It seems the knitblogging world is awash with all things pirate, and with two boys, it's right up my alley. We live in San Diego and don't have a lot of need for warm hats, but we do ski in the winter, and walk our older son to school every day (we only missed two days last year), and it gets nippy. I wanted to knit pirate hats for both boys, because I knew they would love them. So I started researching how I would do it.
I knew the pattern for Hello Yarn's "We Call Them Pirates" hat, but wanted something a bit simpler, and with a folded rib brim. Along came Trillian's "Jack Sparrow's Favorite Socks" and I knew I had my chart!
I had never done fair isle before, but really wanted to learn, so off I went. I had a whole bunch of Plymouth Encore in grey that was a failed attempt at Scarf Style's Here and There Cables. It was supposed to be FIL's Christmas gift, but after the first few repeats were going along at about an inch an hour pace, I ditched it. I'm still not sure what was going wrong, other than the fact that the yarn was really sticky on my needles, and it was all just really slow going. If I was going to get any other Christmas knitting done, I needed to save that pattern for another time. So FIL got felted clogs, and I ended up with washable grey yarn in my stash. Perfect for the pirate kid hats. I got some cream-colored Cascade 220 superwash to go with it.
It was only luck that made my gauge work out to a perfect repeat of the chart. I needed 96 stitches, and the chart is 32. I couldn't have planned it any better! I thought about doing the ribbing in a smaller needle than the rest (which was US6), but I didn't have US5s, so I cast on 92 stitches, then increased to 96 after the ribbing. One stitch at the beginning of each needle, no problem.
I did about 3.5" of 1x1 rib to start out, then a few rounds of stocking stitch in the grey before starting the chart. All in all, the motif in the worsted yarn turned out to be bigger than I had pictured, but I liked how it was coming out. I have really fallen in love with fair isle, it's so fun and rewarding to see the pattern emerging as I knit! The taller motif, though, meant that I'd have to fudge the chart at the top to start the decreases. I did the chart as written to the top of the skulls, then started working the decreases in with the pattern above them. It worked out in the end, and my kids certainly won't complain if the shaping is a bit wonky up there (which it most definitely is). I think I may rip the top of my older son's hat and make it a little longer. I noticed on the way to school this morning that it could be bigger. I think I'll go back and finish the chart as written, and then do the decreases on his. The smaller size fits younger son perfectly.
DH wants one now, so I've just started that. We're off to Mammoth for a long weekend of skiing in early February, so that's my due date!
Here's the smaller one:
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And a modeled shot from Christmas morning (younger (3) in front, older (6) in back):
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I think I'll probably round out the family and do one for myself, too. I think I'll add a bow to at least the front skull, a la Magknit's Zombies Need Not Apply.