Top Down Tunisian cloche

After working the Bottoms Up hat, I had to try another version from the top down.

Looking through my stash, I dug out some super bulky (6) Wool Ease Thick and Quick I had left over from other projects.  I wasn't sure I'd have enough of two colours to finish a hat, but there was enough to figure out how to do one from the top down. 

Normally I'd work the super bulky yarn with a 9.00mm hook, but I've only got one size double ended hook.  That changed things a fair bit, which I will cover later on.






Using one end of my double ended hook, I started by doing a spiral disc of sc working into the front loops only, so it wouldn't be as dense as it would have been if I went through both loops.  I made several false starts before I figured out when to start working the Tunisian Simple Stitch.  Increases are worked in the forward pass, so right from the start, I worked an increase.  To just pick up loops without increases, I worked through the front loops of the previous sc.  The first loop for the increase was pulled up through both loops of the sc, then the second loop was pulled through the front loop of the sc.  Once I was past the disc, the increases were worked by pulling the first loop from the back, in between the vertical bars, then the second loop of the increase was worked through the next vertical bar as usual.  You can see in the above photo that these increase stitches are far less visible than decreases.





Like the Bottoms Up hat, this one is 56 stitches around at the widest point.  Once I increased to 56 stitches, I just kept going until I started to think I'd be running out of yarn.  The body was a bit longer than the Tunisian portion of the Bottoms Up hat, but not by much. 





I finished by working rounds of sc in the front loop only. 

Despite being the same number of stitches around and using the same hook size as the Bottoms Up hat, the super bulky yarn made this into a much tighter hat.  Too tight.  The finished size would fit a child much more comfortably. The length would probably look better on a child, too.  The extra thickness made for a fabric stiff enough to hold its own weight.




Here you can see where I switched from the Tunisian to sc in the front loops.  I kept working in a spiral, too.

Here's a comparison of the insides.




The discs of the crown look completely different with the two methods.  Although top down was easier to work (the curl was not as much of an issue), I like the look of the bottom up method better.  In fact, how the blue middle looks on the inside is how I'd rather it looked on the outside.  


With the top down method, I found I had to make the beginning disk quite a bit larger before I could start up the Tunisian portion, though that might have as much to do with the thicker yarn as the method.






In this side view, you can see the transition from the first (blue and red) and last (green and pink) stitches of Tunisian and the brims. 

Getting feedback from the family, they all prefer the Bottoms Up hat.  They like the look the decreases made, as well as the decorative brim, while I preferred the less obvious look of the top down method.

Both methods worked up well, but the bottom up method was harder to actually do because of the curl.  I liked the thickness and extra warmth of the super bulky yarn, though I would have preferred to use a larger hook.  Were I to do it again with the super bulky yarn and the hook I do have, I'd have to make sure to increase the number of stitches for a larger hat, since the density reduces the size significantly.

While the Bottoms Up hat went over better with the family, the aesthetics of both are pleasing.  Top down was slightly easier to work, though it required a larger disc on the crown before I could start the Tunisian.  In the future, if I were to do a top down version, I would work both colours into the starting disc so that it's not so blatantly different. 

In the end, I find I really enjoy doing hats with the double ended hook even with the irritation of how much it curls.  Certainly enough to now be wondering what I have in my stash to try again, this time using a stockinette stitch.

Tunisian in the round - Bottoms Up hat

I've been itching to do more with my double ended hook and Tunisian in the round.  After looking up how to do increases and decreases, I started to experiment.

For my first attempt, I worked from the bottom up and did decreases into the crown.  After finishing the crown, I went back to the starting row and increased the length in the opposite direction.

The yarn I used was some more Charisma, plus some yarn left over from last year's crochet blitz.  The red yarn is a narrower yarn than the blue.  My double ended hook is a 6.00mm.



In this view, you can see where I started.  First, using just one end of the double ended hook, I worked a foundation sc to a length that would fit around my head, which turned out to be 56 stitches.  Without joining the chain, I started picking up loops through the back loops only, so begin a spiral.  You can see the slightly diagonal bar where that first Tunisian stitch is joined.

