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Montera Hat



Pattern: Montera Hat
Designer: Pam Allen
Materials: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Flammé
Amount: (1.5) 50g ball
Needles: US7 and US10 16" circular Addi Turbo
Cost: $10.00/ball approx. $20.00
Size: one size
Start Date: Dec. 3, 2009
Finish Date: Dec. 9, 2009
Ravelry Project Link

This was a fun hat to knit. A little like the Koolhaas pattern; but easier since you don't have to hold stitches. That's not to say I didn't screw up the pattern several times anyway. Some of the rows are more confusing than others, but there are detailed instructions as well as a chart.

The yarn was pretty luxurious for what I usually use. No mail order this time. It's a 10 ply aran weight, 50% Peruvian Wool, 30% Super Fine Alpaca, and 20% Silk. It has a thick and thin consistency (I don't know what this is called), which makes it very forgiving and I like the way the leaves ended up looking kind of rounded instead of triangle shape like the pattern picture. On the other hand, the yarn is a bit heavy so it doesn't sit fluffy on the head. Even though I only used about a ball and a half, the project ended up costing about $20 as it was $10 per ball. But I wanted something really nice.

I made this for my sister who is undergoing chemo right now. She hasn't lost all her hair by any means. I think it's serving more as a lose hair catcher and just to lift up her spirits. I was so excited to give it to her that I forgot to take pictures, so I recently had my niece bring it over to model it for me. Unfortunately, it was so cold, that she had a hard time posing without looking like she was freezing to death. You can even see individual little snowflakes in her hair.



TIP: One thing about the pattern that I did wrong or that just wasn't specified was that on the vein of the leaf pattern, when knitting up the looped over increased stitch from the previous row, you should twist the stitch on the left side of the vein center in the opposite direction as the one on the right side. I didn't do this in the first few rows and I ended up with this bumpy stitch running next to the center vein of the leaf. I decided the texture of the yarn would make it so it wasn't too obvious and I kept going and just changed the way I knit it on the subsequent rows which look much better.
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Comments

  1. JennyDecember 29, 2009 at 5:01 PM

    This hat is gorgeous - from the color to the texture to the imagined feel (from the description of the yarn). What a wonderful treat for your sister. I am so sorry she is dealing with health challenges. This hat will give her a bit of warmth for healing!

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