Portsmouth: a skating hat by Julie Bierlein

Portsmouth: a skating hat

Knitting
February 2010
Super Bulky (5-6 wpi) ?
10 stitches = 4 inches
in Main pattern stitch
US 10 - 6.0 mm
US 11 - 8.0 mm
40 - 50 yards (37 - 46 m)
English
This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

This pattern has two variations, super bulky and bulky. It could easily be adapted for any weight yarn by continuing the increase section until the headband is the desired width. It is important to note that this pattern tends to curl when you are knitting it. Once the piece is blocked, however, it lays much more flat.


Pattern Inspiration:
When my mother moved from Roswell, New Mexico to Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1957, before her junior year in high school, she found that everything was different from her earlier school years -- the clothes, her fellow students, their New England accent, etc. One of the girls clothing items she noticed right away was a knitted headband, called a “Skating Hat,” that covered the ears and tied under the chin. Not one for hats, she immediately purchased one and wore it frequently the last two years of high school. Recently I was down in her basement and saw her original headband sitting on top of a stack of books. Since one of the ties was broken making it unwearable, she asked if I could figure out the pattern and knit her another one -- which of course I did.