Project: Shedir from Fall 2004 Knitty surprise mini-issue
Yarn: 1 1/4 balls Rowan Calmer in colorway 474, khaki
Needles: #3 (3.25mm) 16″ circs
A word about Rowan Calmer. The fiber content is cotton and acrylic. I was very skeptical about this yarn based strictly on the fiber content, no matter how many good reviews it got. Then I touched a ball and I was hooked. Very soft and springy stuff! I’d definitely use it again.
If you’re intrigued by this pattern, check out also Girl from Auntie’s interesting article on designing the cap. I found the pattern to be easy to follow, and it was nifty to read about how it was conceived.
The project is written to take one ball, but the picture at left shows how far I got before I ran out. I’d just started the decreases and had 20 rounds to go. Yikes! I rummaged through the Calmer at the yarn store where I got the first ball, Stitch Fine Yarns (not usually my first choice of yarn store) and managed to find one remaining ball in the same colorway stuffed way in the back. One Russian Join later and the needles were clacking away again. Yay! Crisis averted!
This would make an absolutely fabulous chemo cap, which is what it’s designed to be. Thankfully, I have no friends who are in the “no hair” stage of chemo, so it won’t be used for that purpose. It does cover the hairline nicely. On someone with a bushy head of hair, it might look nice and bohemian. I have very short hair, so on me it doesn’t look bohemian so much it looks like I’ve gotten my head stuck in a dinosaur egg. For this reason, I’ll be wearing it with the brim turned up or possibly finding a recipient who’d appreciate it properly.
If I had it to do over again, I’d take out a repeat on the cables, or more likely just decrease the ribbing a bit, to make it more hair-friendly. Taking out a few rows of the ribbing would probably let this work with just one ball for me.
This was good practice in cabling without a cable needle and in reading the knitting and not the chart. In fairly short order, I was able to see what the cables were supposed to be doing and follow the stitches instead of constantly referring back to the pattern. It was definitely a good learning project.
I confess I’m very proud of myself, and feel much more ready to tackle Eris now, the pattern for which jennnleegifted me a while back. So now I’ve got another girlfromauntie pattern to look forward to!
I’ll be doing my happy new hat dance all day. Whee!
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