Two More Charity Hats on the LK150!

 I headed back down to my LK150 and "whipped up" two more adult hats from patterns by Anna Haferman.

I was chugging along and then checked the pattern and realized I had done two sections too many. I also got fancy on the decreases, but shouldn't have bothered. 

I also added 8 stitches, but I kept the tension at what she uses in the video.  This hat weighed 122gr. I wonder if I could have done it with 100gr if I actually followed the pattern. I've just found the other hats to all be a bit small and I wanted a manly hat.

Another of the Snowball beanies, but in higher contrast yarns. Again, I added 8 stitches. This is the same plum yarn as the previous "crochet look" hat. 

And again, I did the decreases a bit different. I actually really like the inside of this hat too. It would be good done in two similar colours for a nice subtle effect. This hat weighed 106gr.  Total, 228gr. 

I started another one but ran out of yarn so I'll have to re-work it. Also working on a child ribbed hat.

Yarn In:  0gr

Yarn Out: 228gr + 485gr = 713gr

Balance:  713gr more OUT than in

Costs:  $0

New Charity Hats, LK150 and Handknit

 I'm on a roll with the LK150 now! The group I'm donating to has a February deadline for adult hats, so I'm getting these done. They can also be wool which is awesome. The baby items can't be wool though, and they do collect those all year.

This adult hat was made with Georga Wool "Mercerized" that I'm pretty sure I bought at Wal-Mart a long time ago. It used 122gr, a little more than one ball. Annoying. Now I know not to do a doubled brim on other hats using this yarn.

I did do the doubling up decreases several times until I was down to around 12 stitches.

Makes a nice, smooshy fabric.  Pattern is the same Anna Haferman one from the last post (on YouTube).

Now this little hat. Ugh.

I didn't think I'd have enough of the pink to do the whole hat, but I have some left over. The pink is a chenille that was not liking the needles I was using. It has no stretch or recovery. But it is soft and used only 20gr. 

Yarn In:  0gr

Yarn Out: 122gr + 20gr + 363gr =  485gr

Balance:  485gr more OUT than in

Costs:  $0

 

Nice! Not even half way into January and I've used a pound of yarn!

Adult Hats on the LK150 for Charity

 While I was looking for headband patterns (see the last post), I found Anna Haferman's YouTube channel. She has all kinds of videos for items you can make on the LK150. It's a great machine if you like to work with DK or light worsted, or knit for charity. I decided to knit up some hats to kick off the year. 

I can't remember which came first. I did start this hat, thinking I was being smart by making the inside of the brim in black. Well, because the "wrong" side is the public side in this hat, I had used the black on what would become the outside of the brim. So instead of ripping it out, I went with it, and did a different tuck pattern.

It's in a wool I got 10+ years ago from Wal-Mart. It said it's a "mercerized" wool, which is not a word normally used with wool--it's used with cotton. Once washed up, it was quite soft. 

This is the inside. Often, this is used as the "public" side. This hat weighs 109grams.

This hat is the "Snowball Hat". It's very similar to the pattern above.

I do the top a bit different. I don't like to just double up and then take it off. I double up, move most stitches over to fill the gaps, knit two rows, repeat. I also tighten the tension to help take up the slack.  This one is in Patons "Decor" which is 25% wool. The colours aren't as contrasting as they looked in the balls. It has a mock ribbing hem.  It weighs 80gr.

This hat is from Ray Knitivity, however, he doesn't have it on his website anymore. I've knit it before and struggled with the sizing. This one is snug on me. It's unknown worsted yarn.  The pattern called for 10 rows of real ribbing, by reforming Every Other Needle.  For some reason, I decided to do 20 rows. Ugh. I was wedged in between my machine and a fridge, I couldn't focus properly, I had to sit on short folding step. It took forever. Don't do this. Do 2x2 rib or a mock rib or keep it at 10 rows.

The top has decreases that are done creatively, but you have to understand the pattern/chart.

I actually really liked the inside of the hat. However, the inside where the decreases are, is not very pretty. Also, I would have to seam it differently.

