A guest post from children’s librarian
extraordinaire Lindsey Rakers!
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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.
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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.
You
can find the original pattern here: https://www.premieryarns.com/products/snowflake-stranded-hats-free-download
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.
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| Isn’t this amazing?!? |
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