Baby Dead Fish Hat

The arrival of a fresh new baby is always a good excuse to start knitting. Traditionally Mrs. T knits every baby one of her special Guatemalan baby hats (pattern and pictures coming up one day). But little Bram, born in august, still didn't get his. Mrs. T. knitted a baby Dead Fish Hat instead. She just had put Zephyrama's modification of the large version to the test.
Mrs. T. didn't exactly follow Zeph's pattern. She didn't knit the tailpart in the round, because this way the fish would end up with two separate dorsal fins. But anyway it's great to have a mini fish hat pattern now too. Mrs. T. knows a lot of babies and toddlers she would like to see crawling about with a fish on their head!

Variation on Etanapipa

Variation on Etanapipa
Mrs. T doesn't read Finnish very well (meaning: not al all), but she just had to knit this lovely and funny Etanapipa designed by Maaru. Luckily the pictures on her blog are very clear, so it was not so hard to figure the pattern out by herself. She didn't knit the hat just like Maaru's. She feared the lady she knitted the hat for, wouldn't like a very large point on top, so she made it smaller. And instead of the seed stitch brim she made a folded hem.

This is the way Mrs. T made this hat:
Cast on 58 sts on dpkn’s size 5,5 mm/US9, divide over needles, join in the round; (place sts marker between first and last sts if you need).
Knit 8 rows
Purl 1 row
Fold hem inside over purl row. Pick up 1st from cast on row and knit together with 1 st from working needle, to connect hem. Work like this till end of row. (Or use provisionary cast on from the start)

Row 1: purl 5, knit till end/marker
Row 2: knit 5, purl 5 purl, knit;
Row 3: knit till (including) last purl stitch, purl 5, knit;
Repeat row 3
This way the purl sts circle their way up on the hat.
After 12 rows from hem, purl 4 sts instead of 5.
After 14 more rows. From here purl 3 sts instead of 4.
Work till 13 cm/5 inch from hem

Decrease rows
Place markers: k14, PM, k15, PM, k14, PM, K15
Decrease row: knit till marker, SSK, k1, K2tog; (50 sts)
Work 3 rows
Decrease row (42 sts)
Work 3 rows
Decrease row (34 sts)
Work 3 rows
Decrease row (26 sts)
Work 2 rows
Decrease row (18 sts)
Work 2 rows
Decrease row (12 sts)
Work 1 row
Decrease row (6 sts)
Bind off , break yarn, weave in ends

Crochet a row of chain stitches upon the purled stitches (see pictures in original patternEtanapipa by Maaru)

Waffle look-a-like

The 4needles had to watch TV a lot these days. Mrs. T wanted to check out the looks of Waffle. He’s one of the cats in the comic series CatScratch. Waffle is a cute guy with very big eyes and enormously long ears. This inspired Mrs. T into turning Waffle’s head into a hat!

Shape
“Waffle has a large upper lip. That’s why I designed a hat with a brim. On top I knitted two ‘liripipes’ for ears. For his eyes the bumps on the Katamari (Damacy) Hat would do great.” says Mrs. T.

Not so happy
The hat turned out quite funny, but mrs. T isn’t totally happy with it. “I don’t really like the way the teeth turned out. I used a double thread of yarn but this makes them look bulky. A single thread would have been better. Or I might have cut the teeth out of felt,” she said. “I also should have made the brim smaller, so you can see the teeth better. But I'm not in the mood to knit another Waffle now. Maybe some other knitter will make an attempt to knit a better Waffle look-a-like”

So here's the pattern:

Cat Scratch Waffle Hat

Size
Large child/small adult

Materials

Grey yarn (about 70 gr);
Some blue yarn (striping on liripipe);
Some white yarn (eyes and teeth);
Bit of black yarn for embroidering eyepupils;
Teeth may also be cut out of white felt;

1 set US 7 /4,5 mm double-point needles
1 set US 6 /4 mm straight needles
1 set US 6/4 mm short sock needles
stitch markers
tapestry needle for embroidering eyepupils

Gauge

18 sts/23 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch,
using needlesize 4,5/US#7

Pattern:

Waffle's head (Hat with hemmed brim)

Cast on 80 sts with grey yarn, divide them over 3 dpkn and join for knitting in the round being careful not to twist.
Knit 2,5 cm (1 inch) in stocking stitch.
Next purl 1 row (this is where you fold the hem)
Knit 2,5 cm (1 inch) in stocking stitch again.
Fold the hem over the purl row with the wrong sides facing each other. Connect the pieces by picking up one stitch from the c.o. and knitting it together with the first stitch on the working needle. Continue like this for one round.
Work in stocking stitch until work measures 19 cm (7,5 inch).

