Materials for knitalong

Good morning everyone!  I'm working on the hat pattern as we speak, so that people who want to knit an adult sized hat can do so.  I'll put the pattern up very soon.  Today, we'll be discussing materials.  Warning: this is going to be a very long post.

Here is a list of our materials needed, with explanations following:

• Yarn of DK or worsted weight, categories 3 or 4.  Once you decide color, weight, fiber content, etc following the guidelines below if you need to, pick up some yarn.  If you're making a baby-sized hat, one skein of approximately 100 yards should do, and you will have some left over.  If you are making a really large hat, you will probably want two have two skeins at approximately 100 yards each, just to be safe.  You'll definitely have some leftover, but at least you won't have to experience the horror of running out.
• Needles.  How to pick your size is explained in the paragraphs about needles, but if you don't want to read those then just get some needles that are the size listed on your yarn label.
• Stitch markers: optional.
• Tapestry/yarn needle.

First, let's talk about yarn.  There are tons of different ways to pick yarn, but I'll let you in on my thought process when choosing yarn for a project, even though it could be rather scary.  The first thing I do is choose what color I want.  I'll be making the strawberry hat, so I know that I need red, green, and black (if I want to add seeds).  This pattern also lends itself well to being any vegetable or fruit; I've seen the red with black seeds for strawberries, plain red for tomatoes, orange for pumpkins, purple for eggplants, and even yellow for hot peppers.  If you are doing a plain hat without the stem on top, you can choose as many colors as you want, and do stripes, cables, or even knit from a chart to give you a really cool design of your choosing to really personalize it.  As a sidenote, knitting from a chart or a graph is a lot easier than it looks.  You can also knit the hat plain, and then take a different colored yarn and, following the stitches you've already made, stitch a design onto the hat.  I'm knitting plain navy mittens right now, and after they're finished I will be duplicate stitching the Boston Red Sox "B" on them.  This is even easier than knitting from a chart.  As I mentioned before, the possibilities are endless!

So, you've chosen your color(s).  Good!  The next step is to figure out the yarn weight that you need to use.  This is generally stated in the pattern you'll be using, but since you don't have a pattern yet I'll tell you; this pattern can use either DK or worsted weight yarn.  These are weight categories 3 and 4.  If you've never shopped for yarn before and this sounds totally weird, all you have to do is look at the label.  Any information you need should be on the label, as well as some that you won't care about.

This label is for a DK, or category 3, weight yarn.  The label will also tell you what knitting needle/crochet hook size you should use to get the correct gauge, which is on the label as well.  There will also be care instructions on the label.  We will talk about gauge very soon, for today we are just going to collect materials.

After choosing your color and weight, you should choose your fiber content.  There are loads and loads of different fibers to choose from, and then various combinations of these fibers as well.  It can be kind of overwhelming, but if you think about it a bit before going shopping, that will make it a little easier.  I'll tell you about some fibers that I have used, as well as some that I've only heard rumors about.

• Acrylic-This was the first fiber I ever used when knitting, and I have used it for all three strawberry hats I've made.  Acrylic is not terribly warm, but I like it for baby things because they are generally going to be bundled within an inch of their lives anyway.  It's definitely better than the baby wearing nothing at all, but it's not as warm as wool.  Acrylic is easy care, and can be tossed in the washer and dryer without a thought.  It shouldn't be ironed, because it can melt pretty easily, but other than that it's great.  Those of you who have sweaters probably have some that are 100% acrylic.  I have used Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, which is a really soft acrylic.  It made really nice baby hats and mittens.

• Wool-I have recently used 100% wool for a couple of projects, and I'm definitely in love.  I used Plymouth Yarn Galway Worsted weight wool for a pair of mittens, and it was some of the nicest yarn I have ever worked with.  I don't get out much.  Really though, it was soft, didn't break that I noticed, and was an absolute joy to work with.  Sometimes I just touched it because it was so nice, but we won't talk about that.  Wool is an excellent fiber, because it stays warm when it gets wet, making it really great for outdoor gear for people who are out in the snow/rain a lot.  You've heard of fishermen sweaters?

 

          This guy looks a bit too leisurely to actually be a fisherman, but I digress.  These intricate cable sweaters were worn by fishermen when they were going out on their boats, and were generally made of 100% wool so the men would remain warm even when wet.  Their wives would knit them these sweaters, and some women even knitted the family crest into the cable design.  Wow.  There are a couple of drawbacks to 100% wool, however.  Objects made with 100% wool, if thrown in the washer, will come out several sizes smaller than when they went in.  Felting or fulling, the process of shrinking handknits, occurs with hot water and agitation, so most 100% wool yarns say to handwash anything made with them.  However, there is such a thing as Superwash wool, which is 100% wool that is totally machine washable.  It's also less itchy, in my opinion.  Another reason why I tend to shy away from wool for baby things, is that they have pretty sensitive skin, so I don't want them crying every time their mother puts a hat I made on their heads.

• Wool/acrylic blends-These, to me, are the best of both worlds, to be totally cliche.  I've used Lion Brand Wool-Ease, which is an 80% acrylic 20% wool blend.  I've used it for baby things before, and it was excellent.  It combines the easy care of acrylic with the warmth of wool.  You can also find different blends, like 75% acrylic, 25% wool, and I'm sure there's a 50/50 blend out there somewhere that I haven't discovered yet, because I've been too busy sitting at home touching my 100% wool.
• Cotton-There are 100% cotton yarns, and blends with some cotton in them.  I have not used a yarn with cotton in it yet, but would like to try Lion Brand Cotton Ease, which is a 50% cotton and 50% acrylic blend.  100% cotton is not stretchy really.  I hear it makes excellent dishcloths, but I would not recommend it for a hat.  This is the fiber that I've only heard rumors about.