The tuck pattern, while not difficult, can really challenge you, especially with a heavier worsted weight. You have to push stitches back, and other ones forward, and just have to be careful that the needles are doing what they're supposed to.

However, something went wrong with seaming. I'm not sure if it's the pattern, or what. Like, maybe I lost a stitch on the edge? I could have taken in more on the seam but then the seam would be bulky, and it barely fit me!  It weighs 77gr. 

This is the crochet look beanie. I started with one ball of Decor, but it wasn't enough. I had another one that I really couldn't tell if it was the same dye lot or not. So I unraveled to the brim, and then did 2 rows of each.

The head has no hair, so it fits a little weird.

I tried to get fancy with the top decreases. Not really worth it! 

Up close, you can't really see any differences.

Step back a bit and there does seem to be a bit of heathering. And of course, I have about 12gr of each ball left. They do look different side by side now. This hat took 97gr--that double brim takes up a lot of yarn!! 

I have quite a bit of Decor left, though much is part balls that don't work together. I also have some thicker Red Heart wool but I don't think the LK150 will like it. I might need to get the KnitSmart out! 

All together, the hats weigh 363gr.

Yarn In:  0gr

Yarn Out: 363gr

Balance:  363gr more OUT than in

Costs:  $0

Twisted Headbands!

 My youngest got a new winter coat, a lovely teal Carhartt jacket featuring motifs by an American Indigenous artist. She made a comment about wanting a wide headband with a twist in the front. Momma to the rescue! 

I found a teal yarn (I think it's a washable wool from Wal-Mart, like 15 years ago). Of course, I can't do just plain. Megan didn't seem to want a headband that exactly matched her jacket as well.  I was going to machine knit this, so why not do some patterning? I only had the Singer 327 set up and the teal yarn was going to at the absolute upper limit, so I was also testing some cone yarns. However, the 327 did not want to play. At all. I tried a couple different cast ons, but it was in a bad mood and quickly, so was I. 

I walked away with a snarled mess still on the needles. I speculated it was the sponge bar--it had been awhile since I've used it.

I got out the Singer LK150. It's been in its box, I guess since I got the Singer 155.  I just scrolled back to see when I got the 155...February 2011! I haven't had the LK150 out since then?! Actually, in that post, I have the 155 and 150 on one table. Where was the 327? I don't know, but by using the LK150 tags, I found a post from August 2017 that described having some serious issues with the LK 150. This event had been wiped from my memory!

Immediately, the LK150 was unhappy. Needles were jamming, caps were coming off and jamming in the carriage or flying across the table. I couldn't find the tools. I bent one needle in the middle, so I tried taking an end needle out to switch...and along with the needle came goo. Icky, sticky goo.  My husband pulled on it and pulled out a few inches of disintegrated sponge bar. This did not help.

I wanted to use the basic four stitch tuck pattern in the instruction book, in two colours. I cast on 25-25 stitches, based on Anna Haferman's video. I was thinking tuck makes things wider but shorter, but I couldn't remember for sure. Having 50 sts meant one extra at each side for seaming (the 4 stitch tuck needed 48 sts). 

It was really rough going. I got tired from standing on the concrete floor, wedged up between the spare fridge and the knitting machine. I couldn't find the right focal distance when needing to fix mess ups. At some point, I lost the right edge stitch but I couldn't find a dropped stitch anywhere. I did eventually find the right tools, including the 3-1 needle selector. At 160 rows, as per the video, I cast off and gave it a good stretch.

It looked short, and it was. I put it back on the machine, at the right end. I thought maybe those needles would work better. After two rows, I took it off and put it all the way to the left, where at least some of the sponge strip remained, though it was no better than in the middle. I added another 28 rows or so, but I think next time I'd do a total of 192 for our small heads. 

I sewed it up, steamed it and presented it. Her comment "I thought you were going to do it all one colour?"

I had done at least one plain row after the cast on, I think partially by accident and also because I thought it would help. The instructions say the sewing together doesn't show, so I thought the plain row wouldn't show either. Perhaps because it's stretched out, it does. 

