spudnick
On Prince Edward Island you can't swing a cat without hitting a field of potatoes. The Spud is an important part of a year in the life of the Island. From table to processing potatoes to potato souvenirs and motifs to a rich history stemming from Ireland's great potato famine, PEI owes a lot to this humble root. This Tam is a little salute to the PEI Potato from the rich red soil, to the grey autumn sky. Materials: Set of 6, 4mm double pointed needles (or size needed to obtain gauge) I used the following colours and amounts of MacAusland's 2 ply Aran weight yarn, since there is such a small amount of colours A, B and C used, this pattern is a great stash buster. A Rust 11g B Dark Brown 23g C Dark Grey 4 g D Light Grey 46 g Gauge: 5 stitches and 7 rows to 1 inch in stockinet Instructions: With colour A, cast on 92 stitches and distribute them on five needles as follows: 18 stitches on each of the first 4 needles and 20 stitches on the fifth needle. Join for working in the round being careful not to twist work. Round 1: with colour A, \*P2, K2, repeat from \* until end of round. (if you prefer to use a stitch marker, feel free to place one at the end of this round, when working in the round on double pointed needles I always know the end of my round as the tail of my long tail cast on is always there to mark my spot) Round 2: with \*colour A, P2 with colour B, K2\* continue working around in this fashion using colour A for all of the purls and colour B for all of the knits, until work measures 2 inches from cast on edge. Next Round: with colour A only, knit next round increasing evenly by 28 stitches (make 6 new stitches on each of the first 4 needles, make 4 on the last needle). With colour A, knit one more round. Using colours as indicated, knit colour chart (each coloured block represents one stitch) 5 times for each round. Pattern is broken into five equal sections. Begin reading chart from lower right hand corner and read to the left,in the same direction you are knitting.
Colour Chart A, B, C, D
When colour chart is complete, knit 9 rounds in colour D only. With colour D only, begin decrease rounds as follows: Round 1 - \*knit 10, ssk, k2tog, knit 10, repeat from \* 4 more times to complete round. Round 2 - and all other even numbered rounds, knit Round 3 - \*knit 9, ssk, k2tog, knit 9, repeat from \* 4 more times to complete round. Round 5 - \*knit 8, ssk, k2tog, knit 8, repeat from \* 4 more times to complete round. Continue in this manner decreasing each odd numbered round by 10 stitches and knitting every even numbered round until only 10 stitches remain. Break yarn and pull through remaining 10 stitches, pulling to close the gap. Weave in Ends. Wash hat in warm water and block to dry on a 10 inch plate as pictured below to achieve the classis tam shape.
Abbreviations: K - knit, P - purl, M1 - make a new stitch by knitting into the front and back of the next stitch , K2tog - knit 2 stitches together, SSK - slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pull slipped stitch over the knitted stitch (this decreases by 1 stitch with an opposite slant than K2tog). This pattern is copywrited material and may not be reproduced or sold. It is not permissible for commercial use in any way and is intended for your personal use only.
