Hat on Top, Coat Below
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Go Green! Go White!
October 9, 2008
Some yarn stores in Ann Arbor challenged some yarn stores in East Lansing to see whose patrons could knit more items for charity in the six weeks or so leading up to the big football game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University on October 25th. Having graduated from the latter institution (despite being admitted to the former as well), I knew I needed to knit for the Spartan side, even though I have bought yarn in the Ann Arbor shops and never even been in the East Lansing ones, not being a knitter when I was in college. I had plenty of yarn on hand, of course, so I started making hats. These are the first four I finished, all based on the Head Hugger Hat Pattern I’ve used lots of times before.
After four of the same hat, I was ready for something different, so I made a small child-sized version of the Hat Fit for a Boyfriend. I cast on 70 stitches instead of the 100 called for, then knit for 4-1/2 inches instead of 5-1/2, then added a few extra rows in between the first five decrease rows and the next four, altering decrease row 8 to purl two together instead of the knit two together and skipping the last decrease row entirely. Since I am not a small child and did not have any small children handy to serve as models, I pressed a pie pumpkin into service, which was less than ideal. The next time I make this hat, I think I’ll go slightly bigger and make it longer and maybe play with the first five decreases rows as well. And I still want to try mittens, too.