Irie hat - free pattern
Directions in Danish and Dutch will be posted soon!
The inspiration for this hat comes from several places. What really got me going was Hildes butt cushion. See I have a 9-year old doing fingerknitting all of the time and producing strings, we didn’t know what to do with. Hildes site shows how fingerknit strings become great snakes of felt, when done in wool and put in the washing machine.
Also, on craftster I saw several people doing something with felted dreadlocks as extensions. Since I have nothing to ‘extend’ I put them on a hat. The result is not quite a wig, but rather a hat with a big and long and specific type of tassel. The hat is specifically designed to hold the bunch of dreadlocks.
Then, finally, you crafters all have seen the ways in which felted beads are embellished with embroidery, glass beads etc. You can go wild on dreadlocks too!
The hat is a ‘headhugger’ and I must admit that people with hair will have to use hairpins to keep it on, or make it so long it will cover the ears. Also people that are bald because of chemotherapy or who are freshly shaven will have to make the hat that long - the weight of the dreadlocks will simply drag a hat like you see in the picture off your head. The hat will stick to one-three day stubbs though - it works like velcro ;-) .
Here’s the directions:
1. make dreadlocks. I made mine from 100% wool yarn in two ways, which produces dreadlocks in two thicknesses. For the thick ones, you can do fingerknitting (or let your child do that!). See hildes website
for instructions.
The thin ones are crocheted. I can think of other ways to make dreadlocks although I haven’t tried it myself:
-from yarn: make a very loose braid, felt in the washing machine
On very thick needles: CO a number of st. that will get the length of the unfelted dreadlock, BO in the 2nd or 3rd needle.
-from roving: handfelt
5 thick and 2 thin dreadlocks will be a good bunch.
2. You can handpaint the dreadlocks and the yarn you’re gonna use for the hat - use Kool-Aid, Easter egg colouring or food colour. I used food colour from the ‘Dr. Oetker’ brand: Mix equal parts of food colouring and vinegar. Soak the dreadlock and yarn in water - plunch the colour on and kneed it through. Put in a Microwave save container and perform a series of 1 minute nuke and 2 minute rest until the liquid you can squeeze out of yarn and locks is clear.
Hand wash dreadlocks and yarn.
A tip: Use white and light grey yarn for the dreadlocks and paint them the same colour. You’ll get different shades.
3. Knit the hat:
Yarn: Worsted weight, 100% wool
Needles: set of 4/5 or two circulars 5mm (US nr. 8, UK/Can nr 6)
CO 66 st. The hat is knitted in a twisted-not twisted pattern:
1 round: *k1 tbl, p1* - repeat directions between *
2. round: *k1, p1* - repeat directions between *
Knit 25 rounds for a sculcap version, 31-35 ronds for a over-the-ear version, the last round being a twisted rib round.
Start decreasing:
1st round*k 2 tog, k 10 in rib pattern, k2 tog, k 8* repeat directions between * 3 times. (The decreases are all made with a k st as the first, which is knitted together with a p st.)
2nd round: knit all stitches in pattern (with the k st tbl,. You’ll find two k st. on the place where the decreases are)
3rd round: *k 2 tog, k 9, k2 tog, k7* repeat directions between * 3 times.
4th round: knit all stitches in pattern
5th round: *k 2 tog, k 8, k2 tog, k7* repeat directions between * 3 times
6th round: knit all stitches in pattern
continue in this fashion by decreasing every 2nd round on the exact place where the former decreases were (you’ll have one less st. between decreases for every 2nd round) until you have 12 st on your needle (this will be after you have decreased for the 9th time)
k 3 rounds in pattern
last decrease round: k 2 tog 6 times
k 2 rounds in pattern
BO
4. Finishing:
Stitch the dreadlocks firmly together first, then place them in the hole on the top of the head and attach them to it all the way round. Weave in ends.
You like what you see? post a comment! You made one? Direct me to your blog!
