FOlio Fest, Day 10: Two-End Hat, or the Emergency Hat
Read other entries in this series here as they are available.
Pattern: Two-end Knitted Hat (Ravelry link) originally from Vogue Knitting Winter 2006-07
Yarn: White alpaca (same stash yarn later used in the Hoopla Hat [add link]) and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (closest current color is Tranquil).
Designer: Meg Swansen
My Favorite Thing About This Hat: This hat ran as part of Meg Swansen’s column in Vogue Knitting and explored a traditional Scandavian double-stranded knitting technique (interestingly until I tracked down the column I was thinking this was my first mosaic knitting project, but it is a much different technique, although there are some similarities in how the finished project looks). At the time my Custom Hat was my every day winter hat, and it was COLD in NYC in January/February 2007 (it was the only time in the 20 years I lived in NYC that, when crossing the Manhattan Bridge by subway, the river was visibly frozen for several feet past the banks). So I needed something warm and I needed it quick. I believe I knit most of this up over the three day Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend. And it definitely got a lot of wear over that winter and the following few, which also had their share of single digit temperature days. (Climate change has made recent NYC winters far more temperate, almost Pacific Northwest in that they are mostly rainy and 40s but those pre-2010 winters were brutal).
My Least Favorite Thing About This Hat: Initially it was that something about the way I had knitted it caused it to bell outward at the brim (I probably cast on too tight), which didn’t keep my ears very warm – I ended up picking up just inside the brim and adding a short ribbed band to keep it tighter.
Unfortunately, years later there was a fire in our apartment building and when our belongings were sent to be professionally cleaned, the cleaners didn’t realize a couple of my hats and gloves needed special handling and this hat, among other items, was felted pretty severely. I can still get it on my head but it’s extremely tight and uncomfortable.
Would I Knit It Again? I actually might attempt it this winter once I finish my second Shinko Hat – just to have another extra warm hat on hand now that I live in Chicago and winters look to be much colder.
A good look at just how felted this hat has gotten.
This Week’s Charity:
Our focus expands to address displaced populations around the world this week. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is on the ground in over 70 countries—providing urgently needed humanitarian aid in moments of crisis and conflict. Funds raised through donations allow them to be able to respond quickly to crises all over the world. You can make donations to their efforts here.
Having already been working in the Gaza Strip for over twenty years, MSF has been active in calling for a ceasefire and pushing for safety for medical personnel and aid workers on the ground in Gaza. You can read more about their efforts here.