It’s been a bit of time since my last post. I’ve been caught up in launching my students into the clinical world – like kids off to college or moving out – there is a bit of the empty nest. Simultaneously, there is room now to organize things and do things which have been put off. And to apply for jobs as who knows what will happen on the 15th. I’ve also passed the CBEST, with 204 out of 240 total points possible – about an 85% average, I guess. So, things can be added to the old credential. Back up plan taking shape.
Meanwhile, I have been looking at all my projects, and the fact is, I’m in a very scattered mood. Inventory of WIPs and UFOs shows the following:
Gloves, unfinished
Top-down beret, in revision and slow progress
Simple Cardigan, 1/2 sleeve remaining
Socks – too many to mention
A few other hats
Gansey – just started for the Esposo
And this Saturday, I finally get to go to the first Chinese painting class in probably five months. As this is the Year of the Tiger, Teacher will demonstrate this painting.
I thought about this beret a bit, and did a little research on shapes of berets and tams, and decided that I could continue on straight along on 240 stitches. I also transferred the stitches to a longer needle – I think it is a 36″ one – forgot to measure it before transferring the stitches – and the hat fits very nicely on it. The plan is to continue until there are at least 7 pattern repeats – about 35 rounds – before considering decreasing toward the brim. This choice will be dependent on the diameter of the hat at this point, or the distance of the radius, which would be measured from the base of the tab.
Truth Time
And now for a confession: I am using size 6 needles! Not 8s like I originally posted.
Final Rounds Before Decreasing
This is the pattern I plan to follow, beginning with the last increase round, which is rnd 19.
Rnd 18:
*k2, p2* to end
192
Rnd 19:
*k1, yo, k1, p2* to end
240
Rnd 20:
*k3, p2* to end
240
Rnd 21:
*K3, p2* to end
240
Rnd 22:
*MCCO, m1 purlwise, p2* to end
Note: This is to keep the stitch count the same. If you did *MCCO, p2* to the end, the result would be 192 stitches.
240
Rnd 23:
*k2, p3* to end
240
Rnd 24:
*k1, yo, k1, p1, p2 tog* to end
Note: The p2tog is at the end of the purl section, in the idea that it will balance out the decreases 2 rnds previous
240
Rnd 25:
*k3, p2* to end
240
Rnd 26:
*k3, p2* to end
240
Rnd 27:
*MCCO, m1 purlwise, p2* to end
240
From this point on, rnds 23 through 27 will be repeated.
Purlwise Increases
From the point I began doing the purlwise increases, I have stayed with the purl increases being done in the stitch below. How I approach this increase depends on whether the stitch on the left needle is a purl or knit stitch.
To do them, on a purl stitch, I just stick the needle into the front “pearl” under the live stitch. The needle looks like you are ready to knit. Take the left hand needle and tuck it into the front of the stitch on the right needle, and remove the right hand needle. The stitch is now twisted properly. Purl it like you would a normal purl stitch.
The ones done next to knit stitches I go in from the back into the loop on the right side of the knit stitch with the right needle, and lift the stitch directly onto the left needle with the right. The right hand needle should be in the purl position. Purl the stitch. If your next stitch is a purl, continue on; if the next stitch is a knit, bring yarn to back of needle, and knit the next stitch.
Doing your purl increases prevents holes from magically appearing in your work.
I’ve now reached round 19 of the beret, and when I do the yo increases for the pattern, I will end up with 240 stitches on the needles. Ouch! That seems like a lot of stitches for a beret that is only 6 inches in diameter at this point. Will it even fit on the 16″ circulars? Each cable repeat, from MCCO to MCCO is a smidgen more than 3/4 inch. All these are being considered as I begin the next round of patterns with their increases.
A specific design element I am thinking about is that the beginnings of new cables may be best started with an MCCO – it creates a visual beginning for the pattern. I wouldn’t do it at the base of the tab because I don’t think it would look good. Maybe it would . . . I could try it out!
Another thing which has cropped up is that there are holes where I have done purl increases. PFB is not really tidy, and the picking up the bar between stitches to make an increase seems to leave the holes. I decided from about row 15 to try using the stitch directly below the next stitch to create the purlwise increase, and it seems to be working. Until the beret is off the needles and blocked, I doubt I can really assess the pluses or minuses of any of these increase methods. So far, though, the purlwise increase through the stitch below the next looks the best.
Beret at Rnd 19 - 192 Stitches
Decision Time
Do I keep on increasing as I have been? One of my favorite berets is about 10 inches in diameter before it begins decreasing toward the brim, and has a 36 inch circumference at its widest. If each mock cable is about .75 inches, to make a 5 inch radius would need 6 2/3 repeats – really, 7 cables. If I do the math, the number of stitches is astronomical.
Some increases need to be done, otherwise a tube shape will begin to develop. Maybe I increased to rapidly – the only way to judge would be to remove all the stitches onto a line.
