Bottom-Up Top-Down Baby Hat

I really need to use this blog. A lovely woman on Ravelry just asked if she could buy my hat pattern somewhere, which is so flattering and wonderful, it's given me the kick in the pants that I needed. Now, Margery, you have to promise me to post a photo of your hat on Ravelry when it's done, okay? Same goes for any of the rest of you!



Bottom-Up Top-Down Baby Hat
needles: set of 4 4mm dpns (USA 6)
yarn: a couple of leftover bits of whatever you like. I've been using Noro Silk Garden Lite and whatever DK yarn works with it - Jo Sharp's Classic DK Wool, or Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece, or whatever works for you.



Instructions:
Using the solid yarn, cast on 80 stitches: 30sts on first needle, 20sts on second, 30sts on third.

Work in K2 P2 rib for 1 inch.

Switch to the Silk Garden Lite (or whatever), and knit until work is 3 inches from cast-on edge (or maybe a little bit longer... I won't have a newborn to test it on for another five weeks).

(For a fold-up brim, rib 1.5 inches, and knit until work is 3.5 inches, or maybe 4 inches)

Begin decreases:

Row 1: *k8, k2tog* across (72 stitches)
Row 2 (and all even rows): knit
Row 3: *k7, k2tog* across (64 stitches)
Row 5: *k6, k2tog* across (56 stitches)
Row 7: *k5, k2tog* across (48 stitches)
Row 9: *k4, k2tog* across (40 stitches)
Row 11: *k3, k2tog* across (32 stitches)
Row 13: *k2, k2tog* across (24 stitches)
Row 15: *k1, k2tog* across (16 stitches)
Row 16: k2tog across (8 stitches)

Pull yarn through remaining 8 sts and weave in ends.

For the cupcake top...



After working row 16, continue knitting around (as an i-cord) until desired length is reached, and then pull yarn through remaining 8 sts.

I love seeing other people's projects, so feel free to share! You can find me at Ravelry.

Noro Silk Garden Lite in Australia... only at The Loony Pin!

A few weeks ago, I saw this (scroll down; I'm not talking about the turquoise one!), and I HAD TO KNIT ONE. I own a yarn shop, so I should be able to get any yarn, right? Particularly since the Noro distributor is among my regular suppliers...

But they don't import Silk Garden Lite. So nobody in Australia sells Silk Garden Lite. I emailed and asked about it, and was told it wasn't available.

Then, tonight, I got an email from the distributor! And I can have it! Yippeee! But... I need to order a lot of it, since I'm the only customer in Australia getting it.

Who wants Silk Garden Lite? This is your chance! Pre-order now, to make sure you get what you want. You can see the colors here. Colors available to us are: 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2023, 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033.

I'll put a bit about this on the website, but in the meantime, email us directly to reserve your yarn. Standard pre-order policies apply (pay 20% now, and the rest when the yarn is ready to ship to you), and as always, The Loony Pin offers $8 flat-rate shipping anywhere in Australia - or it's free if your order is over $200. And even though The Loony Pin is the only place in Australia that you can get this yarn, we're pricing it low, at just $13.95 per 50g skein. We're nice like that :D

You, too, can make these or this, or, like me, spend the next couple of weeks dreaming up a project for this incredibly gorgeous yarn.

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