Monday, July 19, 2010, in Latakia, Syria Page 4 of 5
Garter Stitch, Mitered Squares Baby or Toddler Hat or Stuffed-Toy Cube
Designed by Jessica-Jean Isrep
Loosely based on the directions for the Divided Square [pg. 38] and the Mulberry Bush Afghan [pg. 100] in Virginia Woods Bellamy’s book Number Knitting – The New All-Way Stretch Method©1952
There is no sewing, aside from the weaving in of ends, on this hat!! This is a guide to making your own version of the hat. I am not a professional pattern writer, and almost never repeat exactly the same thing as before. The yarn and needles you choose are up to you. I’ve done it with a single, uncut, strand of baby yarn (OK, the ties are a separate strand.) I’ve also made it using a different color of sport weight yarn for each unit of the hat. For the sport weight yarn, I used US# 5 straight needles. A stitch marker of some sort helps to remember just where to make the center double decreases in each square. Another marker – a safety-pin, tiny hair clip, etc. – helps to mark the right side; move it up regularly. (Even after making these mitered squares for more than a decade, I still goof up if I don’t use that marker. It’s a real pain to have to rip out hours of work for such a simple reason! I just did it again on my current, much larger project!L)
Techniques used, besides basic knit and purl:Crochet cast-on – search on YouTube for clearer than I can explain in words
K2tog – Knit two together
SSK – slip one knitwise, slip another one knitwise, place the two slipped stitches back on the left-hand needle and knit them together.
The top of the hat consists of four mitered squares each beginning with 20 stitches on the needle.
Here’s how I did mine:
Square 1:
Row 1 is the cast-on and/or picked up stitches; is the right, front, or public side of the work; and is the side on which all the double decreases are made. To facilitate picking up stitches later on, I used the crochet hook cast on, working 19 stitches onto the needle and then placing the stitch on the crochet hook on it too.
Row 2: Slip the first stitch purlwise, knit to last stitch; purl the last stitch through the back loop (to reduce twisting on next row).
Row 3: Sl 1 knitwise, k7, k2tog, place marker, ssk, k7, p1.
Row 4 and all subsequent even-numbered rows except rows 19 and 20: Sl 1 k-wise, k to last st, purl last st.
Row 5: Sl1, k6, k2tog, ssk, k6, p1.
Row 7: Sl 1, k5, k2tog, ssk, k5, p1.
Row 9: Sl1, k4, k2tog, ssk, k4, p1.
Continue decreasing in this manner until Row 19, when there should be four stitches left.
Row 19: k2tog, p2tog.
Row 20: p2tog. (If changing colors for each square, work this stitch with the new color; since it will be the first stitch of the next square.)
Square 2: Put the last stitch onto the crochet hook and cast on 9 stitches, place loop from crochet hook on needle for a total of 10 stitches on the needle.
Row 1: sl1 (whichever way least twists the first loop), k9, pm, pick up through the back loops, 10 stitches down the left-hand side of the first square.
Repeat from row 2.
For the 3rd square, repeat from Square 2.
For the 4th square, just pick up stitches along sides of squares 3 and 1.
You should now be holding a square that has 20 stitches on each side. That number will be the basis of the following three squares.
First larger square:
Row 1: Cast on 20 sts. and knit them, pm, pick up 20 sts along sides of .smaller squares # 4 and #1.
Continue making this square as the smaller ones. When it’s finished, pick up 20 stitches along its left-hand side and along sides of smaller squares #1 and #2 to begin the second larger square. The work will no longer lie flat! This is normal, since you are working four sides of a cube, of which the smaller squares form the top. The third larger square begins with stitches picked up along the side of the second larger square and the sides of smaller squares #2 and #3.
When the third larger square is finished, you have a cube that’s missing two sides. One is for the face and the other the neck of the wearer. If you’d prefer it to be a true cube – as for a stuffed toy – just continue to make the necessary squares to fill in the other two sides, and remember to add the stuffing before finishing the sixth square!
