Tag Archives: Boon Island Hat

Blue & yellow & sunflowers

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This is Maria Socha’s Mimoza. Actually, and obviously since you see Glasshead wearing it, this is my Mimoza. It’s knit in Hikoo by Skacel Simplicity Solid, an excellent DK-weight yarn. It was a fun knit. As always, Socha’s crown decreases are totally beautiful.

I almost always make the largest size in a hat since even little tots in my neck of the woods like oversized hats. This one is a bit tall for beanie wearing in this size–except for the often-discussed pumpkin heads who surround me. The peacock blue shade is such an excellent colorway.

Next up is Subversively Stitched’s worsted weight freebie: Alignment. This one was a real hoot to knit, but I’m fairly sure there’s a hiccup in the pattern. And there is one caution that falls into the idiosyncratic pattern writing category.

At first I missed the idiosyncratic definition for the use of square brackets. They first appear at the clumped-together rounds 2-7 and repeat in other rounds. The brackets are defined to mean “a repeating set of 2 rounds; each round inside the brackets is set inside parentheses like ( ).” Hmm. So, e.g. for the clumped- together notation for rounds 2-7 that means:

Rnd 2: K4, P 1, K104, P1
Rnd 3: 2X2RC, P1, K104, P1.
Rnd 4: repeat rnd 2.
Rnd 5: repeat rnd 3.
Rnd 6: repeat rnd 2.
Rnd 7: repeat rnd 3.

Everything was working out perfectly with this pattern until I got to rounds 20-24. Maybe it was my mistake. But I checked it a few times and couldn’t make it work as written. Then I just followed the photo of the hat. Those rounds are the midpoint of the textured pattern. There are rectangles/almost squares in that section.

Rounds 20-23 call for repeats of P4, K4…with a few specified stitches (knit or purl) before that repeat and a few specified stitches (knit or purl) after that repeat. I had to end the repeat with a P4 to properly form the square. Then the specified stitches at the end of the round didn’t work out. On Rounds 20 and 22, I needed K2 at the end. On Round 21 and 23, I ended with a P4, K1. On Round 24, I ended with a K4…and I wasn’t sure what to do with the last two stitches so I just K2.

The first of the rounds of crown decreases are not placed to align up with the rest. Especially if you’re working in a solid color yarn, it sticks out like a sore thumb. I assume this is necessary to get the stitch count to work out. If I knit this again, I’ll decrease in the last set of garter stitch rounds to hide those necessary decreases.

I knit my Alignment in Berroco Comfort. Easy care and very…well…comfortable.

My next blue hat is Beverly S.’s Slip Sliding Hat. It’s designed for Malabrigo Rios and that’s what I used. The brim starts with an easy modified twisted rib. The body of the hat’s worked with slipped stitches every other row. Those slipped stitches slide back and forth, creating a zigzag pattern.

This turned out to be a fun, quick, knit. I worked 4 repeats of the 12-round pattern and then began the crown decreases because I wanted more of a beanie than a slouchy.

One caution. Be careful to slip the 3 stitches (with the yarn in front) keeping an even and not-too-tight tension. Otherwise the stitches will bunch and the fabric will tend to pucker. At some points I think I wasn’t totally successful in heeding my own caution.

Very nice crown decreases. I was completely satisfied to forego the slipped stitches for the crown.

Speaking of zigzagging, it’s back to yellow. Another Boon Island by Aimee Alexander. This one is knit in Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash Solid. Definitely two many nouns in a string. But great yarn.

I especially appreciate this hat’s versatility. A great slouchy. And an interesting beanie.

This final blue hat is Anne Claiborne’s Tenure Track. And I didn’t suddenly learn to crochet. It’s knitted. I love this hat’s in-your-face double ring of big bobbles. The stitch pattern is granite stitch. I’d not worked it before my first Tenure Track. It’s easy and looks great.

The bullseye crown decreases continue the granite stitch right down to the last rounds.

Such an excellent hat.

This used to be an excellent field of sunflowers near where I live. They always filled me with a sense of hope and resilience. The farmer doesn’t plant them anymore.

Strong solid color hats

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Brace yourself for a hatapalooza. The theme is hats in solid colors. Gloriously pretty and deep clear colors. And even dull and boring colors. But all solids. No speckles. No variegateds.

