Friday, January 19, 2007

Cambridge Watchcap

Knit in a cozy alpaca-wool blend, this watchcap is basic enough to keep a guy satisfied. But there's just enough styling - twisted stitches, biased fabric, asymmetric ribbing - to satisfy the knitter, too, and to give the hat a unique, handknit hipness.
Yarn: 1 skein of Berocco Ultra Alpaca, color 6207 'salt and pepper'
Needles: #6 Inox metal circular, with dp's for the top
Gauge: 7 st/inch, unstretched or 4.5 st/inch, slightly stretched.
The hat is stretchy enough to fit heads from 21-23" in circumference.

Cast on 96 stitches.

Join in a circle, and knit in [K2 tbl, P1] ribbing, which is just 2x1 ribbing with twisted knit stitches (tbl = through back loop). Knit in this ribbing until piece measures 10".

Decrease for the top in 8 sections as follows:
Row 1: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl, {K2 tbl, P1}3x] around (i.e. 8 times)
Row 2: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl, K1 tbl, P1, {K2 tbl, P1}2x] around
Row 3: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl, P1, {K2 tbl, P1}2x] around
Row 4: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl, {K2 tbl, P1}2x] around
Row 5: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl, K1 tbl, P1, K2 tbl, P1] around
Row 6: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl, P1, K2 tbl, P1] around
Row 7: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl, K2 tbl, P1] around
Row 8: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl, K1 tbl, P1] around
Row 9: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl, P1] around
Row 10: [K1 tbl, K2tog tbl] around
Row 11: K2tog tbl around

Pull yarn through the remaining 8 stitches, weave in ends and enjoy.
I designed this for my sensational friend Gustavo - please check out his splendid food blog, "The Dinner Bell". We've had some cold days in Cambridge, and I trust that this hat will keep him warm!

And I was so pleased with the hat myself that I've started to make a second one for Mountain Man. Please let me know if you try the pattern too!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great hat pattern! I just finished one for my son and I did discover an error in your pattern. In Row 2 of the decreases, the last bit should be {K2 tbl, P1}2x - then the decreases work out perfectly. Thanks for posting your pattern - it was perfect for the "Mr. Finicky" in my life!

Linda

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing your fabulous pattern. I was given a challenge by husband when he told me that only a handknitted beanie would keep him warm watching our 10 year old at hockey... not the woollen coat hanging in the back of the wardrobe! He could give no further instruction about what style he may like except that 'real' beanies have a roll up cuff. Your pattern fit the bill! Thanks, Anne Marie

Anonymous said...

I made this hat for my boyfriend. He loved it and then promptly lost it a week after it was done. :P I guess the good news is he liked it so much he now wants me to make him another one.

Unknown said...

I'm making this hat for a friend & cast on using 120 stitches. I'm fairly new to knitting and not sure how the stitch number affects the decrease instructions. Do I need to do something differently other than follow the pattern for more stitches per row? I'd appreciate any help you can offer.

Arianna said...

Thanks for the pattern! It came out great! I had to alter the pattern slightly because I casted on more stitches than were called for... the decreasing was the most difficult part, but I just repeated the pattern instructions until I got to the end of the row.

Anonymous said...

Great pattern. Fit the bill exactly for my 21 year old son who wanted something "thick" (the twisted stitch met that) and simple and a watch cap. Your decreases are terrific...kept the ribbing in pattern wonderfully. Even when I had added more stitches to make a little wider--our men have big heads. Ultimate compliment...now his dad wants one so I am making a second one! First unsolicited request for a knitted project from my husband in 27 years of knitting.

Maneet Jassal Gupta said...

I just came across your pattern! Really want to try it out. I am a new knitter and learning different types of stitches. Can you please tell me the difference between 'K2tog tbl' and 'k2 tbl'? I know how to do a 'k2tog tbl' but wondering if 'k2 tbl' is just doing k1 tbl and then another k1 tbl or something else?

Anonymous said...

Hi,

great pattern. I've made two of these. I used 3.5mm needles (instead of 4) and added 12 stitches (for a total of 108) to accommodate a 23" head. I hope this answers a previous posters question. Because the decreases start in sections of 12 stitches, it seemed to make sense to me to add 12 stitches and so we end up with 9 decreases per row, instead of 8. This worked out fine for me.

Anonymous said...

I was worried it would be too small to fit the person's head I was making it for since his head measures more than 23 inches but he said it fit great! It took me awhile to get used to knitting through the back loop but once i did and quit purling twice and started paying more attention to what I was doing, it went by fast! lol He liked it so much he wants a matching one for his son.

Halcyon said...

I am having problems with the decreases. Should the purls in the decrease be on stitches that were previously purled?

I hope someone can advise. I haven’t seen any good photos from the top of this cap and I fear mine is not looking right. :S

Unknown said...

Hi, I think you cap is just terrific. As I am new to knitting I have a question regarding the decreasing.
Row 1: [K1, K2tog tbl,{l2 tbl,P1}x3]

Could you advise what the x3 means?

mshell said...

LOVED this pattern! Great design, easy to follow pattern...great results! I know I'll be making more than one...

Courtney C. said...

This pattern is simple yet great! So if you're a beginning or have mastered the basics this is a wonderful hat. I have used it asa template and added some colorwork to it to match these fingerless mitts I made for my boyfriend which were also done in the k2, p1 ribbing. Now he has a nice set for fall! Thanks so much for the pattern!

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