Hat questions

[cookworm]

I have three questions.

First of all, is there a way to make a felted alpaca hat for a man, or would anything felted look too "girly"? I made the KnitPicks "I'll Pack a Hat" hat and felted it, and the other day when it was slushy raining and so cold, all I could think of was what a nice concept this would be for my dad, because he works outside all day in all the elements. My head was so warm and dry!

Secondly, I'd like to make a knitted beanie; I'm probably going to design my own very simple pattern. I decided I'm going to do stripes (my first attempt at stripes!), but realize I've never joined yarn while knitting in the round! How do you do this? Is it any different than joining yarn while knitting flat? I'm probably going to use Lion Brand's "Microspun" yarn to make my hat (100% microspun acrylic), so I can't use a felted join or anything...any other ideas?

Lastly, since I'm going to knit this hat with stripes, would it look better to keep it simple with just stockinette stitch? Would a rib pattern look dumb or be too much of a distraction from the striping? This is a double knit gauge yarn, so maybe the ribbing coupled with the stripes wouldn't look right. I need some stylistic opinions please.

Oh, one more thing (okay, I lied--I guess I have four questions! ), since I'm designing my own style and pattern, is there a "rule" that says all of my different colored stripes have to be the same thickness, or can I do some colors thick and some thin? Thanks everybody!

[nadja la claire]

Taking your last question 1st because it's the easiest. It's your design make your stripes as thick or as thin as you choose. You're making up the rules.

As for joining your work I know how but I do it on auto-pilot so I can't explain it but Amy has a video on this subject.

And 3rdly make the hat and if you don't think it would be good for a man keep it for yourself.

Nadja xxx

[janelanespaintbrush]

I know that some knitters like to c/o an extra stitch and then slip that extra stitch from the right to left needle (sometimes even reversing the order of that stitch and the first stitch on the left needle by using something like psso), and then knitting those two stitches together to start the round.

I usually just start knitting, although I don't work the c/o tail in with my first few stitches as I might otherwise -- this is so I can go back later and neaten the join by pulling on the tail a little to tighten, and then weaving in the yarn in a way that smooths out the transition.

About stripes... haven't done them in the round but you'll want to look up "jogless jog" if you haven't done so already. It's a method that's supposed to help keep stripes from looking odd when changing colors.

Unless you're planning to use doubleknit or want a rolled edge, I think you will probably use at least some ribbing at the cuff, wouldn't you? I don't think stripes with ribbing would necessarily be too distracting. Swatch and see, I guess. If it bothers you, maybe you could wait to do your first color change until after you pass the ribbed portion.

[kaidyddd]

I know this is going to sound particularly crazy, but this site http://www.planetshoup.com/easy/tips/math.shtml explains the Fibonacci numbers and how to use these numbers to put eye pleasing stripes into knitting designs. I experimented with some baby items, and it seemed to be worth it to follow the advice I found there. You do want to learn and use the jogless jog though when knitting in the round.

Kaidy

[ebrperk]

Actually the I'll Pack a Hat was designed for her husband but since he already had a hat when they got back home and it was too big for her she washed it so it would fit her. I would just make it in a manly color for him it would be fine.