Friday, October 11, 2013

Spin Cycle Hat - a free pattern

In honour of I Love Yarn Day, let's hear it for Noro!  What's not to love about amazing colour shifts in yarns that include wool, mohair, silk, and all sort of other goodies?

The problem is loving it too much to leave the store with just one skein, and then not knowing what to do with it.


And for Noro's bulky Odori yarn at least, here is the solution: the Spin Cycle Hat.

Well, you know I had to show the back first or you'd think I made a hat with laundry stuck all over it, right?  Here's the front:


I have to say, I am feeling pretty crazy about this hat.  I was aiming for some positive ease, which I got because Odori has silk in it (remember how silk stretches, from my post on yarn substitution?), and it's just warm as I thought it would be in spite of all those holes, because the bulky yarn is so very, very bulky. The holes and that extra ease just kind of trap heat.  I'm sitting in front of an open window with it on as I type this, and even though my nose is cold, the rest of my head is toasty.


Go Odori!

And go you - find some bulky yarn in your stash, and transform it into somebody's present, heh.
  

Spin Cycle Hat

Materials
Noro, Odori, (40% Silk, 25% Wool, 25% Angora, 10% Mohair, 109yds/100g), 1 skein
6 mm/US 10 - 1 set double pointed needles or size to obtain gauge.
Stitch marker.
Darning needle.


Gauge
13 sts, 16 rows = 4" in stocking stitch

Finished Dimensions
S (M, L): S (17.75", 20", 22.25") circumference; 7.75"(8", 8.25") high. Shown in M, worn very comfortably over a 22" head.


Level of Difficulty
Moderately Easy: advanced stitches include K2tog, yo, and Kfb (knit into the front and back of a stitch.  Worked in the round.


Click here for .pdf of Spin Cycle Hat

21 comments:

Leslie said...

I love the hat and will download the pattern and make one for my Daddy. I've been looking for "just the hat" for him...now to find some masculine dark colors...

Jan said...

Mary, Thank you sooo much for making each of your patterns into a PDF file! Jan

Mary Keenan said...

You are so welcome, Jan! It's great for me too, so much easier when I go to knit one a few years later ;^)

Mary Keenan said...

Leslie, he will be good and cosy in this hat :^)

Laurinda said...

Thank you so much for the pattern! I've been thinking about a new hat, since my favorite is too stretched out to wear anymore, lol
This was very sweet of you! {{HUGS}}

Anonymous said...

Dear Mary,

I love the Spin Cycle Hat, but I would like to know if we can use a different yarn because the Noro, Odori is very expensive.

Thank you,

Connie

Mary Keenan said...

Connie - you can definitely substitute other yarns! Go for a bulky weight like the Odori and as long as you get gauge you should be okay. The silk content in the Odori makes it grow a bit, so if you want the same effect try to get yarn with some silk. I also recommend a good percentage of wool. Noro yarns are quite often on sale too - and I see there are a lot of bulky options in their line. Maybe you'll find one to suit your budget :^)

Auntie Stina said...

I love this hat! However, I only knit on the loom, so I'm going to have to figure out how to translate...

Mary Keenan said...

Keep me posted on your progress Auntie Stina - that would be cool to know how to do!

Anonymous said...

Mary,

I knitted this hat and it is beautiful.

Do you have a pattern for a Cossack or Russian hat. I would like to knit one for my husband.

Thank you,

Connie

Mary Keenan said...

Connie - I'm sorry, I haven't done one in that style, no! Glad you enjoyed your Spin Cycle though :^)

Anonymous said...

Can you use circular needles instead of the double point? Thanks for the free pattern, cute hat.

Mary Keenan said...

Absolutely, you can use circular needles - but when you get to a certain point in the crown you'll need to switch to double points to finish it off, as even the shortest circular will be too long :^)

Gailc8 said...

I'm making 2 of these embroidered with Mr and Mrs respectively for two adorable people getting married soon!

Mary Keenan said...

omigosh, what a cool his and her idea :^)

Tamara said...

Thanks so much for sharing this great pattern! I messed up the decreases on my first attempt and am going to donate it. I'm working now on a second attempt (one for me to keep) and I'm a little confused at round 2 on the crown... I am making a large and ended round 1 of the crown with 66 stitches. The instructions for round 2 in a large, as I understand them, are *[yo, k2tog] 5 times, K1, repeat from * to end of round - this series describes a pattern of 16 stitches, and 66 does not divide equally by 16. Can you please help me figure out where I am going wrong? I am a beginner so maybe it's something really silly and obvious, but I am stumped! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and respond. :-)

Mary Keenan said...

Hi Tamara and welcome to the wonderful world of knitting! I'm not sure if this is the source of your problem but [yo, K2tog] 5 times, K1 is a multiple of 11. You really count from the stitches that exist just before you start - so the yarn over, where you are adding a stitch, doesn't count. That leaves you with the two stitches you knit together - again, after the stitch is done you'll have one, but just before you start it's two stitches. So: two stitches, five times = 10, plus your K1, = 11 stitches; from 66 stitches you're dividing your crown into 6 segments. I wonder whether it would help you to place markers at the end of each of these sections so it's easier to catch where you have any mistakes, by counting the stitches in each section before going on to the next round? All the best and keep me posted!

Tamara said...

Thank you for the quick reply! I think I know what I did wrong... In interpreted 'yo' to mean bring the yarn to the front *and then knit a stitch* - but it just means to bring the yarn to the front, period. So my had has extra knit stitches after all the yarn overs. :-) I'm just going to continue in that pattern for the decreases and make the next one the right way.

Mary Keenan said...

Tamara, if you do a yarn over and knit a stitch you're actually increasing every time back to the number you started the round with... so you will have a very long hat with no crown at all! But you could just cast off when you feel it's long enough plus perhaps four inches, and run a cord through all the eyelets to tie tight.

Unknown said...

Do you have a scarf pattern to match this hat?

Mary Keenan said...

I don't, Unknown - sorry about that!