There are lots of other fibers too that I can't talk about.  All you need to do is go into a yarn shop to see everything there is.  And, most certainly, the fibers I have discussed here are not the only ones to choose from.  As long as you get some yarn in a color you like that is weight category 3 or 4, you will be absolutely fine.

Okay, so now we have our yarn.  Remember when we looked at the label to see what the weight of the yarn was?  The label also shows a suggested needle size.  You can pick up some needles of this size to start out with, and then we'll go from there.  Everybody knits differently, so it's hard to tell what size you'll need before you start.  I knit extremely tightly, so I generally have to go up two needle sizes from what the pattern states, and once made an adult large hat to fit a small child by using the needle size recommended in the pattern.  Woops!  There are also some choices to make concerning needles:

• Metal needles are good because it would take a lot to break them.  However, they have no give to them at all, so if you have arthritis, or knit all the time, they will be hard on your hands.  Metal needles are also very slippery.  
• Plastic needles are a bit more flexible, but I think with the same amount of slipperiness.  Metal and plastic needles are generally less expensive than bamboo.  
• Bamboo needles are very flexible, and easy on your hands.  They are also less slippery, since the wood holds the yarn.  I can't promise that you won't get splinters, especially after you've used the needles for a long time and they start to get a little scratched at the points.  Bamboo needles are pretty pricey, and can break much easier than plastic or metal.

My personal preference is for bamboo, but I want you to use whatever works for you.  Another choice where needles are concerned:

• Circular needles are two needles that are connected by a cable.  These needles create a tubelike piece of knitting, when used to knit in the round.  They can also be used to knit flat objects, which is really nice because you will never lose one of your needles.  If you choose to use a circular needle, you will want to purchase one that is one or two inches smaller than the circumference of the hat you'll be making.  Circular needles can sometimes be hard to manage if you don't get the right length.
• Double point needles usually come in sets of four or five, and they are pointed at both ends.  These needles also create a tube when knitting in the round.  They are also very good for looking cool if you are knitting in public, as many people think it's wild to knit with four or five needles.  Disclaimer: This isn't really true, it's pretty hard to look cool while knitting in public.  I've tried.  Double point needles can also be hard to manage, since at times it can seem like there are a million of them.  Also, you run the risk of having six to eight different ends for the stitches to fall off of, if you don't put something on the ends to prevent that.

My preference in this case is double point needles.  I find circular needles rather irritating to handle.  Also, with double point needles, I avoid dropping stitches off the ends by using much longer needles than recommended, so I have space for the stitches to move around.  My mother-in-law, who learned how to knit on a hat, prefers circulars.  This isn't really a choice that I can make for you, because everything about that needles is personal preference.  You can find debates about whether metal, plastic, or wood needles are better, and all sorts of people will give you reasons why you should use circulars over double point needles, and vice versa.  This is going to be the kind of thing that we find out through trial and error.  That said, it's okay to make errors.  I do it all the time.

You might also want some stitch markers, which you can get at any craft store that sells yarn.  You can also use a piece of different colored yarn, or I keep a bag of those elastics that everybody had to wear when they had braces.  Paper clips and safety pins work too.  This is just going to be something that you slide on your needle to mark the beginning of your round.  You will also need a tapestry or yarn needle.  This is a larger needle with a big eye that will take yarn through it.  I would suggest blunt tip for this particular purpose; you'll be using it to weave in ends, and if you have a sharp one you'll be splitting stitches and it will be way more trouble than it is worth.

If you are planning to purchase circular needles, here is a note on choosing your hat size:  If you can measure the recipient's head, that is your best bet.  The hat should be about 1 inch smaller than the head circumference, because it will stretch.  For example, if I wanted to make a hat for myself, and my head circumference is 22 inches, I would want my hat to have a circumference of 21 inches, and would need to buy a circular needle with a length of 19 inches.  Circular needles aren't sold in lengths of 19 that I'm aware of, so I may choose to try double point needles instead.  If you get a needle that is too short, your stitches will be really bunched up and you'll have a hard time knitting the hat.  In the book Knitting Rules by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, there is a handy chart with average head sizes to use when making hats.  This book is available at the Presque Isle Town Library, but that link above will take you straight to the Amazon listing, and your local yarn store may have it as well.  This is a great book of general rules for all knitters, as well as being a downright hilarious read.  I would highly recommend it.

As another sidenote, this hat can be knit flat and then seamed up the back.  That seems like a lot of work to me, so I've never tried it.  If you would like to do that, just buy straight needles with the caps on the end and we'll work that out too.  The hat can also be made without the ear flaps, but will become roll-brim unless you do some sort of ribbing on the cuff.  We can deal with that possibility too.  Pompoms can also be added to the top to make it fun.  The ties, if you wish to have them, can be a knitted cord or a braid with a tassel on the end.  Like I said, the possibilities are endless.  If you would like to try one of these things I mentioned, or something I haven't mentioned, just let me know and I'll try to make the pattern as detailed and complete as possible for all of those things.  In fact, let me know if I can do anything to help you on this quest for a knitted hat.  I love knitting, and want to share it with as many people as possible, so don't hesitate to ask anything!  Thanks for joining me, and good luck with your materials search!