So, I wanted to sell patterns

but apparently I need a PA tax license thingy. sigh. I hate filling out forms! Writing that pattern was hard enough! And yes, it's a cute hat, but is anybody really gonna buy it? OK, one person bought it. But am I really going to make anything to sustain a tax number? sheesh.

Maybe I can use it for Etsy and try and sell the finished hats. and things.

design elements

So, I want the top of this cloche hat to just sort of close up, not swirl the decreases one way or the other. And I decided to do paired decreases right next to each other. Well, I love hoe K2tog looks and want to totally mirror that. It's not happening because I'm not decreasing every round. And so I tried slipping a stitch on the knit round. That gives the left leaning decrease line a nicely linear look, however, it looks different than the line of K2tog next to it. You can see the left line has longer stitches.

This annoys me.

So, there will be more ripping out of the hat in a bit, but I'm trying something first.

Nope, that didn't work either. I guess it will just have to be K2tog decreases.

more hats!

I see designs in my head and have this ridiculous notion that I can make it come out my fingers and into the yarn and bingo, there's the thing I saw in my head.

Some designs do make it out and mostly look like how I imagined, but they've never made it out on the first go. I'm not sure why I think I can just start in on something and it'll come out right.

The new hat design has... issues. I *think* short rows will fix them. But, I have to try it out on some experimenting yarn first. I think I rather like the Japanese short rows tutorial from nonaknits.

And so I'm experimenting. gotta remember to write down the things that work.

Hats!

I have lots more ideas stuck in my head, but I'm determined to finish up this kimono cardi first! I may even wear it to NYC, despite the high temps. 'cos, well, it's cotton, so it wouldn't be much heavier than a t-shirt, right? Maybe I can find some khaki pants or a skirt.

I managed to get the Flapper Swag cloche, plus the bow, out of two skeins of Tahki Cotton (but I needed 3 skeins of the Merino 5) I know they're different fibres, but there's supposedly less yardage on the cotton skeins, so, go figure.

Since I have a skein of cotton leftover I'm going to try to modify it to a baby size and use some funky new ribbon yarn for the swag parts and the bow. I have at least two other ideas lurking in there, but the green yarn is giving me a different gauge in the round, so I'll need to knit a bit more and get a proper gauge swatch.

I had a button idea for the Ella Rae hat, but it just didn't suit me. I plan on looking for something in NYC. The colours are very moody though and I wish I had chosen a different colour.

Trawling Rav for baby hat and bonnet patterns and finishing up the sleeve on the kimono cardi. I did actually finish the whole thing and decided I didn't like how the colours striped on one sleeve, but it won't take long to finish that.

design elements

The blue hat was finished last week. I know it's bragging, but it's really cute. :) A friend of mine is test knitting it for me. Some other friends will model it for me on our NYC trip. I have awesome friends!

I'm working on yet another hat. I think I'm obsessed! I love cloche and bucket style hats, they just don't look good on me. I have the wrong face or head or hair... But I think I've managed to actually write a proper pattern, even though it's only one size. I don't really know if I should work the patterns in more than one size or just figure it's a cloche hat, and generalise.

I also found out that I don't really like SSK. Even when I do it as slip one knitwise, slip one purlwise. It just doesn't lay right. For Nom-Nom's blankie I tried TechKnitter's SYTK method and quite liked the results, at least in chunky yarn on big needles. But I didn't care for it on this hat. Which is smaller needles, tighter stitches and the yarn held double. And so I'm trying K2togtbl. I like how it looks, although it's fiddly to maneuver.

I want it to slant off to the left, even though the angle is wrong. And my SSK stitches are just sloppy looking.

So. Yet another hat! And I have some more design ideas lurking in my head. Not sure if any of them are worthwhile, but I'll try to knit them. :)

Design decisions

I sometimes wish I didn't get these design ideas. It always loos so good in my head, but I can't quite make it come out my fingers. I got up to the the pleats and realised that I had done the math wrong. And so I hadn't cast on enough stitches. And because I kinda wanted this to be a proper pattern I need to factor in those stitches, I can't just wing it and add some or because there's a decrease round, just not decrease a few over the pleats part.

Also, why am I so hyped up about doing this on a smaller needle? Just because that's the gauge I needed for that other hat? The yarn I settled on is very different. So since I had to start over anyway I'm knitting a gauge swatch on a size 6.

Things that shold be done by now if I wasn't so obsessed with this stoopid hat idea: The purple and green kimono. The other sock. The baby blanket.

Finally a pattern for the Scalloped Pearls Kimono

This jacket was inspired by many things. I've always loved the pattern since I saw it in one of Barbara Walker's Treasury books that I got out of the library nearly twenty years ago. But I never knew quite what to do with it, except that it would make a lovely little jacket. I bought the Jawoll Magic sock yarn intending to use it for a pullover, then changed my mind and tried it out in a cardigan, using the yarn doubled, but it didn't stop the yarn from striping and I dislike horizontal stripes on me. Then my yarn shop owner, Glenda was wearing a sideways-made cardigan and she got a book of kimono patterns and the design just popped into my head.

