Third Time's the Charm Hat Story

My maiden name is Hull. It's an English name, but Grandpa was the oldest of seven children raised by a proper German patriarch. (You can read that as Stubborn-Old-Man-Who-Knew-He-Was-Right.) Grandpa married a fine Irish girl who had her own brand of stubborness and it came down through the family. Hull stubbornness is legendary. We alternately lament it and take pride in it, and I am truly a Hull, even if I am now called Jones.

I am also an avid knitter, so the call for Hats for the State Librarian's Luncheon sent me to the yarn store. I was going to make a hat for the luncheon. I could see it -- a fine knitted fedora, sitting next to the Maltese Falcon that has resided in glory in the SEKLS office. I'd snap it's picture, just as if Sam Spade had tossed it there, then send the hat and the picture off to the luncheon.

The hat was finished two weeks ago. There was no way it would even begin to take the shape of a fedora. It had decided it was a nice warm stocking hat, and stocking hat it would be... and a rather plain, shapeless stocking hat at that. It wasn't anything I wanted to send to the luncheon.

Okay. I'd make something else. I'd make the chenille hood that I've always enjoyed wearing. Back to the yarn store, get more yarn, and I'm off and running. I carried the yarn with me to KLA Legislative Day and was spotted Knitting in Public in various places as I waited to speak to legislators. By the time I got home, I was on a roll. It was half finished. I was going to finish it before the weekend was out. I worked most of the day Saturday. It was really going good. I WAS going to have it finished before I went to bed. (Nothing quite like a goal driven stubborn Hull.) I finished it, too. At 4:00 AM. The next morning I tossed it in the washer to tidy it up. It would be ready to send off on Monday.

No. It wasn't. Something happened in the washer. Some stitches tightened up. Some hung out like Mick Jagger's tongue in a Rolling Stones logo. This was another terrible, ugly hat.

By this time, most folks would have quit knitting and bought a hat to send to the State Librarian's Luncheon. Not me. At 6:30 Sunday evening, I ripped out the hood, rewound the yarn and started over. This time it would be my classic crocheted Tam-o-Shanter. That pattern has never failed me. I finished it at 1:00 Monday morning. I'm NOT putting it in the washer to tidy up. I'm not photographing it next to the Maltese Falcon, but I am going to package it fast -- while it still looks like a Tam and send it to the State Librarian.

We Hulls are stubborn. Sometimes it pays off.

Crocheted Tam-O-Shanter

Ok, it's not knitting, but I love this pattern. I went looking for it to teach it to a friend, but couldn't find the original. Gee. It's only from the 1960s. Why can't I lay my hands on it?

I studied the hat and wrote the instructions. I'll post it here for posterity.

Crocheted Tam-o-Shanter
If you add a pom-pom to the center of the top, it’s a Tam-O-Shanter. If you leave it plain, it’s a beret. I like to change the color of the last two rows to make a trim.
I’m a bit vague on what size crochet hook I used to make my first Tam. Probably an F or a G. Choose one that fits your yarn. Adjust the stitches according to the thickness of your yarn (bulky will need fewer stitches and fewer rounds) Directions are given for worsted weight yarn.
YARN: 1 skein primary color (Color A); 1 small ball of scrap yarn for trim (Color B).
Stitches you need to know: chain stitch, double crochet, slip stitch, decrease, single crochet.
Abbreviations: Ch = chain stitch; DC = double crochet; SS = slip stitch; DEC = decrease; SC = single crochet. Repeat directions between the *s.

To do a decrease: Work 1 DC until there are 2 loops on the hook, work next DC until there are 4 loops on the hook. Yarn over the hook, pull through and work off 2 loops. There will be 3 loops left on your hook. Yarn over and pull through to work off last 3 loops. One loop will be left on the hook to create the next stitch.
Adjustments for hook size and yarn differences: If work will not lay flat after each round, omit last increase (“DC 2 in following stitch”) of each round. Your row count will change, but the overall effect will be the same. The important thing is to have the increases evenly spaced around the circle. As long as your increases are spaced evenly apart (hence the 1 DC between, then 2 DC between, then 3, etc.) the circle will grow evenly. You should be able to see a “pie shape” pattern growing between your increases.
You may not notice a wave in the edge until several rows past the spot where you should have dropped the extra increase. If that is the case, rip out your work to the last point it laid flat, and redo it omitting the last increase.
Pattern:
Center: Chain six and join (by slip stitching to first stitch of the row). Ch 3. (12 stitches)

1. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 2 in each stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (1^st Ch3 counts as 1 DC when counting; 24 stitches)
2. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 2 in each stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (36 stitches)
3. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next stitch. DC 2 in following stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (48 stitches).
4. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 2 stitches. DC 2 in following stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (60 stitches)
5. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 3 stitches. DC 2 in following stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (72 stitches)
6. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 4 stitches. DC 2 in following stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (84 stitches)
7. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 5 stitches. DC 2 in following stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (96 stitches)
8. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 6 stitches. DC 2 in following stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (108 stitches)
9. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 7 stitches. DC 2 in following stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (120 stitches).
10. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 8 stitches. DC 2 in following stitch* around. Join. Ch 3. (132 stitches; circle should be 11”to 12”” in diameter).

Begin decreasing to make fold and size down to head band:

1. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 8 stitches. DEC in following 2 stitches* around. Join. Ch 3. (132 stitches)
2. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 6 stitches. DEC in following 2 stitches* around. Join. Ch 3.
3. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 5 stitches. DEC in following 2 stitches* around. Join. Ch 3.
4. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 4 stitches. DEC in following 2 stitches* around. Join. Ch 3.
5. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 3 stitches. DEC in following 2 stitches* around. Join. Ch 3.
6. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in next 2 stitches. DEC in following 2 stitches* around. Join.

Headband:

1. Ch 3. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in each stitch* around
2. Ch 3. 1 DC next to Ch 3. *DC 1 in each stitch* around
3. Cut yarn. Join trim color. “Bury” ends by SC over them in this row. *SC 1 in each stitch* around.
4. *SC 1 in each stitch* around.
5. SS around to secure edge. Cut yarn. Weave in end.

Pom-Pom:
To make a 1”-2” pom-pom.

1. Wind Color B yarn around a heavy piece of cardboard or object about six inches wide (at least 2 inches larger than finished pom-pom diameter, to give you “trim room”.). Make at least 100 windings. You want a full pom-pom. More can’t hurt.
2. Pinch center and hold it firmly. (You may want a helper if this is your first time making a pom-pom.)
3. Slip yarn off cardboard.
4. Tie tightly with a piece of matching yarn. Leave tie ends long for attaching to hat. TIE VERY TIGHTLY. You don’t want threads slipping out of the pom-pom.
5. Fluff to make it take a ball shape. It will be straggly.
6. Holding over a trash can by the tie ends, trim with sharp scissors until the ball is the right shape and “perky”. (Don’t cut the tie ends).
7. Place on hat and pull tie ends through outer edge of the center circle. Tie securely. Bury ends under crochet loops.

Above is the first crocheted Tam I ever made -- circa 1968. I still wear it. It was made from the scrap yarn left over from an Icelandic sweater my mother knitted for my brother. That's some good yarn!