Slouchy Hat in Trinity Stitch

February 21, 2011| Lindy| 4 Comments | 1:49 pm

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As promised in my last post, my Trinity Stitch Slouchy Hat was knitted in January. This is a semi-slouchy hat knitted in the trinity stitch. The inspiration for this hat came from a thread in the Harry Potter Lovers group on Ravelry. The thread was about the knit hat that Hermione Granger wears in the Deathly Hollows, Part I movie. Here’s a picture from the movie:

There was a great deal of discussion about what stitch was used for the hat, but most of the comments were in favor of either the daisy (star) stitch or the trinity (bramble) stitch. So, I decided to give the trinity stitch a try — and here is the end result:

Pretty close, I think.

I knit the hat using Paton’s Classic Wool yarn on size US 8 (4.5 mm) needles. Colorway is “Bright Red”. I also wrote the pattern for this hat as I knitted it up, so that I could share it with others. Here’s a link if you’d like to download it: Trinity Stitch Slouchy Hat.

I had to convert the Trinity Stitch Pattern so that it could be used in the round. Directions for the trinity stitch knit in the round are included in the pattern. If you download this pattern and enjoy knitting your own hat, please leave me a comment. 🙂

To see my notes on Ravelry — use this link.

Next post — Beret in Bee Stitch.

4 thoughts on “Slouchy Hat in Trinity Stitch”

Ann says:

February 19, 2014 at 2:12 pm

Thank you so much for this pattern. I have been trying to figure out how to use this stitch for a hat for some time, and have been unable to figure out how the reductions at the crown could be made without ruining the pattern of the stitch–now I can try out your solution.
Mark Ballard says:

November 14, 2014 at 10:26 am

Does the decrease as written in your pattern preserve the trinity stitch pattern without an unsightly breakup? I am knitting wrong side out. Much easier to p3tog than k3tog.

Making a slouch hat for my daughter, so 10 to 12 inches before decrease.

Glad I found your pattern.
LindyBeir says:

January 8, 2015 at 9:27 pm

It did when I knit it up while working on the pattern.
barbara nicholls says:

July 4, 2015 at 3:55 pm

Many thanks for the in-the-round instructions for the Trinity stitch. I made a cable/trinity combo hat about 35 years ago for my then 3rd grade daughter. The pattern was lost long ago but the hat is still intact and beautiful. So I managed to make a new pattern from the hat itself. The original was on straight needles and I really wanted to do it on circulars but couldn’t figure it out. Now I will make another hat following your instructions for the Trinity on circulars. Thank you for bringing joy to an 84 year old lady who loves to knit

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Part 2: Freeing Yourself from a Pattern – Step 2: Analyze the Pattern and Modify It to Fit.Part 2: Freeing Yourself from a Pattern – Step 2: Analyze the Pattern and Modify It to Fit.

In my last post, I went through all the necessary measurements you need to take in order to ensure that you can modify or create any sweater pattern you wish.
If you haven’t done so, you may want to go back and read this information and take your measurements.

Today I will discuss how to analyze a written pattern so that you can use it as a guideline to knit your own well-fitting garment. First, get your favorite sweater – you will be using it to help you analyze the pattern you have selected.

Now, let’s take a look at this sweater – you need to understand what it is about this sweater that makes it your favorite. Is it a pullover or a cardigan? Is it close-fitting or loose? How long is it? What type of sleeve does it have (Set-in, drop, raglan or other)? What type of neckline ( Round, V-neck, Boat Neck, Square, or other)? Now compare this information to the sweater pattern you want to knit. Just a word of caution, here, if the pattern you have chosen differs dramatically from your favorite sweater – you may not be happy with the end result. Then, again, if it is a conscious choice, you may.

Now let’s look at the sizing given in the pattern. Sizes are often stated as “Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large”, etc. Some patterns will give sizing using finished chest/bust circumference, while others will state the sizing in terms of actual body measurements. If the pattern sizing is in terms of finished measurements, it will have the ease incorporated into it. If in actual body measurements, you may have to determine how much ease is factored into the garment. The amount of ease is both a matter of personal preference and a property of the design of the sweater. To determine how much ease you prefer – pull out your favorite sweater, measure the chest and compare the measurement to your actual body measurement. The math is simple: Subtract your body measurement from the garment measurement – this will give you the amount of inches of ease.

Now – take a look at that pattern you are considering– is there a size that matches your actual chest measurement PLUS that amount of ease? If the answer is “Yes” – then, if your gauge with your yarn matches the pattern, you are good to go.

If you find that your size is not represented within the pattern, you will need to adjust the body width.

For a body width less than the smallest size given in the pattern, recalculate the number of stitches to cast on and then follow the directions for the smallest size.

For a body width greater than the largest size given in the pattern, recalculate the number of stitches to cast on and follow the directions for the largest size.

For a body width that is in between sizes, recalculate the number of stitches to cast on and then follow the directions for the closest size.

In all cases, the formula is: SPI (your gauge) X body width

There are some additional elements to consider and modify if you are adjusting body width:

If the sleeve is a drop sleeve design, be careful not to add too much body width or the shoulders will be too wide. If you need more width in the hip area than the shoulders – use an A-Line shape for the body – which means that you will need to factor in some decreases from the hip to the underarm.

