Friday, October 29, 2010

Double Double Cloche - a free pattern

The Not-Just-For-Chemo Reversible Cloche has been out there for a while now, and a lot of people have made it, some for themselves and some for friends and family about to undergo chemotherapy. In the case of the latter I've been enormously glad to be able to offer something that can comfort both the knitter and the person receiving the hat.

It's slowly dawned on me though that that particular cloche, with all the counting required for the stiff linen-stitch brim that disguises hair loss, is not really practical for knitting in worrying times. Some people may find all that necessary attention to detail a useful distraction, but what about people who don't?

I wanted to do something for them, too.

This hat is all knit and purl, and mostly knit. It starts out as flat knitting, a few stitches on a straight needle that you add onto three stitches at a time for a long, rolled, asymmetrical brim.

The brim ends in a bunch of stitches added on at once, after which it's worked in the round. It takes me about a day to knit one, and I knit some of this one standing in line and walking around, so it should stand up to the rigors of pacing or bedside sitting or, if you're lucky enough to be making it just for fun, TV-watching or general chat.

It's named for a popular choice at the popular Canadian coffee shop, Tim Hortons. I'm not much of a coffee drinker myself, and when I do indulge I prefer skim milk and sugar to double cream, double sugar, but I am a fan of Tim's. Since the restaurant expanded beyond donuts into soups and sandwiches every road trip, a lot of last-minute meals, and quite a few lunches with my mum involve Tim's.

You can find Tim's just about anywhere in my neck of the woods, including hospitals. And as I've spent rather a lot of time waiting around in hospitals over the last couple of years, I've learned to appreciate that fact a lot. Tim's represents everyday normalcy and routine, which is exactly what I'm after in a place like that.

Of course, the other reference is to this hat's ability to do double duty. It's cute over hair, but it dips down low enough in back to cover the lack of it. And you can wear the button over either side or over either eye, depending on the angle that best suits your style and the shape of your face.

I knit it in Rowan Silk Wool and whoa, does that stuff ever not tangle! Drawing out a length of that from the ball inside my messenger bag as I moved around was effortless. It feels reassuringly soft in your hands and, having just worn mine out in just-above-freezing temperatures, I can assure you it's quite warm as well.


Download .pdf of Double Double Cloche

41 comments:

NessaKnits said...

That is one very cute hat.

Melissa D said...

I know some of it is the color but since first seeing your post about this hat I have literally dreamt of it. So, logging on today and seeing the pattern I almost sqealed out loud!! Thank you for being so generous to share this beautiful creation. I cannot wait to start my yarn search and to wear this myself.

Anonymous said...

Super cute hat! I'm going to print out the pattern now...hopefully I can start on it over the weekend! Thanks so much for sharing!

Unknown said...

My mother-in-law's cancer has recurred, so this pattern will be truly a gift to us both. Thank you, Mary, for sharing your enormous talent!

Mary Keenan said...

Oh Angela - I'm so sorry to hear this news!!

Mary Keenan said...

Melissa, I so know what you mean! Sometimes I obsess about making a pattern just because of the colour it's knit in ;^)

heklica said...

You do it again! A beautiful hat! Thanks for shating!

Anonymous said...

Mary - this is a beautiful hat and I have made many of them for friends and family. It's easy and doesn't look homemade! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Just downloaded your pattern...SUPER cute! :) Hope to start this over the weekend.
~kathy

Vanessa Fasanella said...

How much Rowan would I need?

Mary Keenan said...

Vanessa - 2 balls, or about 218 yards!

Anonymous said...

I'm allergic to wool and can't wear it or knit with it. What other yarn is suitable for this pattern?

Mary Keenan said...

Allergic to wool: any yarn that's comfortable and you can get gauge with should be fine, but remember nothing is as elastic as wool so if you're between sizes, go bigger rather than smaller! Often I'll put on a woolly 18" brim and it stretches perfectly over my 22" head, but acrylic wouldn't ;^)

Kerri said...

I'm a beginning knitter. I'm trying to understand the casting on of stitches for the brim, but I'm not quite getting it. Any detailed pictures for the challenged?

Mary Keenan said...

Sadly no pictures Kerri, and I don't think I can describe it better than I did in the Techniques section on the left panel of the pattern... I did a little hunt on YouTube for a video by somebody else but drew a blank there too. Maybe a how-to-knit book would have pictures?

Lauren said...

Would a DK Sport weight yarn be suitable for this hat? I'm so excited to finally start knitting it up! Thank you for providing the pattern!!!

