Finished Object: Inga Hat

Yarn: Cascade 220 and Patons Classic Wool (stashed odds and ends, unknown colors), 3 oz. total.
Pattern: Inga, by Sheila Macdonald (It’s free!)
Needles: Size 1 and 3 US
Gauge: 6 sts. per inch
Size: 20″ circumference, which fits my 22″ head well, but Mr. Helloyarn’s 23″ head a little too snugly. (He’s the model here.)
Started: December 26, 2007
Finished: December 29, 2007

The Knitting:
This was great fun and a nice rest for my hands after the million tiny stitches. It’s a great way to use up random stashed colors, that’s for sure! I had a great time laying out balls of worsted weight in rows and choosing the loudest combination I could wear.

I’m very surprised that the braided edge gives enough structure to keep the edge from rolling, but it really does. It certainly gives a cleaner silhouette than a hem does.

The only change I made to the pattern was adding those little blips of purple in the center of each design. They’re duplicate stitch.

As you can see, this hat’s a little tall- 20″ from edge to edge, over the top. Since I prefer a shorter hat, I’m already making another one.

I hesitated the first time around, but think I’ve hit upon the loudest color combination I’ll wear with this one! I’m wangling the pattern a bit, adding a second braid, extending the striped section a bit, and taking out nearly a full repeat of the pattern. Will report back.

In the meantime, look at all the Ingas on Ravelry, or check those puppies out on Flickr. There are some excellent color combos out there, for sure!

20 Responses to “Finished Object: Inga Hat”

  1. Jennifer

    I love it! I will definitely check out the links and my own stash to see what loudness I can conjure up. I think that would be a hit here!

  2. regina

    You are just amazing. Honestly, you scare me a little bit (in a good way, though).

  3. Alice

    Love them both, but I love the changes you’ve made to the second one! The colors are fantastic as well. I can’t wait to see it finished (which I am sure won’t take you very long at all ;)

  4. E to the M

    Inga’s been in my queue for awhile. Yours are awesome. I think I know how I’ll be using that yarn gift certificate I received for my birthday…

  5. Valerie

    This is why I have a secret plan to knit VERY LOUD chullos for my entire family. I loooooove the vibrant (and vibrating) colors.

  6. Janine

    Wow! I love your Ingas :). The second one has colours that “jump” at my eyes, so I can’t look at it for too long, but what I see when I peek is lovely.

    Happy New Year!

  7. jesie

    Love the duplicate stitch accent!

    As for the second hat, the blue and red together is awesome. The colors vibrate, just like they do on the front of the Cap’n Crunch box!!!

  8. May

    I love the colours – they really pop against each other! One of my favourite things about knitting is choosing the colour combos!

  9. merete

    the braided edge is such fun to make and a lovely feature. well i love hems too. and all the one’s i make hats for have big curly hair which calls for tall hats, unfortunately.
    i am completely in love with the colour choices of both but love the latin american or retro accent of the red and light blue one. think it is a great colour combo. how do you knit, spin, post wool, spend time on ravelry, write patterns, draw charts? how do you get it all done? i am soooo impressed.

  10. Debra

    I love the color combination you’ve choosen. It’s really beautiful, love the added orange. Thanks for the eye candy.

  11. Peggy

    Wonderful hat! I love hat season…

    Those are both great color combinations.

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