This headband used 79gr and just for funsies, I weighed the yarn tails after sewing together, and they were 3gr, so I'm calling this 82gr!

Megan is much taller than me and this wide width is fine for her, but I saw so many of these headbands done on the plastic circular knitting machines that looked really wide. They have fixed needles though, so only by changing the yarn do you get size changes, and you can't vary the yarn too much or it looks too thin or is too hard to knit.

I order a new sponge bar on Amazon. That was interesting. There were only two or three options, with the quickest being almost a week wait and with shipping costs. Then I added a bottle of Singer sewing machine oil, and suddenly I could get it the next day, and free shipping. I do have Prime, so the original shipping costs were surprising. While waiting for it, I took out all the needles and got to cleaning it. So much dust and yuck. We couldn't find anything to really get down into the needle channel (not just the large slot, but the actual groove), so finally I took it to the shower and gave it a good blast. The needles I soaked in some water, rubbing alcohol and a drop of dish soap.

The sponge bar and oil arrived...in a large box! It took awhile to get all the needles back in. I'd get in a groove but then one would be difficult. Mine are "white" and light grey caps, but only the little disc on top, and the difference between them is negligible....until you insert them. Originally I tried to put them in different jars when I took them out, but I kept mixing up which jar was which. Next time, write it down on the jar. I gave the two piles of needles a few drops of the oil in the latch area, but I didn't do them individually.

At work, we did Secret Santa. We had a sheet to fill out with our favourite drinks, snacks, smells, what we love but don't buy, what we can't live without and something we collect. For collecting, I put Diet Coke in cans (I put it for all the categories LOL), and yarn. I received a gift bag from my Secret Santa, and there was this gorgeous skein of yarn. They obviously knew me (some of the teachers are new, and many are part time. There's some I don't even see) because it's a great match for my bright pink coat! It's 100% acrylic, so I was stumped on what to make. Not mittens, but I could do more hand warmers. I didn't really need a scarf or hat, though they are both options. Maybe I'll make a cowl with the leftover.

I really hate Blogger's formatting. In the last post, I had copied a section from a previous post and it messed up the rest of the post. Here, I had written that paragraph above earlier on, but decided to move it down by copy and paste. Blogger wants it to be centered, even though I keep asking for it to be left aligned. It won't align this paragraph to the left either, even though it's showing it's left aligned. 

The picture on the label shows wide striping, but doesn't say how stitches that is over. It also shows greens, but my skein was definitely more turquoise. I decided I would do two row stripes, using each end of the skein. I cast on 20-20 and started with T4. I wanted it a bit narrower than Megan's. I realized it was too tight of tension though, so starting at row 57, I loosened the tension by one click every two rows. I kept it at 6* until row 104 and then started tightening the tension every two rows by one click. Because the two ends gets sewn together, they had to match. I knit to row 161, which was done with T9 and then a loop through loop cast off.

Quick grocery store selfie to send to Megan.

The sewing up is really interesting. I had thought, before seeing the tutorials, that there must be a keyhole. No! Watch the end of that Anna Haferman's video to see how it's done.

You can clearly see the looser tension in the middle section.

Here again you can see how the tension gets looser towards the left. I have issues with hats and headbands not laying right because of my glasses. I try to cover my forehead, but then it's weird on my glasses. Try to cover my ears, and the headband goes up high and doesn't cover my forehead. The way this headband twists at the centre front makes it even more narrow, so I guess the extra width they usually have, is needed. Or, don't wear it when it's freeze-your-forehead-skin cold.

The part knitted at 6* has a tension of about 5st/inch and 5.75 rows/inch. I think for general use, I'd do 5* or 6. The 6* does have nice drape but is verging on too loose. It used 67gr and I have 62 gr left. Do I make fingerless gloves? What's the latest tea on wearing matching items? Or should I make a hat to donate? How big of hat can I make? Some quick math reveals I have 124.26yds left. A quick Google search shows that'll be enough for a baby hat. Really, I thought there was more left in the skein! 