Mary Keenan said...

For sure, Lauren! Just be sure you get gauge - and if you are a tight knitter, try going up a needle size because my natural tension is pretty loose :^)

Galatina said...

Thanks for such a cute pattern. It's now on my list of things to do - looking forward to knitting it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mary, Thanks for the pattern, I am very interested in knitting this for my niece, but I am not sure if I understand it correctly. I am doing knitting M size. After casting on 6 stitches, what do I do? Should I keep on adding stitches on the same row until I get 63 stitches? Or do I knit and purl one row after adding 3 stitches? Any help or a video of the beginning would be appreciated greatly.

Rama

Mary Keenan said...

Rama, after you've cast on the six stitches, flip your needle so that the point is on the right, then cast on three more stitches (as directed in the Techniques section on the left panel) and continue purling to the end of the row. When you're done, turn the work again and cast on three more stitches - it goes on pretty much like that until you get to your 63 stitches. Hope this helps!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mary, thank you for the response. Do I use the double pointed needles at the beginning (the Brim section)? Because you say flip the needle and then cast on 3 more. I am a very novice knitter, sorry about all the questions.

Thanks again
Rama

Mary Keenan said...

Not to worry Rama :^) The brim is worked flat at first - you join the work later to work on double pointed needles when you get into the proper hat part. So, straight needles are easiest if you have them, or you can improvise with double points treated like a straight needle, or even use a circular needle as though it is a straight needle. I hope that makes sense!

Gresha said...

This is my favorite cloche I made one for myself and one for my cousin, thinking of one for my sister in law. We think she felted the last one. once in a while I buy a hat which usually sits in the closet. I have learned to store them in plastic bags after losing a sweater to Moths.

I found some awesome handmade buttons at on of my favorite knit shoppes they work well with this hat. I think of knitting as an art even though with a pattern I am using someone elses blueprint

Mary Keenan said...

Gresha, that's how I feel about knitting too - even when you're using somebody else's pattern every knitter really brings something new to the project!

joeybbng said...

Hi, Mary, it says wet block at the end of the instruction, does it mean felt? Would it make a difference if I skip that?
Thanks

Mary Keenan said...

Joeybbng - definitely don't felt it! Wet blocking means soaking the hat in water (I add Soak to my blocking water, and Eucalan is good too) so the fiber gets a chance to settle in better to its new shape. Steam blocking is good too, where you wet a pressing cloth, put it between the knit and the iron, and lightly iron over it, but I find that technique is not as easy with a hat so I always suggest wet blocking. And yes, you can skip that, but it will look better if it's blocked. Hope this helps!

margaret said...

Love this hat. So chic. Going through chemotherapy and find wool too itchy so bought Patons cotton 50% and acrylic 50%. It's labelled 8 ply. Would this work as I'm having trouble finding the wool specified for the hat?

Mary Keenan said...

Margaret, I just checked and yes, Rowan Silk Wool has been discontinued. But it was a standard DK weight yarn and your 8 ply yarn should be just fine. My one piece of advice would be to go up a size from what you think you'd need, because the Rowan yarn's fibers made a bigger stretchier hat than your cotton and acrylic will.

Meanwhile: I hope the knitting is a good distraction and that your chemo goes really really well!!

Anonymous said...

I love this hat, but have not been able to make it work. I, too, have a question about the cast-ons esp.for the band. I understand how to cast on the extra stitches per instructions, but do not understand the "K or P to the end." Do you cast on the stitches and then knit or purl back across the whole row starting with the new stitches or do you use a new piece of yarn to cast on the new stitches and then continue across to the end? It seems to me that if you pick up the yarn used for the previous row and cast on you will end up at the end of the row. Any help is greatly appreciated. Mary

Mary Keenan said...

Hi Mary - sorry for the confusion about the cast on! You would stick with the same yarn rather than using a new piece, but knit or purl depending on which side of the band is facing you at the time. Also, you will always be casting on at the beginning of a row - finishing one side, turning the work as if to continue normally, and then casting on new stitches at the beginning of this new row before doing so.

For example, if you have cast on new stitches with the knit side facing (thereby growing the band with new stitches on the right hand side of the original piece), you will be knitting across the new and then old stitches toward the left, until the end of that row. Likewise, if you are casting on with the purl side facing (again growing the band to the right), you will purl back to the left end of *that* row.

Hope this helps!

Anonymous said...

Thanks! Pretty sure I've got it.
Mary

Anonymous said...

