Forest by Jennifer Hilton

Forest

Knitting
March 2007
yarn held together
Aran
+ Aran
= Aran (8 wpi) ?
US 11 - 8.0 mm
302 yards (276 m)
Head circumference 56cm/22in; 58.5cm/23in
English

This is a fulled cloche hat which can be knitted with a strand of Colinette Skye and a strand of Colinette Mohair held together to make the fluffy version. The plainer wool version is made with one strand of Colinette Skye. No knitted gauge is given, as it is the final gauge after fulling that counts: 4 stitches and 6 rows to 2.5cm/1in square. There is no diagram or chart. Using recommended yarn, the fluffy hat shrinks to size after 3 washes, and the wool hat needs only one wash. (Comment from Raveller: this pattern makes an over-large hat which takes a lot of shrinking; the use of substitute yarn must be considered very experimental, with no guarantee of success!)

The pattern is designed to be started with a circular needle at the brim, changing to dpns as the stitch-number decreases towards the top. (Comment from Raveller: many UK knitters have access to 8mm straight needles but no circulars or dpns of this size - but it is possible to knit this with 2 straight needles. Cast on one stitch fewer than instructed in the pattern. Work every alternate row in purl stitch. Seam the hat together before fulling, using a flat seam or whip-stitch, to aid shrinking.)