December 01, 2003

It's magically delicious.

The brim lies flat without blocking!
It must be magical yarn.

[Photo above was taken with flash off.
Click here to see photo taken with flash on.]

Bucket hat n�mero dos is well on its way and I liiiiiiiiiiiike it! Yesterday afternoon my husband took the kid out for a while, so I decided to start the hat, thinking I'd do a few rows of the headband and then finish the rest another time. But I just kept going...I couldn't stop! I was like Edward Scissorhands, only sans pancake makeup and with knitting needles instead of scissors. The hair...well, it was a lazy Sunday.

By the time my husband and the kid came back from their outing, I was on the last round for the brim. I bound off the final round, pulled the yarn through the last loop, hurriedly put the hat over my head thinking I'd look like a total DORK with the ends hanging out and the brim all wonky, then turned to my husband with a goofy grin and said jokingly, "How do I look?" I was surprised when he said seriously, "That's cuuuuuute." Wha??? I took a look in the mirror, and saw that the headband hugged my head nicely and that brim was lying completely flat. The hat looked like it had been blocked already! It must be magical yarn.

Magical yarn!

Okay, I'm kidding. It isn't magical yarn. It's just tightly-spun yarn with a high wool content. I used Plassard Merinos coupled with a strand of Phildar Aurore for the headband, and for the brim I used a strand of Plassard Merinos, a strand of Phildar Aurore and a strand of Plassard Louinie held together. Plassard Merinos is 100% wool, Phildar Aurore is 71% mohair, and Plassard Louinie is 50% wool and 50% acrylic. Together* they create a wonderful fluffy/fur-trimmed fabric that lies flat and does not curl - perfect for a Bucket-o-Chic. I cannot begin to describe how neat it feels to pull the hat right off the needles and see the brim all spiffy and ready-to-wear. Now all my hat needs is a top (tonight, for sure) and it's finished!

P.S. Like my D.I.Y. hat stand? Just my kid's bath toys: A tupperware bowl on top of a plastic funnel. No fancy mannequin here, folks.

*I so love these yarns for the Bucket-o-Chic hat...I think I know what yarn I'm going to be giving for the knitalong prize!

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23 comments to this entry:

Great combo! I've notice that your moving towards Plassard and Bouton d'or lately. I'm working with Pop 4 (Plassard) and C�r�s (Bouton d'or - ok, the sponsor is...) and I think I'm a happier knitter now. How about you? Bisou.

[Marie on 01 dec 03 @ 03:37 pm]

Well, right now the things I'm knitting do utilize Plassard and Bouton d'Or, but I am doing the fluffy Phildar vest and the Phildar Phil Ruban poncho also. I'm a bit all over the place with my projects, but I admit that I much prefer Plassard and Bouton d'Or yarns over a lot of Phildar yarns, although I do have Phildar favorites (pure laine, aviso, licorne, phil ruban...). And, Phildar does a great job with their pattern books even though they issue so many each season. But I have more fun visiting Plassard and Bouton d'Or boutiques...Phildar franchises are too commercial. They focus too much on pret-a-porter, and discontinue new yarns too quickly. Exasperating when they issue 20+ books a year but don't expect some of the yarns featured in them to continue. Argh! (P.S. Vive le sponsor! :-))

[Becky on 01 dec 03 @ 03:52 pm]

I really like how those three yarns go together and give the brim an almost velvety look. I am, of course, curious about how they would felt. Would the mohair give you a nice halo or a feral mess?

[Theresa on 01 dec 03 @ 04:10 pm]

Hi Becky. I live in Canada where Phildar is not available. I love your projects, and the yarn seems absolutely beautiful. My question is, what yarns available would compare to your Phildar yarns? There seems to be an abundance of Patons in Canada but I'm not sure how the two would compare.

[Laurin on 01 dec 03 @ 04:45 pm]

ooooh it looks good! It looks stylish, but I bet it's really warm as well, with the fluffy yarns. Is this one for you? I think if it looks as good on your head as on the bowl then you should keep it! (Although the last one looked superduper as well!) I'm feeling jealous of your yummy looking french yarns.....

[jen on 01 dec 03 @ 04:56 pm]

Nice bucket baby! We know you like to go topless...but hey, you're a parent now. Is your flat brim knit in stockinette, or did you use another stitch? Can't wait to see the go go dancer pix of you in this one.

[Silvia on 01 dec 03 @ 05:03 pm]

You've just reminded us to do our darnedest in the bucket picture contest....

[claudia on 01 dec 03 @ 05:23 pm]

It is not magic yarn; rather, YOU are a magician! The bucket looks beautiful, but I don't know, is it against the rules to award the prize to yourself, because you deserve to win! Hee hee. And yes, yes, I'm still plugging away on mine! I think I solved the brim rolling problem!