With the final loop of the larger square on the needle, pick up a total of 60 stitches along the front (face) edge and work a few rows of 1x1 ribbing, always maintaining the chain selvedge, since you’ll be picking up stitches along its edges, too. (I did five rows on the sport weight hat, six if you include the cast off. I don’t have a kid at hand to measure it on. It looks right, but may be too big.)
Then pick up another 60 sts along the neck edge and work a few rows of 2x2 ribbing. (I did four rows, then an eyelet row, and another three rows – four if you include the cast off.)
The final touch is the ties. You can use ribbon if you wish. I prefer yarn, since I always have yarn and never have ribbon. Here are the two ways I’ve used to make ties for these hats:
Loosely crochet a chain the desired length, then either go back and slip stitch into the back of each chain, or – using another color – go to the beginning of the chain and slip stitch into the back of each chain. Weave in ends.
If crochet hooks are foreign to you, cast on a goodly number of stitches (by now you should know your gauge for your needle and yarn) the length needed to tied a bow around a kid’s neck, and cast off. Nothing simpler!
Of course, if you have a way you prefer for making ties, go for it!
If you’ve done your hat with a single uncut strand, you have a grand total of two ends to weave in! (Not counting the ties.) If you’ve changed colors at every chance, there could be 26 – or more! The choice is dependent on your yarn supply and desires.
Notes:
There is no need to work balanced decreases. In her book, Mrs. Bellamy just has two consecutive k2tog’s. Since it’s plain garter stitch, it makes no difference in the final look – at least no difference a non-knitter could ever spot. Once I learned to make balanced increases/decreases, I became overly picky about balancing my decreases, so I use a k2tog with an ssk. Sometimes I put them in reverse order; just be consistent throughout the one item. This decision is knitter’s choice.
Picking up the stitches through the back loops
· results in a smother join than if done through both loops, and
· leaves a neat looking knurled border along the line.
I find the end stitches of the first row problematical. Too often they end up with a double twist, which can make picking up stitches afterward a bit confusing. This is why I often work them through the back loop … when I remember. The important thing to remember is to work as neat a chain selvedge as possible, since it is where you will eventually be picking up stitches.
If you find there is a gap when you pick up just the number of stitches asked for, pick up more and decrease them on the very next row – a non-decrease row. I promise you, it will never show! Garter stitch is so forgiving!
If you opt for the stuffed toy cube, use much smaller needles than usual for the yarn. You want it to be tightly knit so the stuffing doesn’t work its way out between stitches. You may also want to make a sort of lining – a bit of nylon sewn to make a cube for instance – to further contain the stuffing. Cut up panty hose or nylons (minus the waist bands and any seams) make great stuffing and are less likely to come out than polyester fiberfill. Oh, yeah! You’ll need to make enough more squares to complete the cube.
If you prefer, you can make the top with another larger square; there’s no need to make those four smaller squares.
I fell in love with the mitered squares in the late 1990’s and have been hooked on them ever since.
Addendum, for the more visually inclined:
OK, an artist I am not. Please, imagine that this illustration is a true square – i.e. four ninety-degree angles connected by four equal length sides. This is as close as I could get in Paint.
The broad red line is the cast-on edge.
The broad lilac line is the chain selvedge.
The thin pinkish lines portray the lines of garter stitch.
The very thin vertical green line represents the progression of the double decreases.
If this is Square #1, then the last loop is at the top. From there, you cast on however many stitches required, knit them back to the beginning of the cast-on, place marker, and pick up stitches along that orange line.
Does this help any? Can anyone teach me a better way to do this on the computer, or a good way to photograph the squares in progress?
If you encounter any difficulty with this sketchy pattern, e-mail me for help at: I’ll do my best to assist you, but I will not knit it for you or for your favorite charity, so don’t even ask. If you need yarn or needles, I can provide them, too, especially if you’re making the hat(s) for some charity. (I’ll never live long enough to knit up all the yarn I already have!) However, that only works if you come to my house to fetch the yarn and or needles; I can’t afford Canada Post’s rates! If we’re in the same geographical region, I’ll be glad to meet with you for free hands-on help. When I’m not visiting the in-laws in Syria, I’m usually in Montreal and prefer to get around by bicycle.
Enjoy!