knitting is a hereditary disease

I want to marry my Koolhaas hat

Posted on 03/11/2008 by Andrea | Comments (0)
Filed under : Finished Objects, Knitting

I have to admit I've been in a bit of a knitting slump the past month or two. The St. Mawes sweater was sort of hanging over my head, nagging at me every time I tried to pick up something else. My knitting confidence was shaken and I began to amass a collection of unfinished objects. But I think that finishing St. Mawes and finding out that it was indeed FINALLY right freed up the old creative juices.

So as I waited for St. Mawes to dry (took a good three days, laid out on towels, for that thing to dry and block), I knitted the Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood. I used this Noro Silk Garden that I'd bought as a complete impulse buy. This hat pattern really is as great as everyone says it is. It's quick to knit and so much fun to watch the cris-crossing cables develop. I really like the end product of cables, but I don't usually like the process. But because the cables only cross one stitch, it's very easy to knit without a cable needle, which makes the endeavor much less painful for me.

And here it is:

Pattern: Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood. From Interweave Knits Gifts, Winter 2007, but I bought it on the Knitting Daily website (Ravelry Link)

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden (Ravelry Link). My first time using any Noro yarn after hearing so much about it. I doubted its appeal, with the scratchiness and the bits of hay. I have to say, though, that I'm sold on Noro now. At least Silk Garden. It's soft enough and the yarn just has so much character. And of course, the colors are fantastic.

Modifications: Because I didn't get gauge with Noro Silk Garden, I decreased the number of stitch pattern repeats by one. I also cut out one full row repeat (8 rows), but I wish I hadn't because the decreases happened more quickly than I thought and the hat ended up not covering my ears all the way.

Overall thoughts: This was really fun to knit, I loved watching the colors come out, and I'm looking for excuses to make more of them. One of the best patterns I've come across in a long time.