Picking up the yarn for the Tunisian through the back loops only created a ridge I really liked.  Had I made the body portion longer, I would have been quite happy to leave just that foundation as the edge of my hat.




I worked up the sides in the same way I did the Tunisian Simple Stitch can cozie.   I quickly discovered that the curl that forms makes the job a LOT more difficult!  Mostly because it curls in the wrong direction!  Unfortunately, a combination of that curl and not being sure if I had enough of the red yarn had me beginning the decreases earlier than I normally would have.

Decreases are worked in the reverse pass, in this case, when the red yarn is being worked through and the blue loops are worked off.  When it reduced in size to the point where Tunisian wasn't working anymore, I continued decreasing in sc in the back loops only.




This made for a very short hat, so I went back to the foundation row and, working in rounds instead of a spiral, I worked a round of sc, then turned it to make a round of alternating sc and a long extended sc. 

The long extended stitch is worked by inserting the hook through the top of the previous round's stitch, yarn over hook (yoh),  then pulling the loop through.  There are 2 loops on the hook, just like a single crochet stitch.  YOH, then pull the yarn through ONE loop only.  YOH, pull yarn through one loop only again.  YOH, then pull the yarn through both loops, finishing the long extended sc.

Having a sc on each side of the long extended sc forces the extra length behind the work, creating a sort of bobble, which is why it has to be worked from the back or inside of the piece.

After that, I did 1 round in blue sc, 1 round in red sc, 1 round in blue hdc.  The last two rounds alternated pairs of front and back post double crochet. 



I was able to work this hat in a single evening.  The kids just love it - my older daughter says she thinks it's the prettiest hat I've made yet!  I wouldn't go so far, but I am rather happy with how it turned out.

Final conclusion:

I am quite happy with the yarn and colour combinations, and how the Tunisian simple stitch looks.  The decreases add interesting visual and textural elements.  If I were to change anything, I would have made the body of the hat several inches longer.  As much as my kids love the decorative brim section, I personally find it too... much. I think I would have preferred more Tunisian, less brim.  I also would not have worked the final stitches in the crown in the back loops only, but my family likes how the ridges left seem to be an extension of the decrease lines, giving it a spidery look.  In the end, the details I'd change are a matter of personal preference and aesthetics, rather than any problems with the design itself.

The curl that happens when working Tunisian in the round really makes the job more difficult.  Especially when beginning the decreases, as it curls against the direction the piece is worked, wanting to flip inside out.  In the end, though, it was worth the hassle. 

I worked up another version from the top down, which I will post about next.  At the end, I'll show what they both look like on the inside.

Crossed Cables hat

I got some photos today of another cable hat I'd missed earlier.  My younger daughter has claimed this one for herself.




This piece was worked using two strands of Harmony yarn and a 9.00mm hook.  The crown was done in a flat disk of double crochet stitches.  When I reached the size I wanted, I did one round of dc without any increases, then started on the front post stitches to make the cables.



The patterns was determined by the number of stitches I ended up having, which was a multiple of five.  The first couple of rounds were in groups of 3 fpdc and 2 hdc.  After that, I split up the first and last fpdc to start the X.

Working the cables really pulled in the sides.  When not worn, the sides look completely straight, rather than gently curving outwards as most of the hats tend to. 



The last bit was worked the same was as the Green Cables hat. 

The entire piece was a touch longer than I usually make for a hat that doesn't get turned up - something my daughter really likes!

I'm rather happy with how it turned out, though if I do it again I might change the crossed front post double stitches to front post triple stitches.  I think that would prevent the pulling in.  On the other hand the hat wouldn't be quite a snug as it is, and I don't think I'd want it any looser.  Perhaps if using a thinner yarn or smaller hook, it would be more of a concern.  As it is, I think it worked our rather well.

Hooded scarf - a prototype

While perusing patterns, visiting blogs, crafting sites, and so on, I have noticed an increased number of patterns for hooded scarves.  It seems a very practical garment.  The simplest method to make one is to make a long, wide scarf, then fold it in half and close up a seam on one side to create the hood.