Yarn In:  141 grams

Yarn Out: 2466gr + 82gr + 66gr = 2636gr

Balance:  2495gr more OUT than in

Costs:  $0

And that's a wrap on 2025 (and Blogger changed the font!). 

Handknit Baby and Child Hats for Charity

 It's been a busy fall, but I wanted to get this last knitting post in (I do have one more baby hat on the needles, and I might get it done in time. Oh, and I have a headband that deserves its own post...). Okay, this is likely the second last post!

I've been knitting simple baby hats for a local charity. Newborn size goes to the hospital, bigger sizes go to other organizations. I got this basic pattern in 2020: 

With DK yarn, 3.75mm needle, cast on 70. Rib for 3". Switch to 4mm and stockinette for 2". Decrease 7 stitches every other row (Row 1: Knit 8, Knit 2 together and repeat; Row 3: Knit 7, Knit 2 together, repeat; Row 5: Knit 6, Knit 2 together, repeat; etc).  The pattern was written for knitting flat. If you do, I suggest adding a stitch so when you seam, you still get the decreases at the top spread evenly. I knit them in the round--Magic Loop style--so no seaming needed. I also use an alternate cable cast on. It's really nice for ribbing. I got the instructions from Montse Stanley's "Knitter's Handbook" but I assume instructions can be found online these days.

I often fluctuate with the number of stitches. I like 72 st so I can do 8 decreases at the top (knit 7, k2tog around the top).  I will also drop down the number of stitches if I'm running low on yarn, or it's a thicker yarn. 

These all came from one large ball of sparkly baby yarn. It has really long colour changes, with a slight shift of the colour between the colours (rather than red-bam!-blue, it's red-plum-violet-blue). I realized with the first hat if I just knit from the ball, I might end up with most of the hat one colour and a bit at the top another colour. So after doing the cuff on the first one (the one in the middle above), I decided to stripe them using a complimentary colour further in the sequence.

I didn't want to end up with orange and green...or pink and green...or purple and green, so blue and green was the only option. However, with the gradual shift, it's not as obvious striping at the top.

This striping technique left me with some small balls left over. I used the Helix method (evenly space 3 or more balls, knit to the next ball, drop the old yarn and pick up the new one without twisting), and I thought when one of the colours ran out, I'd just keep going. It didn't look good. So I adjusted stitch counts and height. And I also miscounted the tiny one--instead of 72st I had 62 stitches. 

All together, these  7 hats weighed 118gr.

These three were an attempt to use up a small amount of a pink yarn I found in my stash. It's hard to see, but I also used a fuzzy, thinner white yarn for some stripes. Together, they weigh 52gr.

These blue ones also have the same fuzzy thin white yarn. They weigh 57gr, with the one below.

Another random small ball from the stash.

The sparkly hats were started on a trip to Jamaica in mid-October. I'm trying to be realistic when I pack projects for trips. One ball of yarn was all I took and it was more than enough. When we went camping in Quebec after Labour Day, I took two balls--one black, one this Red Heart neon stripes. Like the baby yarn, this yarn has fairly long sections when you're only using <100sts. Black might seem odd for baby or child hats, but it's quite practical! It's hard to see since they're on a black background, but the rolled edge is in black for all of them.

This is Purl Soho's "Garter Ear Flap Hat", a free pattern. I misread the pattern, and the first hat I actually frogged (even though it wasn't all that different, it still bugged me). I made a couple different sizes. I even made a sort of spread sheet version of the pattern so I didn't have to read so much text. I put the sizes across the top, and the actions down the left, and the number of times, or the stitches needed, in the cells. 

All together, these weigh 234gr. Because it's a worsted weight yarn, they aren't suitable for the newborn hats for the hospital...a light worsted is okay but this definitely felt too bulky). 

One last little hat snuck in. I had started a few versions but kept running out of the green. So I went with the simple 2 row stripes, on 72 stitches. I have green left over. The white fuzzy yarn is never ending. This hat weighs 22gr.

All together, these little hats used up 483gr of yarn--over a pound! 