Waffle's Ears (Liripipes)
Put 40 stitches on hold on an stitch holder.
Divide the other 40 stitches over 3 dpkn’s and join for knitting in the round. Work around, knitting an decrease row every 5 cm/2 inch.
Decrease row: decrease 1 sts in each needle ( = -3);
Work like this until 6 sts remain. Break off yarn, thread yarn through stitches, draw tight and weave in yarn end.

Knit the second liripipe in the same way, but make blue stripes and blue point. Change to blue yarn after 12,5 cm (5 inch) for first blue stripe.
- Knit with blue for 5 cm/2 inch.
- Knit with grey yarn for 5 cm/2 inch
- Knit with blue yarn for 5 cm/2 inch
- Knit with grey yarn for 5 cm/2 inch
- Knit with blue yarn till end

Waffle's Lips (brim)
Using grey yarn and straight needles, pick up 18 sts along the center front of the hat. Work back and forth from now.
Row 1: purl across.
Row 2: k2, m1r, place marker, k14, place marker, m1l, k2, pick up and knit 2 sts from the edge of the hat;
Row 3: p to end, pick up and knit 2 sts from hat edge;
Row 4: k to marker, m1r, (marker), knit 10 (marker), m1l, k to end, pick up and knit 2 sts from hat edge;
Repeat row 3 and 4 until there are 50 sts on the needle.
Next row: (WS facing) purl across;
Backside of brim:
Row1: BO 2 sts, purl to end;
Row 2: BO 2 sts, knit to 2 sts before marker, ssk, (slip marker) k14 (slip marker) knit to end.
Repeat these two rows until 18 sts remain. Fold brim (RS facing) and stitch open edge to bottom of brim.

Waffle's Teeth:
With straight needles and white yarn, pick up 37 needles at the edge of the hat and brim. Knit 1 row;

First tooth:
Row 1: knit 11, turn;
Row 2: SSK, knit 7, k2tog (9 sts)
Row 3: knit
Row 4: SSK, knit 5, K2tog (7 sts)
Row 5: knit
Row 6: SSK, knit 3, K2tog (5 sts)
Row 7: knit
Row 8: SSK, knit 1, K2tog (3 sts)
Row 9: cast of, break yarn

Second and third tooth:
Row 1: connect yarn, CO 2, knit 11, turn
Row 2: SSK, knit 7, k2tog (9 sts)
Row 3: knit
Row 4: SSK, knit 5, K2tog (7 sts)
Row 5: knit
Row 6: SSK, knit 3, K2tog (5 sts)
Row 7: knit
Row 8: SSK, knit 1, K2tog (3 sts)
Row 9: cast of, break yarn
Weave in ends.

Waffle's Eyes:
Waffle’s eyes are knit top down. In fact you knit very small hats, using the top down method. It’s best to use short sock needles.
CO 6 sts with waste yarn. Knit 2 rows.
Divide sts over 3 dpns and join. (Be careful not to twist). Work with white yarn from here. Leave a small yarn tail, to close up the top of the eye later.
Row 1: knit
Row 2: KF&B, 12 sts
Row 3: KF&B, K1, 18 sts
Row 4: KF&B, K2, 24 sts
Row 5: KF&B, K3, 30 sts
Row 6: knit
Row 7 KF&B, K4
Row 8, 9, 10 Knit
BO all sts. Leave a long yarn tail you can use to sew the eye on later;
Frog the waste yarn, close the top of the eye. Weave in the ends.
Knit the second eye.

Cut the stryrofoam ball in two halves. Cover each half in thin batting (Mrs. T used unspun wool) and place the ball in the knitted eye. Sew the eyes to the waffle hat. Embroider two oblong pupils on them.

Waffle is alive!

