Friday, January 25, 2019

Knitting Bingle's Hat—For Real!


Knitting Bingle’s Hat
A guest post from children’s librarian
extraordinaire Lindsey Rakers!

Here’s Lindsey with me at the launch event,
just after she gave me the hat.  That goofy look
on my face?  That’s how I actually look when I’m
feeling stunned.  
This post comes care of Lindsey Rakers, one of the children’s librarians at the Duxbury (MA) Free Library, who did one of the kindest, most surprising things ever.  

At the launch event for Got to Get to Bear’s!, she presented me with a knit hat—and it took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t just a hat that looked similar to the hat that Bingle the duck wears in the book, with its llama pattern and ridiculous ear flaps—she had actually MADE THE EXACT HAT FOR ME!  Bingle’s hat was
instrumental in my figuring out his distinctive, squawking voice (“Slippery, innit?” he asked)—before I’d sketched the hat in one of my character studies, he was just a duck.  Seeing something that I had drawn and painted numerous times, stitch by stitch—in real life—was kind of overwhelming.

Lindsey also generously offered to share the pattern for the hat, so any knitter can make a replica.  I have to say that this reads like a secret code to me.  My grandmother was a knitter, so I'd seen it done before, but it still remains kind of a mystery, a sort of magic.

Here’s how Lindsey made the hat:

Lindsey Rakers:  Has there ever been a picture book that so accurately captures hand knit clothing like Got to Get to Bear’s!? I’d be hard pressed to come up with one. After reading the book I just knew I had to try one of these awesome pieces and Bingle’s hat seemed the perfect choice! I dove into my stash for appropriate yarn and researched the heck out of earflap hats before finding the Snowflake Stranded Hats by Premier Yarns Design Team. Their original pattern is available for free on their website. I made minor adjustments to the pattern to make it a bit larger and to accommodate a taller color work panel. Depending on who you are making it for you might want to stick to the original pattern and just substitute in my chart for the snowflake.


Check out Got to Get to Bear’s! here or at your local bookstore!

Here is the pattern with my adjustments highlighted:

SIZE Adult FINISHED MEASUREMENTS Circumference: 22” Height: 9”
MATERIALS Premier® Yarns Everyday® Soft Worsted (100% anti-pilling acrylic; 113 g/203 yds) •

Needles: US Size 7 (4.5 mm) 16” circular needle, set of double pointed needles (dpn) or size needed to obtain gauge US Size 8 (5 mm) 16” circular needle
Notions: Stitch marker, tapestry needle, 3⅜” Clover Pom-Pom maker, stitch holder,
GAUGE 17 sts x 23 rows = 4” in St st using smaller needles 17 sts x 18 rows = 4” in stranded knitting using larger needles
Save time, check your gauge.
PATTERN NOTES :       MC1 should be a brick red color
                                    MC2 should be a dark blue
                                    CC is a warm ivory color
Sadly, I used random unmarked stash yarn for this project so I am unable to recommend exact yarns and colors.

 HAT Right Earflap With MC and smaller ndls, cast on 7 sts.
 Row 1 (WS): Knit.
 Row 2 (Inc row): K1, m1, knit to last st, m1, k1 – 9 sts.
 Row 3: Knit. Rep Rows 2 & 3, 5 more times – 19 sts.
Work even in garter st (knit every row) until Earflap meas 4”, ending with WS row. Break yarn, place sts on holder.
 Left Earflap Work as for Right Earflap. Do not break yarn.

Hat Body Joining Rnd: K19 sts across Left Earflap, cast on 33 sts for Front of Hat, k19 from Right Earflap, cast on 25 sts for Back of Hat – 96 sts. PM and join to work in the rnd.
[Purl 1 rnd, knit 1 rnd] 2 times.

Establish Pattern Set-up rnd: * K16, pm; rep from * to end. Switch to larger ndls.
Rnd 1: Work Row 1 of Bingle Chart to end – patt will be repeated 6 times across rnd.
 Cont in patt through Row 20 of Chart, changing colors as indicated in chart. Remove markers. Switch to smaller ndls.

Switch to MC
Shape Crown Set-up rnd: * K12, pm; rep from * to end.
Dec rnd: * Knit to 2 sts before m, k2tog; rep from * to end – 8 sts dec’d, 88 sts rem.
Next 3 rnds: Knit.
Dec rnd: * Knit to 2 sts before m, k2tog; rep from * to end – 8 sts dec’d
Next rnds: Knit
Rep these 2 rnds, 2 more times – 64 sts rem.
Rep Dec rnd every rnd, 7 times – 8 sts rem.
Break yarn, pass through remaining live sts.
FINISHING

Ties Cut 3 pieces of CC, 32” long. Cut 9 pieces of MC, 32” long. Holding pieces together as one, attach to bottom of Earflap. Separate pieces into 3 groups each of 2 CC strands and 6 MC strands and braid together. Tie ends in a knot, trim to even ends. Make a Pom-pom using Clover Pom-Pom maker. Sew to top of hat. Weave in ends.

Snowflake Stranded Hats By Premier Yarns Design Team By Premier Yarns Design Team project continued ©Premier Yarns 2017, All Rights Reserved • www.premieryarns.com



BL:  Thank you, Lindsey, for sharing this pattern, and—once again—for such an extraordinary gift!  Here’s the hat up close, and Bingle as he appears in the book.
Isn’t this amazing?!?