Looking at the different types, an idea began to percolate in my brain.  After twisting and turning the various permutations around in my head, I decided to give it a go with yarn and hook.

First off, the structure.

I didn't want a hood that came to a point in the back.  I also wanted more depth to the hood, rather than just a folded in half scarf.  Because I like making things difficult, I guess. ;-) This got me thinking of different sewing patterns I've encountered over the years for hoods.  I decided that I would have a flat panel for the width of the head, then build up the sides and/or back.

Next, the construction.

I wanted to be able to work it all in one piece.  I didn't want to be stopping in one place, then restarting the yarn somewhere else.  Nor did I want to be sewing sections together.

I had some Lion Brand Homespun from a project that needed less than I expected, so even though I dislike working with the yarn, that's what I used for this prototype.  I love the colours, softness, weight and easy care of Homespun, but it's a PITA to work with.  Ah, well.

I didn't take photos of the piece as I worked it, simply because I had little idea of what I was doing.  I was just mucking about to see how it turned out.  This is the finished hood.




My poor daughter.  I made her face the sun so I could get this picture, and she was totally blinded!

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, though there are a number of things I will be changing for the next one I make.  I'll explain that as I go along.



First up, the top panel.






Using the Homespun and a 6.00mm hook, I started off making a rectangular panel 20 dc wide.  I worked the length so that it reached from the crown of my head to my hairline, which worked out to be about a dozen rows.  I was more interested in the dimensions than how many rows at this point.



Next, it was time to build up the sides and back.  Here's a back view.



To work the sides and back, I turned the top panel and started working dc along three sides, without adding extra stitches to the turns at the corners.  I built these up until, when worn, it reached about the base of the head.  This worked out to be another dozen or so rows.


Next up, it was time to add the scarf portion.  Here is a side view of the piece.



And so you can tell what is where...



To start on the scarf portion, I simply extended the last row of the hood by working a chain to the length I wanted.  Once I had a length that I could wrap about myself the way I'd want to while wearing it, I counted the number of stitches (+2 ch to turn), then worked dc back to and across the bottom of the hood.  When I reached the other end, I kept going by doing foundation dc to the same number of stitches as the other side (I believe I settled on 120 dc beyond the hood portion to get the length I wanted).  I worked rows of dc until the scarf portion was 4 rows wide, then started working around the entire edge of the piece. 

Without turning at the end of the row, I worked 3 dc into the corner (counting ch3 as my first dc) and started working dc stitches along the end, 3 dc to turn the corner, then kept on going.  This first round got worked into the remaining loops of the foundation dc and foundation ch stitches of the scarf portion.  It's a bit of a pain, but I figured it would look better than changing to work in between the dc stitches.  That would have been easier, but not the look I wanted.

First, a back view...



I wanted the scarf portion to be a bit more formed in the back, so that there wouldn't be any gaps in the back letting in drafts.  To do that, I decided to start reducing the number of stitches in the back as I worked the rounds.  I found the middle and put in a stitch marker.  In the first round, I worked the decreases (2 double crochet together or 2 dctog) with 3 regular dc stitches in between (the stitch marker being in the middle stitch).  In each consecutive round, I spaced the decreases farther apart; as I worked my way into the back section and reached the first decrease of the previous round, I'd start the decrease into the stitch just before the previous decrease, rather than into the top of it, then the start of the next decrease of that round was worked into the stitch just after the decrease of the previous round.


Here's the side view again.



In my first round, when I reached the turn where hood and scarf met, I worked 2 dctog, making sure one of them was right into the corner to prevent any gap.  In subsequent rounds, I worked 3 dctog in the same area.




I also worked decreases across the top of the hood, placing the first ones right where the top panel and side sections were joined, then working subsequent decreases closer together in the next rounds.  So as I worked up one side and reached the dc of the previous round, I worked the first half of the decrease into the top of the decrease of the previous round, then the second half into the next stitch at the top of the hood.  Then when I worked across the top and reached the next decrease, I would work the first half of the new decrease into the last stitch just before the previous decrease.  This way, in each round, the number of stitches in front of the top panel was reduced, not the stitches on either side.