[Mariko on 01 dec 03 @ 05:29 pm]

C'est adorable! Your yarn combo is outstanding, Becky. I finished the one for the wee one over the holiday, and took on a request from my mom for one as well -- thinking I'll felt hers.

[maggi on 01 dec 03 @ 07:05 pm]

Oooh I like that. Glad that combo gave you a non-curling brim. Now I need to get my you know what in gear and get to work on my hat. All I have is a headband (:-)

[Jeanine on 01 dec 03 @ 08:13 pm]

Tres Chic! Way to raise the stakes. No pressure...

[Chelee on 01 dec 03 @ 08:18 pm]

The hat looks fabulous. Perhaps if I had magic yarn, I woudn't have had such a hard time with my brim. But, I seriously doubt that. I agree with Mariko: it's you, the magician!

[Stacy on 01 dec 03 @ 10:55 pm]

There's a prize? And I knit a B-O-C in grey Cascade? Oy gevalt. May have to do another.

[Leslie on 02 dec 03 @ 02:11 am]

Cool hat - I love the magic yarn combination. Its going to look fantastic..

[kerrie on 02 dec 03 @ 10:22 am]

Smooth/fluffy combo is all-the-way cool. Texture! Texture!

[Ann on 02 dec 03 @ 11:40 am]

I love the way those yarns look together. Bucket-o-chic indeed!

[Em on 02 dec 03 @ 01:35 pm]

Ohhh please please please tell HOW you got the dang brim to be flat! I was thinking, should I not double the yarn for it? Should I not be so fussed? Should I not knit it AGAIN? You can see the quandry, no? Of course, the first one that was *too* small and *too* brim roll-y was in Manos, felted. So what am I doing this time? Manos, felted. No prizes for smarts over here! ;)

[Kristine on 02 dec 03 @ 03:00 pm]

Oui la la! I love what's in the hat! What fibery goodness! Okay girls... Here's what I have used to figure out the rolled brim deal. This works for those who are fuzzy and furry or felted. When I made Diva's first hat I used the original pattern using my own dyed worsted weight. It looked good for about two wearings, and then it went all sloppy and floppy. I decided that the next one would be made entirely in GARTER STITCH. I also used a strand of Ingenua mohair and Galway worsted in red (Shh.. one of Diva's Xmas pressies). When I did the brim, I ADDED a few rows to compensate for the shorter nature of garter stitch and to give it a more 20's Jazz Age look AND I didn't double up on the yarn (in my case I used just one strand of EACH yarn, not double the mohair and worsted) . For the top, I used less rows and decrease less times per row (4 instead of 5) to overcome the weird spiral "square" you get if you decrease to 4/5 sts. Meaning, I stopped at about 12 sts and cinched the top. This came out perfectly, with no roll of the brim, hardly any blocking and I did have Diva "play" with it and I intentionally stuffed it into my couch cushion... Still held its shape!!! I personally like the garter stitch look for Diva, and I will do my hat in garter stitch, but I think I will felt it so it will disguise the stitches. If you want to hide the sts without felting, I think this will work for the furry and fuzzy, as it will conceal it... Let you know how it goes! Becky... Sorry about the long post!!!! XOXO

[Rose on 02 dec 03 @ 06:46 pm]

I'm liking it!!! It looks fabu - as all your things do!! You are such a creative knitter!!

[Nicole from Boston on 03 dec 03 @ 12:24 am]

So, let me get this straight, did you garter stitch the entire hat or just the brim? (sorry, I'm a little slow)

[Chelee on 03 dec 03 @ 01:28 am]

No, no. I followed the pattern as is. The hat in the photos in this entry is entirely in stockinette stitch. Rose - who commented above - is the one who did her hat in garter. I myself did not change the pattern to get the brim to look the way it does. It's the yarns I chose. I knew that acrylic would make the brim curl, and most furry novelty yarns have high acrylic content. So I chose a furry yarn that has equal wool and acrylic. The wool makes it behave. But I did nothing differently - I still knit the whole hat in stockinette, and loosely bound off the brim knitwise. The trick is choosing magical yarns :-) Thanks to everyone for their kind words, and to Rose for sharing her tips for the hats she knit. I hope to see a photo, Rose!

[Becky from fluffa! on 03 dec 03 @ 08:40 am]

when i first got to the page, it was cutting off right at the point you could see what was going on below-- so i thought it was a headless model with a turtleneck on!!! :)

[carolyn on 03 dec 03 @ 02:44 pm]

Becky, you never cease to amaze me. This bucket hat is so sweet. The shape is fantastic and the yarns are simply beautiful. I really wish I have access to more yarn manufacturers here in Malaysia. I would love to get my hands on some Phildar. BTW, a little belated but I LOVE your niece's pink piece!!! Can't wait to see the finished ensemble.

[lyn on 05 dec 03 @ 07:55 pm]

December 01, 2003

It's magically delicious.

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