so i wanted to try out a few different yarns on a spiraling stripes hat, to see how they knit up, with plans to show an example of how you can turn this kind of hat into a stash-busting scrap hat by striping between multiple yarns. well, the majority of the yarn i used for this hat was a bit bulkier than my normal spiral hat yarns, which caused the hat to be much wider than expected, making it into a slouchy, kind of beret-style hat!

so that experiment led to more! and now i’ve added a new page to the pattern pdf with these variations. i’m posting all the info from the pdf page here, so if you already bought the pattern you’re not missing anything, but if you’d still like to have it all together just let me know and i’ll send you the new version. i also lowered the quality of the pdf a little so i can send it through yahoo (now it’s 8mb instead of 10+) – i can’t see any quality difference when i look at it so i think it’s cool. anyone who makes pdfs out there – what quality do you make them? i’m new to these whole pdf thing…

so here is all the new slouchy modification info, pasted from the pdf:

To make your spiral hat into a slouchy style version instead of fitted, you basically just need to make it wider – so easy! The brimmed versions should stay put just fine, but the no-brim style might need a crochet trim to bring it in around the bottom. Here are some specific ways to make a wider, slouchy hat…

Use fatter yarn. When your gauge goes from around 4.5 stitches/inch to around 4 stitches/inch, this causes a significant width difference in the wedges – around 1 inch wider per wedge. This means you can knit the pattern exactly as it’s written and end up with a slouchy hat if your yarn is on the bulky side. This hat was knit from the clockwise spiraling no-brim pattern, using mostly yarn that got a 4 stitches/inch gauge:

Add more wedges. Just keep knitting wedges until the hat is as slouchy as you want – 2 extra wedges works very well (so 11 wedges total). This hat was knit using the counter-clockwise no-brim pattern, 11 wedges instead of 9, with 2 rows of single crochet around the bottom to bring it in so it stays on a head. It did need to be blocked, which just meant wetting it, squeezing it dry in a towel, and drying it flat as shown in the picture.

Make each wedge a little wider. Add one extra rows 1+2 repeat to each wedge, increasing the overall width of the hat. This hat was knit using the clockwise straight brim pattern, with one extra repeat per wedge, everything else exactly the same. It can still be pulled down over the ears, and the garter stitch brim holds it on in the beret-style, so no extra shaping is needed.

and…. Color Variations:

Instead of using a self-striping yarn, you can give your hat a different look by using 2 or more solid yarns. Use 3 rotating colors and switch between them at the top, between each wedge, for wide spirals. For this method, the clockwise-spiraling styles are recommended. Or make a scrap-busting many-colored hat, each wedge using a different yarn. You’ll need approximately 10 yards of each yarn.

Or use 2 colors and switch every two rows, along the bottom edge of the hat, for a more stripey look.

As shown above, a variegated yarn won’t show the spiral design clearly, but it does make for a cool swirly look.

so that’s the pdf page. a few other notes, things i learned from my experimentation. i recommend going with the clockwise versions for any slouchy style hat you want to make, the shaping just seems to work better. i don’t have an example to show you of that 2 colors striping every 2 rows idea (i’ve tried it, but in hats that i can’t show you yet, secret hats!), but it does look awesome, trust me. i think this striping style looks rad with the counter-clockwise spirals, but it’ll work with any of the designs. if you try any of these ideas, i wanna see!!

oh yeah, one other thing! those braids… when i switch colors at the top between wedges, i cut the yarn around 6 inches, and then when the hat is done i’m left with 18 or more ends. braiding them together like that not only looks cute (i think), but it also means no ends to weave in (none!).

(the pattern pdf is right at the top of my store’s main page for easy access, and of course there are kits too!)

hey look it’s a non-hat knit kit! woo! make your very own leethal ninja mitts, it’s easy and fun! so, “ninja mitts” are what i’ve been calling my fingerless mitts for years, ever since my old friend roy referred to them as ninja gauntlets. they are different from normal fingerless gloves/mitts because they don’t have any thumb part (like these or these), giving your hands more mobility, and making them a super easy knit. not quite as warm, but great for not freezing weather, and you can leave them on all the time and function just fine. yay!

the pattern is really simple, so i’m selling the pdf by itself for just $1. it’s three pages total – a cover with photo examples, pattern notes, sizing, and some ideas for ways to customize your mitts. this is a great pattern to make your own (with ribbing, cables, stitch pattern experimentation……) – as i say in the notes, “I think of these mitts as kind of a blank canvas – be creative!”

all you need is a set of size us 10 double pointed knitting needles, a tapestry needle, and the yarn. the kits come with enough for one pair, of course, but if you want to use your own, they take about 65 yards. the weight isn’t too important because the gauge isn’t terribly important – i’ve knit these with all different yarns and they always fit fine. but, you know, your yarn should knit up well on size 10’s.

i’ll be selling kits with different kinds of multi-colored hand-dyed yarn, some striping, some variegated. right now i just have two in the store – one will stripe in a repeating pattern, and the other will stripe randomly (like the top left example). at the moment i have a skein of variegated in the dye pot, which will knit up similarly to the bottom left example. i hope to keep adding more yarns over the next week or so…

(ravelry page!)