In the very last round, I added a picot into the 3 dctog at the corners of the scarf portion.  Just because. 

Final verdict.

I find my basic premise is sound.  I like the flat top panel idea, but found that, instead of one large point in the hood, like in the scarf-folded-in-half type, I have two very slight points at either end of the starting chain.  I also think it's a bit too wide.  Next time, I'm going to start with a shorter foundation - perhaps half the width of what I have here - and work increases into the next few rows until it's the width I want.  I think I'd go about an inch or two narrower on the total width, too.  I think I'm good with the depth of the hood, so I'd probably work the top panel to the same length as I did here - long enough to reach from crown of the head to the hairline.

For the shaping at the back, I think I would actually start working decrease rows in the scarf portion, rather than in the finishing rounds.  I might even go so far as to start the decreases in the back of the hood portion.  I'll have to think about that.

I'm not entirely sure what I think about where I started the scarf portion.  On the one hand, I'm thinking of starting it higher up (by reducing the number of rows in the hood portion), which would make it go across face at a higher point.  On the other, I'm thinking of starting it lower down (by adding more length to the hood portion), so that it's not in the way of the face when not wrapped up.

I'm also debating whether or not I'd like the scarf portion wider or not.  With a core width of 4 rows, plus another 4 rows added by the finishing rounds, it's a decent width.  When wrapping it around the face and neck, though, it tends to be a bit gappy.  I think that has more to do with the fact that the scarf is attached to the hood, rather than the width. 

Hmm... I wonder if there's a way to make a keyhole, instead.  That would solve that problem.

Those are just a few of the ideas I'm bouncing around.

Other things I would change or keep:

I would stay with the same hook size and yarn weight.  I'm happy with that.  If I were to experiment with that, I'd probably go with a bigger hook and chunkier yarn, rather than the other way around.  I wouldn't want to stay with this particular yarn, though.  The Homespun splits and catches on the hook horribly, and I was forever having to undo and redo stitches because of it.  I'd definitely go with something that's got a better twist to it. 

Once I get the basic idea down to my satisfaction, I might play with textures and/or colours.  Perhaps adding a contrasting colour for the last round, for example, or adding textured stitches or cables to the hood and scarf potions.

Experimenting will be fun!

Feature Friday: Zombie Gore

It's that time of year again!  No, not Canadian Thanksgiving or Halloween.  It's Zombie Walk time!

Shortly after we moved to Edmonton, we were in Churchill Square, downtown.  As we were wandering around, something very strange happened.

Zombies appeared.  Dozens of them. 

In wedding gowns and suits or tuxedos.

As we stood there, rather stunned by the site, the zombies entered the square from the south west corner and shuffled, shambled, moaned and groaned their way across the square.  They surrounded us, calling for "bbbrrraaaaiiiinnnnzzzzz" and enticing us to "jooooiiinnnnn uuuussssss...."

Then they were gone.

We were entranced.

Soon after, through someone we met through one of our local home school groups, we found out about the River City Zombie Committee.  The next year, my older daughter was able to join them for what's become their annual walk.

This year, our local zombies are doing their walk on October 8.  The theme is Zombie Clowns.  Both my girls will be participating, along with at least one other friend.

My older daughter decided that her costume needed removable gore.  She wanted something realistic, flexible, and would not require ruining clothing to do it.

This is what she came up with.



She's agreed to do a step-by-step for me later, photographing and describing each step, for those interesting in making some for their own costumes.  The base is some fabric scraps which will be held in place with gauze and cloth bandages.  Bits of other fabric and... I'm not sure what else... were attached to the base for the texture, then painted in layers.  The final layers are a mixture of paint and glue to make the colour more stable.

I think it is suitably disgusting.

:-D

Shell topped Wrist Warmers

After doing so many hats and cables, I switched to something quick and easy.  I made a pair of arm/wrist warmers.  They're the same basic pattern I used here.  Just rows of stitches worked in the back loops.






Top view of both warmers.  I used a thicker yarn than before; some bulky (5) yarn left over from another project and a 6.00mm hook, worked in dc instead of hdc.








