Traveling Rib Hat #1

Here is my interpretation of djjo's Traveling Rib Hat. He designed the pattern with our favourite yarn addiction in mind, Noro Silk Garden, but I used some local yarn from Wellington Fibres to good result. Many people know the company more for their spinning fibre, but they also produce gorgeous yarns incorporating mohair from their own flock of goats. The colour changes are shorter than in the Noro, so rather than slow colour gradations they produced pleasing little streaks. The fibre is 60% mohair and 40% wool, so the hat will be very warm and comfortable, good for deep winter, but it's so lovely I couldn't resist wearing it outdoors this weekend.

My forehead is high and I wanted the hat to sit well down over my ears, so after picking up stitches around the top of the bad band to start the crown, I added three or four rounds. That turned out to be unncessary, and it caused the background purl stitches to bubble outward where the decreases began, an effect best avoided.

The band would have been perfect, but I managed to stretch it when blocking, so now it's slightly to big. I'll try blocking again and pull the band width-wise, which should tighten the diameter and make it more snug.

It was a challenge! The chevron pattern in the band is produced by cabling (two stitches at a time without a cable needle!) the knitted main colour over the purled background colour. I had only tried cabling once before and never finished the project, so this involved many new techniques. The first repeat required hours of frustration, in fact I spent most of the return trip from Easton Mountain last May working on that, but I loved the design so much I never considered giving up. Once past those first few difficult inches, it got much easier. There are more yarns in my stash that will lend themselves nicely to the pattern, so I'll undoubtedly make more of these.





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