Wee Wit Hat Pattern
Another of my mad ideas: during the play my hubby and i are in (W;t) the lead character, Vivian, wears many hats. i mean this in a literal sense - she's undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer and is therefore bald. (Our actress is dedicated for shaving her head!) Vivian wears quite a few through the show, and one of them was easy for me to eyeball and deconstruct. This hat is also part of a powerful image at the end of the show. So i decided that my little gift to the other members of the cast for this show would be tiny little replica hats that are worn as pins. So: 12 hats. Between the time i
started making them and the time the show opened, i decided that a hat a day would be a good goal. That would give me extra time to block, weave in ends, and sew on the pin backs. Of course, that only lasted for a short time; halfway into the show and i'm just getting them done. ;) This pattern was pretty simple to work up, really, but normally i wouldn't make it available since the little hats are meant as a gift that means something specific. Because of the nature of this show, however, i thought better of it and decided to write this up so other folks could make them if they liked. The pattern's free with a caveat. If you decide to knit one of these little hats please donate time/money to the cancer organization of your choice in lieu of paying for the pattern. You give directly to any number of organizations, or sponsor someone in the Relay for Life\* (like me! i'm a team captain for my local Relay in August), Race for the Cure\* or any other awareness-raising event. Participate in an event yourself. Volunteer at a local event, clinic, etc. Bring over dinner or offer to babysit for someone dealing with cancer. Or what could even be the hardest thing for some folks, i know: offer to go with someone to their treatments, so they don't have to drive and so that they don't have to sit and wait alone. Whatever you're able to do will be ample payment for the pattern. Disclaimer: the needles iused were chosen because ihad them on hand. You can probably get away with any small needles between USOO and US2 if you like. Swatch a bit and see what you like. Wee Wit Hat pattern: Materials: USOO and US1 DPN's (see disclaimer above) Small amount of KnitPicks Pallette in white (i started with a partly-used ball, have knit a dozen hats and still have enough left over to make a few more) CO 44 sts onto one US00 using the Italian Tubular Method\*. R1: $^{*}\mathrm{Kl}$ , slip one with yarn in front of the work\* Repeat across row. R2: $^{*}\mathrm{Kl}$ ,S1wyif Divide stitches onto four USOO needles and join, being careful not to twist the work. Using a USl needle, begin KiP1 ribbing. Each time you reach a new needle, knit onto a US1 until the whole round is on the larger needles. Work in K1P1 ribbing for 4 rounds total. Note: you can just cast onto the USI's from the beginning,but ifind that the tubularcast-on tends toleave the first row with larger stitches than the rest of the ribbing, so use the smaller needle to cast on and knit the foundationrows. Round 5: Knit Switch to US00 Round 6: $^{*}\mathrm{K}8$ P3 Rep from \* around Round 7: \*K8 P3 Rep from \* around Round 8: $\mathrm{^{*}C4F}$ , C4B, P3 Rep from \* around Round 9-10: as rounds 6-7 Round 11: \*C4B, C4F, P3 Rep from \* around Repeat rounds 6-11 twice more. Row12: $^{*}\mathrm{K}8$ P3 Rep from \* around until last stitch. Shift this stitch to the first needle of the round without knitting it.。 Decreaserounds: Round 1: \*K2tog, SSK, K2, K2tog, SSK, P1 Rep from \* around. (Slip the last purl stitch from the working needle to the next needle for each upcoming K2tog) Round 2: $^{*}\mathrm{Kl}$ , SSK, K2tog, K1, P1 Rep from \* around Round 3: \*SSK, K2tog, P1 Rep from \* around break yarn and pass through remaining stitches, pulling snug to close the hole. Pull foundation yarn out of the tubular cast-on edge. Tie off and weave in ends. Block using a small pill bottle, the top of a wine bottle, or perhaps a ping-pong ball as a form. (The wine botle neck method is what i used.) Fold up brim of hat and sew on a pin back. Wear with pride! \*Relay for Life Website: htt://www.relayforlife.org/relay/ \*Race for the Cure Website: htp://cms.komen.org/komen/index.htm \* Italian Tubular Cast On link: http://www.flufbuff.com/2006/07/tubular_caston_without_the_was_1.html
