An election...
...but not the political kind. Since I finished the scarf for my MIL, I've been wanting to make something else. My choices are these:
1) Baby blanket from a simple online pattern. You may be able to view it here, or they might want you to register. I'm not sure.
2) More complicated, but pretty, baby blanket from Speed Knitting by Kris Percival. My only gripe is, it calls for size 9 needles, and most of the yarn I know requires size 8 or 10 needles. I know of very few size 9 yarns, except Manos del Uruguay, which is itchy and not machine-washable, so that is out.
3) Baby booties, from the same book. They are cute. I am having a summer baby, though. I've been told they need booties, even so.
4) Baby hat from Stitch 'n' Bitch by Debbie Stoller. It's a stockinette-stitch, roll-brim hat that I've made a million of (for adults) and happen to be fond of. The problem? They added an I-cord (weird dangly thing) to the top of the hat. I would like to make it without the I-cord, but I don't know how to alter the pattern. You have to put 16 stitches onto double-point needles at the crown of the head, after you've completed most of the hat. What do you do with those 16 stitches if they're not going onto the DPNs? Decreasing would be the logical answer, but how fast? K4tog? K2tog? Anyway, if you have the pattern and know how to answer my question, I would be most grateful. ~~
1) Baby blanket from a simple online pattern. You may be able to view it here, or they might want you to register. I'm not sure.
2) More complicated, but pretty, baby blanket from Speed Knitting by Kris Percival. My only gripe is, it calls for size 9 needles, and most of the yarn I know requires size 8 or 10 needles. I know of very few size 9 yarns, except Manos del Uruguay, which is itchy and not machine-washable, so that is out.
3) Baby booties, from the same book. They are cute. I am having a summer baby, though. I've been told they need booties, even so.
4) Baby hat from Stitch 'n' Bitch by Debbie Stoller. It's a stockinette-stitch, roll-brim hat that I've made a million of (for adults) and happen to be fond of. The problem? They added an I-cord (weird dangly thing) to the top of the hat. I would like to make it without the I-cord, but I don't know how to alter the pattern. You have to put 16 stitches onto double-point needles at the crown of the head, after you've completed most of the hat. What do you do with those 16 stitches if they're not going onto the DPNs? Decreasing would be the logical answer, but how fast? K4tog? K2tog? Anyway, if you have the pattern and know how to answer my question, I would be most grateful. ~~
Comments
That hat pattern that you sent me worked really well. It has a small brim that is ribbed so I don't know if you were looking to go that route or not. Mine turned out really cute though. I used a super, super soft yarn called Sensations "Angel Hair". I believe it was an Acrylic/Wool blend, machine washable.
1. For the hat: Is the hat knit in the round or do you seam it? If you seam it, you could follow the decrease pattern one more time around, pull the yarn through the remaining stitches and then seam down. If it is in the round, repeat the decrease pattern until you get to 4 stitches (might need to do two decrease rounds for this, in which case you'd want to subtract about an inch off the body of the hat as you are knitting it), pull the yarn through the stitches and weave in the ends.
2. Don't worry about what size needles are indicated on the yarn---or in the pattern, for that matter. The most important thing is the gauge. Do a gauge swatch on the size indicated in the pattern (in this case, 9s) and then adjust the needles up or down if needed (down to a 7 or 8 if the swatch was too big, up to a 10 if the swatch was too small). Once I finally started gauging, I found that I routinely have to alter the needle size given in the pattern (usually just by one size up or down).