Highland Lux Yarn Leftovers Hat

This yarn was in a clearance section on WEBS….I was intrigued and bought several colors.    The first had that I made was a test knit for a very skilled Finnish Designer – Annina Juuti – called the Lovi Hat.  This hat turned out beautifully.   The mohair content gave a beautiful fabric.   Then I did a several Two by Two hats.   The came out fairly nicely.   The last one though…it stretched a bit more than I was happy with during blocking.    

As I was oh so not pleased with that stretch, I decided to experiment.   What would a 1x1 rib at a tighter gauge do with this yarn?

After doing a gauge swatch in 1 x 1 rib and looking at some other patterns, I came up with a plan.   As I wanted to do a striped hat to make best use of the leftovers from other projects, I decided to graph out the hat.   Knitbird is software, now free, that I have used a long time.  It is a bit clunky but much better than Excel for me.

I graphed out the hat with the stripe repetition where I wanted it. And set out to do the hat.

As I am always interested in trying ways to do things better, I also did a little research on jogless jog techniques.   This time, I chose a technique explained very well by Roxanne Richardson.

Following the YouTube gleaned advice from those who know more than me …the many who know more than me….I measured the hat and took the gauge before and after blocking.   Both the row gauge and the stitch gauge  did change as the yarn relaxed during blocking.

 Materials

Hi Koo Highland Lux Yarn (90% Wool 10% Mohair, 273yds (250m)/100g (3.53oz), Worsted)

Partial balls left over from other projects in Charcoal, Ocean, Bark, and Mist.  Each ball was half or less in size. 

Size 3 US Needles

Tapestry needle

Scissors

Gauge

Pre-blocking:  7 stitches and 7 rows/inch.

Post-blocinkg:  6 stitches and 8 rows/inch

Finished Size

Pre-blocking:  17 stitches and 7 rows/inch.

Post-blocking:  6 stitches and 8 rows/inch

Instructions

Cast on 108 stitches in Charcoal.   Work 1 x 1 Rib for 18 rounds.

Stripe Sequence

On the first row of each stripe, knit.  On the subsequent rows, work K1, P1 ribbing.

Mist:   5 Rows

Ocean: 3 Rows

Mist 5 Rows:

Charcoal 3 rows

Repeat this sequence until the hat measures six inches.    This works out to six stripes total with the last stripe of the sequence being Ocean.  

Crown Decreases

Work the decreases as follows while continuing the stripe sequences.

Row 1:  *Work sixteen stitches, k2 tog*

Row 2:   Work row in pattern to the two stitches knit together in the previous round, knit those stitches.

Row 3:  *Work fifteen stitches, k2 tog*

Row 4:   Work row in pattern to the two stitches knit together in the previous round, knit those stitches.

The final decrease row in this pattern will be done as *Work two stitches, k2 tog*.  At this point, there will be 18 stitches left.   

Next row:  *K2 tog*   9 stitches

Next row:  *K2 tog*   K1

Finishing

Cut yarn with about 16 inches left to finish.  Run the yarn through the stitches, pull tight and fasten off.

Sew in ends and block.

I will admit that I am unsure if the end of the decreasing in 100% accurate…but..it will work.