Abacus Bracelets for Fiber Fest

I'm psyched about the DFW Fiber Fest this weekend! I've never been and I'm looking forward to extreme shopping. Are you in the Dallas area? Check out my handmade row-counter bracelets at the Woolie Ewe booth. 

Gray’s Anatomy Hat Pattern

     I call this hat pattern “Gray’s Anatomy” because I designed it while watching — yep, that’s right — Gray’s Anatomy.  Also, the first one I made is knit with a gray fairisle yarn.
     It's designed to fit most adult heads when knitted with worsted weight yarn. I’ve had success using smaller needles and sock weight yarn for kids’ hats. I've also used fewer repeats of the chart to make smaller hats. I like to knit hats with a springy yarn so they stretch well, yet retain their shape. 
     My favorite hat yarn is Jarbo Garn Raggi worsted weight sock yarn. It comes in lots of fun stripy and fairisle colorways, along with some nice bright solids, though I do wish it came in more colors since I use it so often.

Materials:
1 skein Jarbo Garbo Raggi (or other worsted)

2 circular knitting needles, US size 7 (4.5mm)

8 stitch markers, one in a contrasting color

Notes:  Use the contrasting color stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round, then place the other markers to divide stitches into a total of 8 sections. At row 12, hat is large enough to move to 1 16-inch circular. 

Instructions: 

Cast on 8 stitches using the "Magic Circle Crochet Loop." (Go to instructional video.)

Divide evenly, 4 on each needle.

Pull the tail snug.

Row 1:  K1, M1 around. (16 sts)

Row 2:  knit around, placing stitch markers every 2 stitches.

Row 3:  *k1, m1, k1* 8 times. (24 sts)

Row 4:  knit around.

Row 5:  *k1, m1, k1, m1, k1* 8 times. (40 sts)

Row 6:  *k1, p1, k1, p1, k1* 8 times.

Row 7:  *k1, p1, m1p, k1, m1, p1, k1* 8 times. (56 sts)

Row 8:  *k1, p2, k1, p2, k1* 8 times.

Row 9:  *k1, p2, m1p, k1, m1, p2, k1* 8 times. (72 sts)

Row 10:  *k1, p2, k3, p2, k1* 8 times.

Row 11:  *k1, p2, k1, m1p, k1, m1, k1, p2, k1* 8 times. (88 sts)

Row 12:  *k1, p2, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p2, k1* 8 times.

Repeat Row 12 until hat is desired length.

Cast off loosely.


Chart:  Corrected 3/27/12. Blue marks center stitch. Repeat 8 times around for 88 sts at brim.

Welcome to my blog!

I'm new to blogging, so I'll start by introducing myself. I'm a wife, a mom, a reader, a swimmer, a jetskier, a soap maker, and a KNITTER. I love to browse Ravelry and PatternFish for interesting yarns and patterns, and after a few years of "lurking," I've decided to really jump in. I plan to start posting my projects and blogging about the process. I design a lot of my own patterns, but nobody could follow them except me. Finally, though, I've written a simple pattern that my daughter deems understandable and worthy of sharing, so as soon as I figure out how, I will post it on Ravelry. Woo-hoo!