INSOLATE! HAT: A Geometric Doctor Who Dalek Tribute Knitting Pattern for DK-Weight Yarn Enthusiasts

INSOLATE! HAT

By Amy van de Laar A tribute to the iconic baddies of Doctor Who! Stylised enough to be mistaken for a geometric design by the uninitiated, stealthy Daleks are stationed right around the hat, to guard your head from the cold. The colourwork design uses a combination of solidcolour rounds with occasional slipped stitches, and stranded-colourwork rounds. Using both techniques avoids the need to deal with long floats for most of the design, and makes this a fairly quick and straightforward knit.

Materials

DK-weight yarn in two colours. Approximately 70 yards (9o yards for size L) of your main/ background colour, and 50 yards (6o yards for size L) of your contrasting colour. I made my size M hat in Little Wool Company Pure Wool Naturals DK, in “Papa' (MC) and “Pumice' (CC). · 4mm circular needles in a good length for hats, or a needle size that gives you the right gauge. · 4mm dpns, or size to match your circular needle. ·A stitch marker. · Needle for weaving in ends.

Sizing

S (to fit 16-19" head), M (to fit 19-22" head), L (to fit 22-25" head). Directions for the different sizes are given in the format S (M, L). Additional sizes can be achieved by adding or subtracting another 16-stitch repeat (about 3").

Gauge

To swatch, cast on at least 24 stitches and knit several rows in stockingette. My gauge was 19 stitches = 4" on 4mm needles, with DK-weight yarn. Go up or down in needle size if necessary. My gauge on the actual hat was 21 sts = 4" before blocking, and 20 sts = 4" after blocking. I tend to knit more tightly when stranding.

Tips and Tricks

Two-Handed Stranded Knitting: This technique is great for speedy stranded knitting, and cuts down on tangles. There are some good tutorials and videos online, but the gist is that you hold one colour in each hand, and knit English-style with the right-hand colour, and Continentalstyle with the left-hand colour. I'm an English-style knitter, so I practised knitting Continentalstyle on a plain vanilla hat before I tackled two-handed stranding. It does takes a bit of practice!

Pattern

Cast on 8o (96, 112) stitches in your background colour (MC) using the Cable Cast-On, or your preferred method for 2x2 ribbing. r, and join to work in the round. Work in 2x2 ribbing (k2, p2) for 6 rounds. Join in CC, and knit Chart 1. Repeat each chart row 10 (12, 14) times for each round. For rounds with only one colour, carry the other yarn up on the wrong side until it's needed again, twisting it with the working yarn. To avoid too-tight floats in the stranded rounds, stretch out the stitches on the right-hand needle when changing colours. I like to hold the background colour in my right hand, and the contrasting colour in my left hand (this helps the CC to pop'). Knit Chart 2. Repeat each chart row 5 (6, 7) times for each round. In rounds 9-13 you will have some long floats: to secure them on the reverse side, écatch' the float with the working yarn about every 3 stitches. At the end of round 12 you will need to shift the marker forwards out of the way of the final decrease, and similarly at the start of round 14 for the first decrease. At the start of round 15 (now that the colourwork is complete) I moved the marker to the centre of the dalek's head-the new marker position is shown on the chart with a black vertical line. Work the rest of Chart 2, switching to dpns when necessary. When Chart 2 is complete, ssk around. Break yarn, thread it through the remaining 5 (6, 7) stitches, and pull tight. Weave in the ends, and block to tidy everything up.

Chart 2:

Key:

Chart 1:

· Charts are read right-to-left on all rows (because you're knitting in the round s2tog, k1, p2sso (centred decrease) = slip the next two stitches together knitwise, then knit 1, then pass the two slipped stitches back over the k1 and off the needle.