Xmas Tree Helmet Hat

Mrs. T was walking in the woods with her daughter P. The girl was wearing her Xmas tree hat, decorated with wooden beads.
“I’m still cold,” she told her mother. “I want a hat just like the one I wore when I was still a toddler.” She meant a helmet hat. “But it has to look like an Xmas tree too, with a real trunk on it!” So there in the woods little P. designed her first hat! It’s the Xmas Tree Helmet Hat.

Back at home, Mrs. T climbed the stairs to her stash attic, grabbed some green and brown yarn and took 4 of us out of our box. First she knitted this Xmas tree hat again. Then she picked up 48 stitches from the last garter stitch row and knitted two rows in garter stitch 2. Then she cast on 32 extra stitches. (They form the open part in the helmet) She divided the 80 stitches evenly over the needles en connected them in the round and knitted 20 more cm/8 inches in garter stitch. The extra warm Xmas Tree Helmet Hat is finished! Mrs. T didn’t decorate this tree so P. can also wear it after Christmas!


You can of course use any Xmas tree hat pattern as basis. If necessary, adapt the number of stitches you pick up and cast on. (Mrs. T used a few less sts for the trunk as for the tree itself)

(Pictures were taken at the farm where Mrs. T buys her Xmas tree each year!)

Fishy in Knitty!

Someday this autumn, the 4 needles saw mrs. T jumping trough the room, shouting ‘Yes, yes, yes’! This happiness appeared to be aroused by an e-mail of the editor of Knitty, saying ‘You’re in!” The Dead Fish Hat pattern was to be submitted in Knitty’s winter 2008 edition!
It was not a joke, you can find the pattern here.
We, the 4needles, feel like we are a bit famous. In fact, we are the ones who knitted these hats in the first place! (With a little help of mrs. T of course!)

Half Fish Beanie

Proud as mrs. T. may be of her Fishy hat, she is not blind to the fact that some people wouldn’t dare to walk around with a dead fish on their head. Even not if it’s a woolly knitted one. Maybe this clear insight is because two of her own children (teenagers…) wouldn’t want to be seen dead wearing with the mentioned thing…
That’s why she designed a less decorated version of her Fishy. It’s a beanie with just a fishtail on top. She calls it ‘Half fish beanie’ and here’s the pattern!

Half Fish Beanie
Size:
large child/small adult
Finished measurements: circumvence 50 cm (unstretched)

Materials:
1 set US #3/3.25 mm dp needles (or size needed to obtain gauge)
and about 50 gr yarn in any color(s) you like.
(Mrs. T used unknown acrylic yarn from stash).

Gauge:
18 sts and 28 rows = 10 cm/4 inches

Pattern:
Cast on 86 sts using needle size US 3/3.25 mm. Divide sts (almost) evenly between needles and join to begin working in the round, being careful not to twist.
Work in 2x2 rib stitch (k2, p2) for 2,5 cm/1 inch.
Start knitting in stockinette st and work until hat measures 10 centimeters/4 inches. Now prepare work for decreasing: K21, place marker, k22, place marker, k21, place marker, K 22, place marker.
Decreasing:
Row 1: k to 3 sts before marker, ssk, k1, slip marker, k1, k2 tog, repeat 3 times (8 sts decreased).
Row 2: k all
Repeat row 1 and 2 seven times more until 22 sts remain.

Fish tail
K 3 rounds.

Next Round: K17; place last 11 sts worked on small st holder.

First half of tail will be worked back and forth over remaining 11 sts on needles (last 5 sts of current round and first 6 sts of next round).
Row 1 [RS]: [K1, kfb] 5 times, k1. 16 sts.

Even-Numbered Rows 2-6 [WS]: P all sts.

Row 3 [RS]: [K1, kfb] to end. 24 sts.

Row 5 [RS]: K1, kfb, [k3, kfb] 5 times, k2. 30 sts.

Rows 7-12: Work in stockinette st.

Row 13 [RS]: K1, k2tog, k to last 3 sts, ssk, k1. 28 sts.

Row 14 [WS]: P all sts.

Rows 15-20: Work as for Rows 13-14. 22 sts.

Row 21 [RS]: Work as for Row 13. BO remaining 20 sts.
Replace held sts on needle and rejoin yarn with RS facing.

Work Rows 1-21 as for first half of tail.

Sew tailparts and weave in ends.