Thanks for previous help. New question. When starting the setup row of the band do you switch to the DP needles in order to be able to join the round at the end of the setup row? I had stayed on the straight needles and than could not figure out the joining. Thanks so much. Mary

Mary Keenan said...

That's exactly right Mary - when you join to work in the round, you have to work on double pointed or a circular needle. Hope the rest goes smoothly but if not, do let me know and I'll get back to you asap!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for your patience. Have worked about 1" and everything looks as if it is lined up correctly. My knitting group make Chemo hats and this is going to be a great addition. Thanks again
Mary.

Mary Keenan said...

Oh, I'm so glad to hear it's working out now Mary! You guys are so great to make chemo caps together :^)

Anne said...

This is just the pattern I've been looking for! I've been through chemo twice in the last 5 years and have a stash of hats but this is like one I loved and wore out!!! I will make this to put one away for my next time and make some to donate to our "hat bank". Thank you for the pattern :)

Mary Keenan said...

Anne, I am so glad you like this pattern! and so sorry to hear you have had to do so much chemo. Really glad it worked out (and I'm so impressed that you wore out a hat - I didn't know it was possible, that's really cool!) Hopefully if there is a next time it will be a long time from now.

Unknown said...

Hi, Mary. I need your help on this lovely hat. I am an amateur knitter. I can knit really nice fruit baby hats, so when my good friend was recently diagnosed with cancer, I thought I would try to make her the Double Double. Unfortunately, I almost jumped out the window last night after I screwed up the first step on the band.

At the conclusion of the brim, I had the WS (which is the purl side, right?) facing me, but then when I cast on the additional 27 knit stitches, everything everything was wrong. Am I doing the band setup on the same needle as the brim? Alternatively, could I just begin this hat on circular needles, skipping the brim entirely (circular needles are my comfort zone). Or would that ruin the look because the brim would curl up too much?

Thanks for any help you can offer. I struggled mightily through the brim (first time casting on purlwise - my stitches looked like they belonged to an 8 year old learning to knit) and then screwed everything up at the band. Have to start over tonight. But I really want to do this for my friend. I am confident I can do it if I can get past or around the brim!

Mary Keenan said...

Reagan, you might want to e-mail me at the address in the right hand side bar but I will try to help here: you start the brim for this hat with straight needles (or a circular needle that you treat as straight needles - ie by not joining the work but turning the needle every time you start a new row) so that you get a longer portion of brim that curls up but stays close to your neck - that's the part that helps to conceal hair loss. To create that effect what you're doing is starting with a few stitches and, with every new row, adding proportionally more stitches at the start.

When the brim ends and you cast on the last stitches, you will be joining the work and when you do start knitting it all in the round, you want the right (knit) side facing you. It can be VERY hard to join to work in the round once you have knit a bit of a hat like that - you have to be sure you don't let what you've knitted get twisted when you start knitting. It sounds a bit like that's what happened to you. Moebius hats: not so easy to wear ;^)

I don't know whether you would end up with a curly bottom if you skipped the brim, but you would lose the part that hugs in at the bottom and hides hair loss, which may be totally okay for your friend and a better fit for your nerves!

Do e-mail me if this isn't clear or you need more help - might be faster, but either way I'll do my best. Good luck, and to your friend too!

Anne M said...

Thank you so much for making this fun hat free for those of us who are having “hair issues”- I am rapidly losing my hair to Alopecia and not only is my head cold because my hair has thinned out SO much plus I have many totally bald spots. I can’t wait to start. What, in your opinion would be the best yarn to use to make this for summer use. I don’t want to be wearing a hat that’s going to be having my head sweat.
Thank you again.

Mary Keenan said...

Oh Anne, I'm SO sorry you're going through that!! For summer I would go with a cotton or cotton/linen blend. Linen is especially great for heat I find. The key will be to get gauge and make it perhaps a little bigger than you think you might need. The original yarn for this pattern is a silk/wool blend and silk sags out while wool is elastic - in that blend, the hat's fit is forgiving. Cotton can sag out but there's no elasticity to snap it back. Linen stays pretty rigid so that would help the hat hold its shape. I checked on Ravelry for other yarns in a DK weight that would help you get gauge and I think KnitPicks CotLin yarn would be a great solution and easy to source. Cascade Yarns' Ultra Pima doesn't have any linen but it could work well too, as could Tahki Yarns Cotton Classic.
I really hope one of these solutions can help you out Anne... like we women don't have enough to deal with in life!