The inspiration for this hat comes from several places. What really got me going was Hildes butt cushion. See I have a 9-year old doing fingerknitting all of the time and producing strings, we didn’t know what to do with. Hildes site shows how fingerknit strings become great snakes of felt, when done in wool and put in the washing machine.
Also, on craftster I saw several people doing something with felted dreadlocks as extensions. Since I have nothing to ‘extend’ I put them on a hat. The result is not quite a wig, but rather a hat with a big and long and specific type of tassel. The hat is specifically designed to hold the bunch of dreadlocks.
Then, finally, you crafters all have seen the ways in which felted beads are embellished with embroidery, glass beads etc. You can go wild on dreadlocks too!
The hat is a ‘headhugger’ and I must admit that people with hair will have to use hairpins to keep it on, or make it so long it will cover the ears. Also people that are bald because of chemotherapy or who are freshly shaven will have to make the hat that long - the weight of the dreadlocks will simply drag a hat like you see in the picture off your head. The hat will stick to one-three day stubbs though - it works like velcro ;-) .
Here’s the directions:
1. make dreadlocks. I made mine from 100% wool yarn in two ways, which produces dreadlocks in two thicknesses. For the thick ones, you can do fingerknitting (or let your child do that!). See hildes website
for instructions.
The thin ones are crocheted. I can think of other ways to make dreadlocks although I haven’t tried it myself:
-from yarn: make a very loose braid, felt in the washing machine
On very thick needles: CO a number of st. that will get the length of the unfelted dreadlock, BO in the 2nd or 3rd needle.
-from roving: handfelt
5 thick and 2 thin dreadlocks will be a good bunch.
2. You can handpaint the dreadlocks and the yarn you’re gonna use for the hat - use Kool-Aid, Easter egg colouring or food colour. I used food colour from the ‘Dr. Oetker’ brand: Mix equal parts of food colouring and vinegar. Soak the dreadlock and yarn in water - plunch the colour on and kneed it through. Put in a Microwave save container and perform a series of 1 minute nuke and 2 minute rest until the liquid you can squeeze out of yarn and locks is clear.
Hand wash dreadlocks and yarn.
A tip: Use white and light grey yarn for the dreadlocks and paint them the same colour. You’ll get different shades.
3. Knit the hat:
Yarn: Worsted weight, 100% wool
Needles: set of 4/5 or two circulars 5mm (US nr. 8, UK/Can nr 6)
CO 66 st. The hat is knitted in a twisted-not twisted pattern:
1 round: *k1 tbl, p1* - repeat directions between *
2. round: *k1, p1* - repeat directions between *
Knit 25 rounds for a sculcap version, 31-35 ronds for a over-the-ear version, the last round being a twisted rib round.
Start decreasing:
1st round*k 2 tog, k 10 in rib pattern, k2 tog, k 8* repeat directions between * 3 times. (The decreases are all made with a k st as the first, which is knitted together with a p st.)
2nd round: knit all stitches in pattern (with the k st tbl,. You’ll find two k st. on the place where the decreases are)
3rd round: *k 2 tog, k 9, k2 tog, k7* repeat directions between * 3 times.
4th round: knit all stitches in pattern
5th round: *k 2 tog, k 8, k2 tog, k7* repeat directions between * 3 times
6th round: knit all stitches in pattern
continue in this fashion by decreasing every 2nd round on the exact place where the former decreases were (you’ll have one less st. between decreases for every 2nd round) until you have 12 st on your needle (this will be after you have decreased for the 9th time)
k 3 rounds in pattern
last decrease round: k 2 tog 6 times
k 2 rounds in pattern
BO
4. Finishing:
Stitch the dreadlocks firmly together first, then place them in the hole on the top of the head and attach them to it all the way round. Weave in ends.
You like what you see? post a comment! You made one? Direct me to your blog!
Tingletangle wrote this at 11/29/2006 03:21:00 PM
1 picked up stitches