Pearl Barred Scallop pattern:

Multiple of 14 stitches plus 1

Rows 1, 3, 5, 7, 9: (wrong side) Purl

Rows 2,4,6,8,10: K1,*YO, K3, SSK, YO, slip1, K2tog, psso, YO, K2tog, K3, YO, K1*
Row 11: Knit
Row 12: Purl

Notes: In pattern, slip the stitches knitwise. For the I-cord/tubular edge, slip the stitches purlwise. The I-cord/tubular edge stitches are worked by either slipping last 2 stitches on the purl side/and then the knitting those 2 stitches on the next knit row (on the Back Right and Left Front pieces) or slipping the last 2 stitches on the knit side and then purling them on the next purl row (Back Left and Right Front pieces) It is also done at the neck edges for one pattern repeat of rows 1-12, then the neck stitches are decreased to create one selvedge stitch, which is used to sew the shoulder seams.

I made this to fit me and it's a kimono style jacket, so it's meant to be large and boxy. It has not been test knit in any other size, but the basic idea would be to add or subtract sections of pattern repeats of rows 1-12, which measure 2.25 inches.

Gauge: 17 sts/24 rows = 4 inches on a size 9US

Finished measurements: 27 inches wide across the back, 22.5 inches long.

Brown sweater/long version: 27 inches across the back,26.25 inches long

The brown sweater was done using Jawoll Magic, held double throughout.

Back Right: Cast on 89 stitches for short version (103 stitches for long version)

Row 1: Purl

Row 2: (pattern row 1)begin pattern, slip the last 2 stitches purlwise

next row: Knit those slipped stitches, continue in pattern, slip the last 2 stitches purlwise. Continue those Icord edge stitches on both sides for one pattern repeat (rows 1-12) then decrease the neck side to one selvedge stitch.

Work 6 pattern row repeats, on last repeat work to Row 12, bind off purlwise 50(64) sts. 38 stitches remaining for sleeve section, finish remaining stitches in pattern row 12.

Pattern alters to:

Rows 1,3,5,7,9: (wrong side) Purl

Rows 2,4,6,8,10: K1, K2tog, YO, K2tog, K3, YO, K1, (YO, K3, SSK, YO, slip1, K2tog, psso, YO, K2tog, K3, YO, K1)2x, end K1

Row 11: Knit

Row 12: Purl

Work three pattern row repeats and bind off purlwise on Row 12.

Back Left piece: Cast on 89 (103) stitches,

Row 1: purl

Row 2: (pattern row 1) begin pattern, slip the last 2 stitches purlwise

next row: Knit those slipped stitches, continue in pattern, slip the last 2 stitches purlwise. Continue those Icord edge stitches on both sides for one pattern repeat (rows 1-12) then decrease the neck side to one selvedge stitch.

Work 6 pattern row repeats, on Row 11, bind off 50(64) stitches knitwise, 38 stitches remaining for sleeve section, continue Row 11 and 12.

Pattern alters to:

Rows 1,3,5,7,9: (wrong side) Purl

Rows 2,4,6,8,10: K2 (YO, K3, SSK, YO, slip 1, K2tog, psso, YO, K2tog, K3, YO, K1)x2 end YO, K3, SSK, YO, K2tog, K1

Row 11: Knit

Row 12: Purl

Work three pattern row repeats and bind off purlwise on Row 12.

Front Right piece: Cast on 88(102) (Icord edging will be at the end knit/beginning purl side, which will become the bottom edge. shoulder edge has 1 added selvedge stitch.)

Row 1: purl

Row 2: (pattern row 1) slip first 2 stitches purlwise, purl the remaining stitches. Continue in pattern, slipping the Icord edge stitches on the end of the knit row and purling them on the purl row and working the shoulder selvedge stitch for 5 pattern row repeats(4 for long version), on Row 11, bind off 50(64) stitches knitwise, 38 stitches remaining for sleeve section, continue Row 11 and 12.

Pattern alters to:

Rows 1,3,5,7,9: (wrong side) Purl

Rows 2,4,6,8,10: K2 (YO, K3, SSK, YO, slip 1, K2tog, psso, YO, K2tog, K3, YO, K1)x2 end YO, K3, SSK, YO, K2tog, K1

Row 11: Knit

Row 12: Purl

Work three pattern row repeats and bind off purlwise on Row 12.

Front Left piece: Cast on 88(102) stitches(Icord edging will be at the end purl/beginning knit side, which will become the bottom edge. shoulder edge has 1 added selvedge stitch.)

Row 1: purl

Row 2: (pattern row 1) begin pattern, purl to last 2 stitches, slip them purlwise. Continue in pattern, slipping the last 2 stitches on the purl side and then knitting them on the knit row, and working the selvedge stitch for 5 pattern row repeats(4 for long version) on last repeat work to Row 12, bind off purlwise 50(64) sts. 38 stitches remaining for sleeve section, finish remaining stitches in pattern row 12.

Pattern alters to:

Rows 1,3,5,7,9: (wrong side) Purl

Rows 2,4,6,8,10: K1, K2tog, YO, K2tog, K3, YO, K1, (YO, K3, SSK, YO, slip1, K2tog, psso, YO, K2tog, K3, YO, K1)2x, end K1

Row 11: Knit

Row 12: Purl

Work three pattern row repeats and bind off purlwise on Row 12.

Sew the back left and front left pieces together at the shoulder seam, sew the sleeve and side seams, repeat for back right and front right pieces, sew center back seam, weave in all the ends.

Optional: Icord fastener for the front pieces. Length is optional, but should be long enough to weave through the holes made by the yarnovers and tie a knot.