This first hat is Kathy Zimmerman’s Back Seat Driver Hat, a Ravelry freebie. I knit mine in Sugar Bush Yarn’s Crisp, a DK weight. The colorway is Good Gold. The pattern is an easy, quick knit. The solid color is busy doing what solids often do: showcasing texture.

I have a giant pumpkin head and so do many in my neck of the woods. So I knit the largest size. A 120-stitch cast-on is a very large hat, even in DK. But I love the generous feel of this hat and that the ribbing isn’t stretched while someone wears it.

I’d like this hat more if the crown decreases were a little less fluffy. That can be solved by flipping the ribbing up to pull the hat down at the crown. But I sort of prefer an uncuffed ribbing in this one.

Next up is a classic balaclava: Easy Balaclava by Nanette Blanchard. It’s also a freebie, but you’ll have to step into the Wayback Machine, here, for the pattern.

I knit my helmet in Berroco Ultra Wool. Worked in a solid black there’s no busy yarn to obscure the simple lines of the ribbing.

And the crown decreases are nicely well-behaved too.

I made almost no modifications to the pattern. But instead of using a backward loop cast-on above the bind-off (as the pattern directs), I used a cable cast-on. And to strengthen the opening, on both sides where the cast-on met the body of the helmet, I knit 2 together. In the final decrease round, I substituted knit 2 together for the pattern’s knit 3 together. Then I closed the hat with 6 stitches instead of 4.

Next up is Rafa’s Hat, a freebie by Joji Locatelli. She says it’s “a very easy manly hat worked in worsted weight yarn…designed for a friend who (like every man) had very little requirements.”

This time I knit Rafa’s Hat in Berroco’s Ultra Wool in the “Green” colorway. Don’t you love the shade name? Not “Pond Scum in the Moonlight” or “Moss Lurking under a Wet Rock.” Just, “Green.” A no-nonsense yarn for a no-nonsense hat.

My round gauge is always way off when I knit this hat. This time, I knit the largest size but stopped the ribbing in each section at 15 rounds. After 3 repeats, I worked only 4 rounds of ribbing before starting the crown decreases. That worked well. Otherwise the hat would have been too long.

Wouldn’t this hat be cool with that perfect circle of crown decreases knit in a bright yellow?

This next hat is a frequent visitor to the blog: Aimee Alexander’s Boon Island. Not a freebie, but worth every penny. This is the 5th time I’ve knit this pattern and this time I decided to use Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash Solid in the “Gold” colorway. Here’s Boon Island as a slouchy.

Here’s the hat cuffed and showing off its underside. If you work this hat with care, in terms of weaving in ends, it’s almost a reversible.

Here’s the tidy crown decreases.

The next pattern and yarn are both new to me: Susan B. Anderson’s Baker’s Hat and Louett’s Gem’s Fingering weight.

I used a cable cast-on, alternating between knit and purl stitches. It worked out well and made for a very neat edge. My stitch gauge was correct. My row gauge was off. At the end of the twisted-rib stitches, I was already 8 inches from the cast-on (rather than 7.5). I eliminated the extra rounds (5 for my size) and just started decreasing at the end of the twisted-rib rounds. Whether because of the yarn or the pattern, I’m not sure, but I needed to sternly wet-block this hat to tame the ruffle that formed just after the ribbing, as the hat moves into its stockinette section.

The Baker’s Hat crown is a bunch of organized elongated puffy folds. Normally that wouldn’t sit well with me. But for some reason I feel like it works here. Maybe the audacity of how exaggerated they are makes those puffs more acceptable. And, once again, the simple twisted-rib section shows to good advantage in a simple solid yarn.

This last hat is Smith’s Hat, a Ravelry freebie designed by Sanne Kalmbacher. From my first look at the design I imagined Smith’s Hat in a solid, mostly to show off the unusual structure with its twists of ribbing. I knit mine in Plymouth Yarn’s DK Merino Superwash. The colorway is Copper Heather. I see you rolling your eyes already. OK. Heathers are not solids. All I can say is that this “heather” isn’t a heather. It’s a solid. Nice yarn, too.

‘Tis a very strange knit. Which is what drew me to it. It’s given some folks fits to knit. It did for me too but then I found some assistance from other Raveler’s project pages.

