Monday, September 17, 2007

Chronicles of a New Knitter: My First Hat

I have been working on a hat out of the First Knits book. It is the Hat with Flaps Pattern. Things have been going pretty well, but there have been a few "hiccups":


1. I found the pattern and bought the yarn specifically as the pattern called for (first time ever)....I should have the right amount, right? NO!

2. I did a gauge swatch....another first. The gauge was about ten stitch's off. I had no idea how to fix this so I decided I would just knit more loosely and hope for the best. If it is way too small, Adam can wear it.

3. I Knit and Knit and finally I was almost ready to start the decreases and I obviously did not have enough yarn! Aargh! That's okay, I always save my yarn wrapping. I CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT ONE!

4. I start guessing which yarn to buy and I keep buying an off color. At this point, I am too embarrassed to take my partially finished hat in...I don't know why, but I am.

5. I FIND the right yarn (3 weeks and 6 trips to different stores later).

6. I get started on the decreases (I didn't realize that I was knitting too tight to k2tog with ease) and start watching the football game, enjoying some wine, and forget to refer back to my pattern. What now?

7. Since I don't know how to partially frog, I set out the next morning on a mission to pick up a coffee and get my hat back on track...NO MATTER WHAT!

8. Surprisingly, I was able to get back to the correct number of stitches and finish the crown. Unfortunately, when I flat stitched the hat together it was HUGE....and I have a big head. (Please refer back to #2 where I mention that my gauge was Too Small.) Frustrating.

I have now finished one of two ear flaps (also huge) and I plan to finish the hat tonight. I will let you know how it works out. I am going to try to wash it to see if that helps. I can say that my first hat taught me a lot, and, believe it or not, it turned out way better than my first shawl.

1 comment:

MadeByAmanda said...

My first sweater was a "learning experience" too. It wasn't the first project I knit, or I'd never have continued knitting. I found out I was 1 skien short when I was 3/4 of the way through the second sleeve. And then found out that the yarn was discontinued. I had to frog BOTH sleeves and re-knit them with a contrasting stripe in the middle (so I'd have enough yarn of the original color to finish the sleeve cap).