Just in time for the baby shower this past Sunday, I finished the baby version of Hello Yarn's : We Call Them Pirates hat.
- Pattern: Hello Yarn's We Call Them Pirates Hat
- Yarn: Kitchen 100% Cotton Yarn (yellow) & 50% Wool/50% Acrylic Norweigan Yarn (Blue): both yarns were sport weight.
- Needles: Size US 3 dpns and Size US 1 dpns (for inside liner)
- Mods: As you can see if you compare Hello Yarn's original version to this one, I modified the pattern here and there. Firstly, I cast on 84 stitches, instead of 128. The stripes at the bottom are much plainer, and I took out the four vertical stripes running upwards. I also incorporated 2 less skull patterns going across, and did only two rows of the skulls instead of three. I slightly modified the pattern at the top as well so it would just be some simple diamond shapes at the crown.
New techniques learned: THE HEM!
The hem was my favourite part of the entire project, and I can't wait to do the hems now on my beginning EZ hybrid sweater (which, really, has yet to be begun). But I also learned that I have much to learn with respect to finishing techniques. With the finishing, I always tend to rush these final details, and then it dissapoints. I need to stay patient right through to the final step, making sure the entire project is given proper time and care. For, as we are told, "God" is in the details--which, for me, means that true perfection and craftsmanship/handiwork is found there, in the details.
Project Woes and Concerns: I'm a bit worried that the cap will be too small for the wee one, who is due to arrive in a few weeks. It measures a little over 5 inches across, which gives it a circumference of about 15 inches. I think this means that it'll be too tight for the baby, or that the baby will get very little wear out of it. For one thing, the hat stretches very little. It's stiff, in fact. And much too late into the project, I discovered this site, which gives standards for the sizes of babies' heads. I wish I'd known about this site before, because I would have aimed more for the size of a toddler's head, so that the baby could have had much more wear out of the hat. In any case, the Dad at the shower let out a "cool" when he saw the hat. In fact, he proclaimed that this is what the baby would wear home from the hospital. So I guess, in the end, the hat was still somewhat of a success. And I certainly enjoyed making it.
ETA: Since writing this post, I've cast on already for another We Call Them Pirates hat for the same baby. I'm using Rowan Wool/Cotton this time, am making it a bit bigger, and am trying to aim for a more stretchy hat by using a ribbed hem this time, in lieu of the original version which has a provisional cast-on and a fold-over hem. Just so ya know! :)
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