CCC Hat - A Snippet!

I hereby solemnly promise to finish the accessory for this hat as quickly as possible so that I can take proper photos of the whole project and get everything over to Robynn.

However, in the meantime here is a snippet of it being worn by a relative with complementary hair colour!

I can honestly say that I enjoyed knitting this hat - I think that it was watching its shape grow as I worked and the sparkle of the wool when the sunlight caught it!

So if you fancy a hat and you have a couple of balls of RYC Soft Lux left over from another project - try not lose them or give them away!

CCC Hat - still working on it!

I have reworked the hat (Hat Mark 2), drafted the pattern ready to send over to Robynn and taken photos of family and friends modelling (larking about in) both versions! I'm not quite ready to show you pictures as I still need to tweak the pattern. Hat Mark 2 is definitely a hat but it seems to have a slight 'nipple' at its tip which I need to sort out. Actually, I quite like it as it gives the top of the hat some character but I suspect that hat purists will feel that it is a fault in its design!

Robynn has seen a preview picture (of some friends' children trying it on a week ago) and suggested that I create an optional knitted accessory for it. I am happy to oblige but the photos that I have taken so far don't include one!

In the meantime, for your post Easter viewing pleasure see left for a photo of a family member in oversized Hat Mark 1!

Please bear in mind that I didn't bother to do any finishing on this hat which accounts for its lack of shape and possibly, the odd end dangling down - trust me, she is sooooo going to kill me for posting this!

CCC Hat - The First Attempt

Although it had a promising start, it is fair to say that my first hat attempt was not successful!

You see, I did not follow any of the usual rules:

Rule 1 - Make Notes: I knitted the swatches for the hat in bed at about 2am. Well, trust me - it all made absolute and perfect sense then! Oh, there's no need for me to make notes - I'll remember exactly how I did this later...

...oh yeah, right - ho, ho ho! Robynn still had my entry when my yarn arrived. Did I wait until I got it back to look at my samples and annotations? Did I heck! I was so enthusiastic about making a start that I found myself peering at the photos of the hat page on the Purlescence website (honestly), trying to make out my notes and the needle size I needed...yes, bonkers!

Rule 2 - Read the Ball Band / Make a Swatch: despite being separated from my swatches, I convinced myself very solemnly that I didn't need to knit more - and why would I need to refresh my memory by looking at a ball band?

Both of the above two points might help explain why I cast on with the wrong sized needles, couldn't remember the shaping instructions that I'd thought out nor remember which type of increase I'd chosen, leading to 1.5 rounds of little holes!

Rule 3 - Check Gauge / Do the maths: This is really where the gung-ho demon dug in its talons and urged me to get cracking! Did I check gauge, did I do any maths? Nope, skipped this bit - completely. I did a random check of a simple DK hat pattern to see what sort of ballpark Ineeded for the cast on and set off with my yarn and needles, spirits very high...

..kept going...

end of ball one (how exciting, must take photos!)

...kept going...

end of ball two (hmm, no end in sight)

...kept going...

halfway through ball three (good grief, still not finished)

...Just stop!

What needles am I using? How many stitches did I cast on?

Oh. Okay. That might explain why this is a three ball hat.

At that point, I tried it on and texted a picture to a friend:

Text Caption: "I am not sure that this is what Robynn had in mind!"

It's okay, I did incorporate all necessary adjustments into Hat Mark 2...

CCC Hat Yarn

This is the yarn I am using for the Castle Cat Couture (CCC) hat.

It is RYC Soft Lux - 64% merino wool, 10% angora, 24% nylon, 2% metallic fibre, 125m/137yds per 50g ball.

I dug a ball (Camel) out of the sale bin at John Lewis in January for my swatches, then bought another batch of it (Cashmere, colour shown here) from RKM Wools to work on the full scale hat.

While it does not look very promising on the ball, I have found it easy to work with and its 'boucle looking' texture disappears when it is knitted. There have been moments while knitting, where I have worried that it looks very plain. Then a reassuring ray of light has caught the hat, making the metallic thread glitter and bringing it to life.

Castle Couture Hat

This is the first project that I am working on - a hat!

- perfect for royal visits

- simple design allows your natural marmalade to glow in the sunshine

- essential for ladies sensitive about their ears - cover up evidence of fighting or hunting...

...rediscover your inner, demure damsel.

Just how fed up and irritated does this cat look...?! I could not help it, to me the picture simply yelled out, "HAT!"