Yarn In:  0 grams

Yarn Out: 2005gr + 483gr = 2488gr

Balance:  2488gr more OUT than in

Costs:  $0

Sinclair "Vera" Dress, Take 3

 I mentioned in the last Vera post that I had bought some pink floral 100% cotton. I'd been getting advertisements from G.K. Fashion Fabrics on Facebook, and I spent A LOT of time looking at all their lightweight dress fabrics. They have one line that really caught my eye, "100% Cotton Loom Line".  There are so many pattern collections in that line, and I spent forever trying to find the perfect pink floral because I have this wonderful rayon sundress I want to replicate. 

I finally decided on the Candy Pink from the Wild Hibiscus group.  Totally me, right?! There's a couple pictures of the Candy Pink. I did feel it wasn't as colourful as I wanted, but I couldn't find something with more colour that was affordable. Take a look at those sample pictures. In the first two, look closely along the bottom of the picture. Do you see it? No? I didn't either. 

I washed the fabric, and ironed all several meters of it. Then I stretched it out on my table to start cutting. Then I saw it. There was a solid black flower, repeating across the width, and down the length!

That doesn't look right, does it? It's a single black layer, with no detail over top.

Due to the repeating nature of it, it was basically impossible to lay out the full front piece without having those black flowers showing!  I was gutted! Who thought solid black flowers on a pattern of pink flowers with layers of detail, was a good idea?

I had to re-evaluate my design plans. I have the Simplicity 2938 that I had just made as a top that I thought maybe I could alter.  Not sure why I didn't think it'd work. I was also considering another one but I hadn't made it in my current size. I eventually went with the 2938, but I added extra  in the middle with the plan to do gathers. 

However, they were too bulky and even though I spent a GOOD amount of time folding them, and pressing and pinning, I wasn't happy once I stitched them. 

I decided to do pin tucks. I think I hadn't done that before. I opted to take them down past my bust. 

I'm not sure what I'm showing. I think I melted the interfacing or something dumb again.

Not sure what that's about either. This was almost two months ago!  It was a lovely fabric to work with, a nice change from all the crappy fabrics I had been using. Most of it went together really well though my bottom edge was all different lengths for some reason.

Here's an actual hibiscus on the Sandals Negril resort grounds!

Here's the final dress. I made a sash with the scraps. I don't think it does anything to define my waist, since I don't have one to begin with LOL. I'm pretty happy with it, and how I was able to still make basically what I wanted even though the fabric tried to thwart me.

Speaking of thwarting....we noticed this little crab, probably the first day at Sandals Negril. He had made a little home in the grass near Brava. One day we walked by, and someone had filled in the hole! But a day or so later, he was back!

When I got back from the trip, something was wrong with my ear, which then turned into a sinus infection and it hung around for a LONG time. Like, 6+ weeks, three different antibiotics. Still not 100% better. But, I emailed GK Fashion Fabrics to express my unhappiness with the fabric print.

They answered back saying you can see the black flowers in the sample online, and other colourways have a similar spot, and it's their top selling pattern, so basically, it's me that has a problem, not the fabric. Not what I was expecting. I decided to look closer at the different colourways.

The red circles are the corresponding flowers that were black on the pink fabric. On the black fabric, they don't show up (or it was very faint). On the cream fabric, they also don't show up. On the blue and the teal, you can see the flower blobs, but they're blue, so they blend in better--but are still the only flower with no detail. 

The white circles are the same flower shape (the artist uses copy and paste to create the flowers), but you can see those flowers are not a solid blob, but have a layer of a light colour with details that reveal the dark first layer. 

I am 100% sure the red circles should have that same top detail layer in the second colour. Whether it's the artist's fault, or the fabric printer's fault--I can't determine that. I can just say that it created more work for me, I was disappointed with the store's response, and I will 100% make sure I go over any sample photos with a fine tooth comb in the future. I really liked the fabric! I also liked that they sent some sample swatches--some of which I'll probably be buying! They also don't include a packing slip or receipt--I couldn't find a copy of my order anywhere, so take screenshots when checking out. Of course, if you're in the Toronto area, just go to the retail location!