Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Hat-A-Rama

Hat-A-Rama

I am not really sure if that is a word but it should be. I have been having a blast knitting little hats that I have found for free on Ravelry. The first hat I knit was not from Ravelry but from a book. It was for my little nephew Zachary and it was a smashing success. I knit two; one for Zachary and one for my brother. I never did give my brother his hat but Zachary got his and he loved it. He loved it so much that I have been told he would scream, "My hat!" whenever someone at day care would try to take his hat from him. I was totally delighted that my first hat for Zachary was a hit. So since that one was a success I decided he probably has out grown his first hat and now he needs another one.

So I knit this one and he will get it in the fall. I will be knitting two; one for Zachary and one for my brother.

This is the Candy Corn Hat from Ravelry. I have a co-worker who has a glass candy jar that sits on her desk every day of the year. In the fall she says she buys up all the Candy Corn she can and keeps the jar filled through out the fall and well into winter. So when I saw this hat on Ravelry, I cracked up laughing and proceeded to knit five. Yes, I said five. I knit two adult sized hats and three children sized hats. One adult and one child went to my co-worker and her three year old daughter. I will be leaving my job here shortly and wanted to be sure they got those hats for the fall. Of course one adult sized and one child sized hat will go to Zachary and my brother. I thought about waiting for Christmas but decided that I needed to send them in the fall instead. So they are ready to go! How's that for thinking well in advance??

I have been on such a roll with the hats that I decided that I needed to make Zachary another hat that would drive my family nuts. It's this one...

This is just a tease...here's another one...
Here is the pattern...from Ravelry that I liked the best. The name of the person who created the original pattern is listed on the above link. The person from Denmark made the hat closest to the clown fish that I could find pictures of on the internet. So I did my best to copy partly from the internet and the pattern. I am not sure how close I came but I am sure that Zachary will think it's the real thing.

These are the photos from Ravelry that my friend Romelda printed off for me to use as a guide. We are both knitting the same hat. So I used these as a guide. I loved the way she made extra fins for the hat and made the fins about the same length as the strips of orange on the fish. We shall see how it turns out.

Here it is...
I have a styro head that I purchased from a local beauty supply store for less than $5 and it's perfect for modeling!


I loved how the hat turned out but hated weaving in the ends with all the color changes. I am in the process of making another one with smaller needles to how that will turn out. Ravelry is a great source of patterns if you can't afford a whole book. There are some really generous designers who post their patterns for free. Thanks to all!

11 comments:

romelda mckee said...

Ot is even more adorable than I thought! Love it! Romelda

vlb5757 said...

Wool Winder-have been looking at One Snap. I enjoy going to see what you post. Love the flower pictures.

Romelda-I will bring it on Friday so you can see it. It's way bigger than I thought it should be. I have cast on with a size 6 needle to see if that makes a difference. We shall see!

Sharon said...

Love all your hats. As a candy corn fan, I'm drawn it that one, but the clever fish pattern is great too. I was going to ask where you got the head, but you already answered my question. I need one!

Paula said...

Oh my goodness- I lov eboth of them! The colors in the candy corn hat are perfect! And the clown fish hat is SOOO CUTE!
You do such wonderful work!

vlb5757 said...

Sharon-I wish the head idea had been my own, but I asked on someone else's blog and they suggested the beauty supply store. They are very cheap. I have even seen some that have lovely false eyelashes. Really cute.

Farm Chick Paula-I do all of this for my nephew Zachary. He is a fun little kid that I don't see very often but maybe he will remember that his Aunt Vickie made him lots of fun hats when he was a little kid.

Susan Luni said...

Aha! I saw you had posted pics of the fish hat on Ravelry and I wondered about it. Now I understand what you are up to. I'm sure the hats will delight the children and cause much consternation and hilarity among the adults.

vlb5757 said...

I just thought since my brother and his son are so close this would be something funny the two of them could share. I had a great gift giving aunt when I was a kid and I want to be that aunt with my nephew Zachary. I still have another hat I am going to knit but have to wrap up my Fair Isle hat and find eyes for Nemo.

Tina T-P said...

That Nemo hat is the cutest darn thing I've seen in a while! Your nephew is sure to love it! T.

vlb5757 said...

Tina, I know that you crochet and I think after having knit two of these things that it can be crocheted. I think it would look just a wonderful that way.

Leigh said...

That Nemo hat is so clever! I was on a hat knitting kick once too. Now all my friends and relatives have hats so there's no reason to knit any more. I need more friends and relatives.

vlb5757 said...

I just can't help myself with these silly hats. I still have to finish my Fair Isle hat but right now I just have no interest in it. I see your new place is shaping right up. Nice loom room!