The base chain was long enough to completely cover the wrists, but the length can be adjusted to whatever is desired.  The thumb opening is created when the basic rectangle it slip stitched closed.  The only major change from the ones I made before is the shell stitch topping the arm end.  First, a round of sc was worked evenly around the edge, then I did a round of shells separated by 1sc.  Each shell is [1 sc, 1 hdc, 1dc, 1hdc, 1sc] worked into one stitch.

The chunky yarn makes things bulkier than I typically like to wear on my arms, but they do the job. :-D

Cable Madness

After playing around with cables in the last three hats, I decided to play around a bit more.  I used the leftover yarn used in the Red and Green Cable Hats.  I made things up as I went along a lot more than I did with the previous hats.  I also used the 6.00mm hook again.

The first change I made was right from the start, with a small peak.



I started off with 9 dc in a magic ring, then did the next round in 9 dc at well.  The next round was increased with 12 hdc.  After that, I started working the front post double stitches.  I can't remember where I placed the increases, but whenever I did, it was with an hdc worked after a fpdc stitch was done.  In the next round, that hdc would have a fpdc stitched worked around it, making for a crown of solid cables.



Looking at this view, you can see why our alternative name for this is "the nipple hat." ;-)

The first round I made without any more increases was done in green hdc.  That's when I finally stopped to count and see how many stitches I had in the round.  I can't remember the final number, but it was divisible by four, which is why you can see a red cable over the green at every 4th stitch, and that it was a higher number than the Red and Green Cables hats.  Though it was a higher number of stitches, doing all but the increase stitches in fpdc made it actually a touch smaller than the Red Cables hat, which was done with the same size hook.

Note: When changing colours, I simply dropped the yarn and took up the new colour.  This left a vertical row visible on the inside of the hat.  Hmm... now that I think about it, I should have taken a photo of how the inside of this hat looks.  Will have to keep that in mind.

The first red round after the first green round was made up of 3 hdc followed by 1 front post triple crochet stitch (fptc), going around a corresponding stitch in the last round of red in the crown.  The next round in red worked 1 hdc into each hdc of the previous round, and 1 fpdc around the fptc of the previous round.  That was followed by another round of green, this time doing all fpdc.  When I switched back to red again, I worked a pattern of 3 fpdc, 1 fptc, with the fptc worked around a fpdc just after where the previous fptc had been worked.  I did another round of all fpdc in red, then switched to green again.  This third round of green alternated 1 hdc and 1 fpdc.

The next rounds are hidden by the upturned cuff.  The next round switched back to red, this time working an hdc into the fpdc of the previous green round, and a fpdc around the hdc of the previous green round.  Another round of just fpdc in red was worked.

The last rounds before the cuff of the hat were done in green.  One round of all fpdc was done, then another round of hdc was worked *in between* each stitch of the previous round.




The ridged cuff of the hat was then worked in the same manner as the Red and Green Cables hats, using a starting chain of 9 stitches, making for a cuff 8 stitches wide.  To alternate colours, I would just drop the yarn from one colour, then pick up the next, making sure that the yarn was pulled snug whenever I changed back again.  When the cuff is turned up, it naturally folds at the last round of green hdc, so what you're seeing in this photo is almost the entire width of the cuff. 

As you can see by the instructions, there was really no rhyme or reason to making this hat.  I was just playing with cables and wanted to see what an all-over cable design would look like.  With so many fpdc used, the entire hat is actually a touch smaller than usual for this size of yarn and the hook size used.  It's a tighter fit than the Red Cables hat, even though the same hook size is used, and the crown is larger, with a greater total number of stitches in the rounds making up the sides.  In fact, it would probably fit an older child better than an adult.

Would I make this hat again?  Probably not.  Am I glad I made it?  Yes.  It was fun to wing it as I went along.  The closest thing I had to a plan in making this was "use lots of front post stitches."  That and I wanted to use up some of the left over yarn from the previous hats.

Which, by the way, each needed 2 skeins of yarn, though more than half a skein of each colour was left over when they were done, leaving me plenty to make this one.