NEWSBOY CAP COMPLETE

So I went to my spinning circle this afternoon ... but I didn't take my spinning wheel. It was pissy outside, and I wanted to finish a couple of other projects, anyway (and then there's that lack-of-confidence thing, which I'll have time to address one of these days ...)

But I finished the first newsboy cap! Here it is, unblocked and enjoying the scenery at Esquimalt lagoon:


And what a process it's been to create this thing! Here's Alice modeling it for me:

The original (vintage) pattern, as I mentioned before, was not written for circular needles, and had a mistake or two in it -- so I started it twice and ripped it out while trying to figure that all out. The third time I started out with creating a gauge swatch (can you believe it??) and then went to my trusty (also vintage) Harmony Stitch Guides and looked for a lace pattern with approximately the same multiples, and with purling every other row -- pretty simple to translate that into circular knitting! Sure enough, the 'fishtail' stitch (which I think was the original pattern) worked perfectly!

So I knit the main part of the hat first by following the basic shaping for any hat, and then knit the brim part of it separately -- that took a little more math, AND, believe it or not, I'd never done wrap-and-turn short-row shaping before, so that was an extra challenge. This morning I went to the thrift store and bought a plastic place mat to create the cut-out 'stiffening' that has to go inside the brim. I took that along with me to spinning today, and sewed it in, and up.

I've learned a few things, and I have two more to make (in different colors and with different wool), which I'm hoping will be even better.

(And, no, I'm not going to start blogging at this hour on a regular basis -- I hope to be back to my usual early-morning routine SOON!)