If the sleeve is a set-in sleeve design, remember that as you change body width, you must also adjust the shoulder width because the top of the sleeve should hit the end of the shoulder.

The sleeve length must be adjusted when adding or subtracting body width. This is because if you add width or subtract width to the body, you have also done so to the shoulder width – and shoulder width contributes to the total sleeve length. Verify the length you need for your sweater and make adjustments accordingly.

Additional considerations in modifying a written pattern:

Does this pattern incorporate a textured or colored stitch pattern? If so, what is the base stitch pattern? To determine this, look at the instructions and the graph for the stitch patterning. Most stitch patterns are a multiple of a base number of stitches – i.e. 8 stitches over 24 rows. So, if you are reducing or increasing the number of stitches to cast on – you will need to adjust this number so that it divisible by your base stitch pattern. For example: You have determined that you need to cast on 214 stitches and your base stitch pattern is an 8 stitch repeat. If you divide 214 by 8, you get 26.75 – which is not a even number. You will need to increase the number of stitches you cast on to 216 – which is evenly divisible by 8.

Today, I have discussed how to use a written pattern as a guideline and modify it so that it will fit properly. This works best if your gauge matches the pattern, but your measurements do not.

Next post, I will discuss the notion of designing your own sweater from your choice of yarn, a basic design and the stitch pattern of your choice.

Things Learned from a SwatchThings Learned from a Swatch

It took me years to appreciate the value of doing a swatch before starting a knitting project. I cannot tell you how many poorly fitted sweaters I knit before I came to realize that it truly was worth the time and effort to swatch first.

I learned this when I bought my first knitting machine. You see, when you are using a knitting machine, you can’t even get started without doing that swatch – as you need it to tell you if you have your machine tension set up correctly. It only takes one frustrating experience with a too tight tension on the knitting machine to convince you of the necessity for doing a swatch or two.

Swatching also provides you as a knitter the freedom to become, as Elizabeth Zimmermann says, “The boss of your knitting”. If you know your gauge, and understand the basics of the design you are wanting to make – you are free to modify any pattern – or MAKE YOUR OWN.

So, I always swatch. This last weekend I did a swatch using the Baby Ull yarns that I purchased to knit a sweater and romper for my new grandson due the end of January. I had a couple of extra reasons for doing this swatch beyond determining what size needle I needed to obtain the stated pattern gauge. First, I wanted to try out the three color pattern for the sweater and get comfortable with it. Second, I wanted to see if I liked the color combinations of the yarns in the color pattern.

Swatch_Cardigan1 Here’s a picture of the swatch. I cast on 44 stitches so that I could have a 40 stitch area surrounded by a 2 stitch garter stitch edging. I started using US 2 (3.00 mm) needles and then switched to a smaller US 1 (2.50 mm) needle for the last part of the swatch. I did a section of garter stitch, then stockinette stitch, then the color pattern using the lighter aqua blue as the main color and then switched to using the darker teal blue as the main color. I finished the swatch by doing a section of sockinette stitch on the smaller needles, followed by a section of garter stitch.

Here’s what I learned from this swatch: 1) I need to use smaller needles than what is stated in the pattern in order to obtain gauge. This is important because I want this sweater to fit. 2) I like using the darker teal blue as the main color – I think the lighter aqua blue shows up better against it than the other way around. This is significant – because I bought 7 balls of the lighter aqua and only 1 ball of the darker teal. (I have now ordered enough teal to make the sweater, as my LYS did not have enough of it on hand…) 3) The 3 color pattern is fairly simple and easy to knit. I think it’s good to practice such things before starting off on a special project like this.

So to those readers who “hate to swatch”: do you see the value of what I did here? Swatching is a valuable technique that helps you be the “boss of your knitting”. Now go swatch!

Team Knitting: Socks for SoldiersTeam Knitting: Socks for Soldiers

Socks for Soldiers has a group of members who own working antique circular sock machines (CSM). These are amazing little machines that were designed to knit socks during the WWII era. I did a little searching on the web and found out that these machines often sell for between $1500 and $2500 refurbished and there are actually a few companies that refurbish these machine and keep them working. I’m including a link here if you are interested in taking a look. They actually look rather daunting.

Now, the knitters with the CSMs spend their time and yarn making those 12 inch long ribbed legs. Then they put the leg on a lifeline and send it off to a team member who knits the heel, foot and toe by hand. This speeds up the process for producing the SFS regulation socks significantly. I have recently teamed up with a CSM knitter and she just sent my first pair of CSM legs. Here’s a picture:
SFS_CSMLegs1

These legs are amazing! My team mate, Peggy, tells me that it takes her about 5 minutes to knit 1 leg on her CSM. However, the CSM itself takes longer to set up and encourage to actually knit. When we first corresponded, she also asked me if I was a right-handed or left-handed knitter. (I’m right-handed.) Seems you have to run the lifeline differently for left-handed vs. right-handed knitters. So, here are the CSM legs, close-up of the lifeline, and ready for me to put onto my needles and begin the heels. I plan to start them this evening, so hopefully I will get another pair of SFS OD regulation socks done well before Christmas.