to set them aside while I knit a vest shop model. I'd show a picture of it, but I have to re-do the arm holes. They're a bit too loose.

Diggin' the Gnomes

I've been plugging away on my gnome socks. I am knitting these 2-at-a-time on one long circular needle. I also knit the cuffs "inside out" so the stranded color work would be looser. Needless to say, I had a few interesting moments. But it all worked out in the end. I am not fond of weaving in a bunch of yarn ends, so the gnomes will only be on the cuffs of the socks. The rest will be plain ol' boring gray.


Here is a close-up of the little darlings.

I hope to knit a yoke sweater, to match. Will keep you posted. I am still adjusting to my schedule change. By the time I get home at night, and cook something for dinner, it's already bed-time. That's the drawback to cooking from scratch. It takes a lot of time. Here is the quiche I prepared last night. Fresh eggs from my girls, and chard from the garden.

World Wide Knit In Public Day 2010

Today we celebrated WWKIPD by hosting a potluck knit-in at the yarn shop. We had about 20 participants. And they kept this old gal hoppin'. I am sooo tired this evening. And a little bit sunburnt. Here are some pictures of the festivities.

Its True About Neccessity...

....being the mother of invention. Case in point, my latest knitting design, the Bag Cozy. Lately my focus has been on small, one-skein, useful designs. I've also been trying to improve my self-sufficiency/efficiency and, at the same time, compost or reuse the items in my home. Unfortunately I have a really bad memory. I have a trunk FULL of reusable shopping bags but, more often than not, I find myself at the store check out counter and the bags are, you guessed it, still in the trunk. Which means I end up bringing more plastic grocery bags home. They aren't wasted. I find them handy for lining the smaller trash cans in my home. The problem has been storing them until needed. I used to have a cute cloth bag holder but the elastic wore out very quickly and, at that time, I was too busy to replace it. I gave that bag holder away on Freecycle and began storing my bags like this.


Its not very tidy looking and many times you end up grabbing more than one bag. I thought about buying another cloth holder but then the elastic would wear out again. Finally the light bulb came on. I could knit one. No elastic needed! Yesterday I sat down with needles and yarn and by the end of the day I had this.


The yarn is a washable acrylic/wool blend. It makes the pattern all on its own, as you knit, so you don't get so bored. The cost of the yarn is $7.50. The cozy in the picture is holding these 25 bags, with room for stuffing in a few more.


It dispenses the bags, one-at-a-time, through a small opening on the bottom.


Now to write up the pattern so I can have it ready for its debut at our WWKIPD (World Wide Knit In Public Day) celebration on June 12th.