The puzzler is how to get that slanted rib panel to slice its way across the hat.

The M1L and M1LP are worked typically, though the abbreviation key sets out the directions in a way I’ve not seen before.

For the M1L, I picked up the horizontal bar from the front, put it on the left needle point, and knit it through the back loop.

For the M1LP, I picked up the horizontal bar from the front, put it on the left needle point, and purled it through the back loop. Purling through the back is an unpleasant maneuver. Sharp needle points make it easier. Purling through the back closes up a little hole that will otherwise appear in a rather prominent place.

There is a horizontal bar to pick up on every round. Especially at the beginning, it’s a little hard to see. It’s a bit tucked to the nonpublic side, maybe because there’s some pulling going on from all this stitch manipulation.

My fairy godmother on this project is Raveler ESB4. Ethel has line-by-line instructions on her Ravelry Smith’s Hat project page for rounds 6-11 as you leave the twist and form the M1Ls. They work perfectly. Basically, Rounds 6-8 create 3 stitches as you exit the twist, and 3 disappear just before you enter the twist as a result of knit 2 togethers. Same for rounds 9-11. The first trio of rounds creates a set of 3 knits, while the last trio creates a set of 3 purls. As those trios “grow” they become a full 3-stitch vertical rib. I know that if you haven’t already knit this it’s probably not making much sense. But it all works out.


I’m not thrilled with the crown decreases, especially at the start. But that very prominent line of decreases mostly fades into the background once it’s on a head. Felted Head says the hat is quite cozy.

I’ve been doing a good bit of knitting with solids partly because I’ve been gravitating to lots of texture in my knits. Both are good trends. Comforting. Soothing. With nothing to hurt your eyeballs.

Even more doubles

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A repeated theme on this blog is knitting doubles. I get a kick out of working up the same pattern in different yarns or by reversing colorways. This first doubles is Justyna Lorkowska’s freebie Scrappy Ski Hat. Lorkowska designed this hat to use up worsted weight oddments. And it is beautifully suited to that. But I knit mine in Mirasol Umina, a 50% merino 50% alpaca worsted that is wonderfully soft.

Check out how nicely the crown decreases work out.

If you like this next hat (I do), you’ll have to work a bit harder than merely clicking over to Ravelry to buy a copy of the pattern. This is Carol A. Anderson’s Anna Hat. You’ll find it in her company’s (Cottage Creations’) “Caps (and more) for the Gals” booklet, #R32, copyright 2010. The pattern is on page 16 and is labeled “A Very Warm Textured Cap and Mitten Set for Rialey and Anna.” The booklet can be ordered here. There are a number of excellent patterns included.

I’d purchased two deeply discounted skeins of Cascade Pacific, a 60% acrylic 40% merino blend, figuring I’d find a use for them. The variegated colorway was a little overwhelming but this pattern stitch worked really well to tame it.

Without those stitches slipped with the yarn in front, which creates that bar of yarn, this colorway would have been hard to take.

I’m now liking this wild colorway and cool hat quite a bit. Here’s the same Anna Hat in a quieter variegated in the same yarn.

Kelbourne Woolens released a free hat pattern every month in 2019. This is a pair of June Hats, designed by Meghan Kelly. I like many of Kelbourne’s Year of Hats and knit quite a few of them. In fact, I’ve knit June before. I think that easy slip stitch chain in the main color is just the cat’s meow.

And my pompoms aren’t too shabby either. These hats are knit in Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted.

It’s yarn leftover from one of my favorite Rambling Rows ever.

“And now, for her next trick…” a triple. A triple Boon Island, by Aimee Alexander. First in Ella Rae Classic Solids, Heathers & Marls, but this is marl:

And the next two Boons are in Plymouth Yarns Encore, a 75% acrylic 25% wool workhorse.

 

Boon Island is very versatile. I much like the rough pebbly non-public side, which makes for a good brim for those who favor brim over slouch.

The crown decreases are handsome and well-behaved.

“Tha…tha…that’s all folks!” If you’d enjoy some more doubles, check out here and here and here.

Ribbed hats with pizzazz

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It’s snowing like crazy this afternoon, April 11th. So that clearly means it’s time to write about …more hats. If this snow keeps up and foils our plan to not shovel again this season, since we assume that because it’s mid-April it will melt quickly, maybe we’ll still be wearing hats in May.

This is Rafa’s Hat, a freebie by Argentinian designer, Joji Locatelli. And, yes, if you’ve clicked on that link, maybe your man will end up looking like Locatelli’s model if you knit him this hat. Probably not, though. She sees it as a “manly” hat and it is. But it’s a perfectly proper womanly hat too. I knit mine in Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash, one of my favorite worsted weight hat yarns. This knit looks best knit in a yarn with excellent stitch definition.

Here’s the well-behaved, attractive crown decrease section. I decided to work fewer rounds (only four) after the last pattern repeat that ends with the line “divider” because I thought that the hat was tall enough. This is a hat I’ll be returning to again. In fact, maybe sooner rather than later because snow always energizes my hat knitting.

This next hat is an Aimee Alexander (Polka Dot Knits) design: Boon Island. I knit mine in Berroco’s Ultra Wool, another excellent newer superwash worsted. The “cracked rib” a/k/a “broken rib” stitch is an easy two-round pattern that makes for excellent social knitting. I couldn’t quite get the gauge of 22 stitches and 34 rows to 4 inches in Ultra Wool. My gauge on size 7 US needles was 23 stitches to 4 inches. But the hat is very stretchy and gives a knitter a Get-Out-of-Jail Free Card on minor gauge problems.

The hat can be worn slouchy.

Or it can be worn cuffed.

Either way, every head, all sizes, will find that Boon Island suits. And the hat really flies off your needles because every other round of broken rib is a knit round.

Boon Island is a close cousin to Jennifer Adams’s Graham, a Ravelry freebie. Adams’s hat uses a traditional ribbing at the outset. This time I knit my Graham in Berroco Peruvia. Peruvia is considered an Aran weight, but the hat worked out just fine. Graham’s pattern calls for Berroco Ultra Alpaca, which is labeled a worsted but knits up (for me) a tad beefier.

Here’s Graham’s slouch look.

The crown treatment on the two hats is different, with Boon Island’s creating a more pronounced “x” of decreases as compared to Graham’s more traditional simple shaping.

And here’s Graham cuffed.

Both Boon Island and Graham are completely reversible. That’s a nice touch in any simple hat because the knit-clueless among us often seem to wear their hats inside out. With these hats, it won’t matter.

A number of knitters, myself included, have altered the Graham crown decreases thinking to eliminate any hint of a pointy top. For me, at round 19 I knit 2 together across the round. I worked K1, P1 across round 20. And for round 21, I k1, k2tog across the round. That left 14 stitches remaining to close the top.

Here’s the Graham I knit a few years ago, in Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I didn’t modify the crown and the off-head pointy crown totally disappears. My son prefers to wear his Graham cuffed.

Personally, I think “my” model rivals Locatelli’s. But I’m probably biased.

This next cracked/broken rib hat is Virginia Myers’s The Only Hat Your Teen Wants.

I knit mine in the lovely-to-look-at Brillo Pad competitor yarn, Caron Cupcakes. It’s a DK weight acrylic caked up in a really attractive run of five colors, complete with a pompom.

The look of this hat? Very, very nice in this yarn. The price point of this yarn? Excellent. The pattern? A really good one. It’s a DK take on mistake rib, with a twisted rib cuff. The feel of this yarn? Really, really rough with that unpleasant squeak-on-the-needles quality. That being said, after I washed the hat and put it in the dryer (before attaching the pompom), it softened nicely. There was no way this hat would do its slouch thing without a washing. First off the needles, the hat stood on its own.

If Cupcakes tempts, this pattern really shows off the yarn.

Haxann Evers’s Garter Rib Bliss is one last entry in the ribbed hat category. It’s another Ravelry freebie. I knit mine in Blue Sky Fibers Handspun Organic Cotton, a beefy worsted weight.

Check the other Ravelry projects for this hat to see its very different look knitted in soft acrylic or non-cotton natural yarn. The non-cottons bunch the yarn so that the ribbing looks more, well, ribbing-like. But I like the looks of mine.

I was prepared to not like the very abrupt K2 together all across the round crown decreases in this pattern. Instead, I’ve decided that I like the effect. Very nice ribbiness.

Often keeping it simple works really well.