Hmmm . . . .
I’m going to do one more cable repeat, and take it from there. And look for a 24 inch circular needle as well!
I chose the Full of Sheep yarn because I was curious as to how it would knit up with textured stitches. It is a soft yarn, much like Lopi Light, but perhaps less scratchy. It may not give very good stitch definition because of the fact it is not plied, but really is more a rather dense finger roving.
Getting the Pattern Set Up
I started this beret a couple of times, and was not at all pleased with how I was progressing. I wanted to have 6 pattern repeats at the beginning, and then expand the hat by adding them between. It did not work out right in my head at all – certainly not in the way I was knitting it up. I thought about it on the way home from work, and realized I wanted to have 24 stitches for the pattern set up, with a base of k2, p2 to start.
At home, I drew out the k2, p2 to total 6 repeats. From here, I worked backward to my 4 stitches at the bottom of the tab. This picture shows you my sketch. The 24 stitches eventually became Rnd. 3 in the table below.
Sketch for Foundation Development
Abbreviations Used
k = knit
kfb = knit front and back of stitch
p = purl
m1 purlwise = make one purlwise by slipping the left needle into the strand between the stitches, then purl through the back loop of the strand.
pfb = purl through the front of the stitch, then purl through the back of the stitch
yo = yarn over
Make 1 Purlwise
This video is a very nice demonstration of this purl increase.
Begin Body
Row 1: Using the doubled stitches of the I-Cord, kfb, k, kfb, k (6 sts)
Divide sts onto 3 dpns, pm. On Rnd 1, be sure to move some of the stitches onto needle with marker.
Rnd 1:
*K1, m1 purlwise * to end
12 sts
Rnd 2:
*kfb, p1* to end
18 sts
Rnd 3:
*k2, pfb* to end
24 sts
Rnd 4:
*k1, yo, k1, p2* to end
30 sts
Rnd 5:
*k3, p1, pfb* to end
36 sts
Rnd 6:
*k3, p, pfb, p* to end
42 sts
Rnd 7:
*MCCO, m1 purlwise, p4, m1 purlwise* to end
48 sts
Rnd 8:
*k2, p2, m1 pw, k2, m1 pw, p2* to end
60 sts
Rnd 9:
*k1, yo, k1, p3* to end
72 sts
Rnd 10:
*k3, p3* to end
72 sts
Rnd 11:
*k3, p1, pfb, p1* to end
Note: I experimented with* m1 purlwise, p3* versus *p1, pfb, p1.* I decided that the p1, pfb, p1 looked better in the long run.
84 sts
Rnd 12:
*MCCO, m1 purlwise, p1, k2, p1, m1 purlwise* to end
Note: Here I decided that maybe two rows of k2 would look better before beginning the k1, yo, k1, as was done in Rnd 4.
96 sts
Rnd 13:
Note: This is where round repeats begin.
*k2, p2* to end
96 sts
And here is how the pattern looks so far, stretched out onto the dpns.
Beret Knit to Rnd 12
The next needle will now be knit with the circular, and I will use the following pattern, which I think will become the basis for the rest of the beret until I begin to decrease for the brim.
Rnd 13:
*k2, p2* to end (Note: Check for the MCCOs on this row)
96 sts
Rnd 14:
*k1, yo, k1, p2 to end
108 sts ?
Rnd 15:
*k3, m1 purlwise, p2, m1 purlwise* to end
?
Rnd 16
*k3, p4* to end
?
Rnd 17:
*MCCO, m1 purlwise, p1, k2, p1, m1 purlwise* to end
?
Some Thoughts
The yarn is stretched out, so the pattern is taut on the needles. Does not look great now, but may when relaxed. I’ll look at it on the circulars later on.
When constructing the first few rounds, it is easier to create a purl stitch by doing a pfb rather than trying to m1 purlwise. However, once it becomes easier, it should be done; equally important is remembering to purl through the back loop, as done in the video, as the stitch is much nicer.
A lot of people have downloaded the pattern for the Basic Beret, both here and on Ravelry. Not a lot of people seem to have made it, though. There has also been some criticism about the pattern itself, especially about the decreasing toward the top. There may be some validity to it, and it could also be the skill level of the individual using it. Given that, if you do decide to try this one, be warned that all I am providing is an insight into my own design process, and what I do. That said, let’s begin!
What do you want your beret to look like?
For my purposes here, I want a small pattern that can show how the beret expands outward. I want a knitting pattern or stitch that is easy to memorize and small enough to illustrate my points in design. I figured a pattern of 2 to 4 stitches would be good, and no more than 5 rows in length.
My idea is that, since I will be working from the center outward, I don’t want all the pattern stitches radiating out all at once, but incrementally. I plan on 6 initial patterns of the stitch, increasing between the pattern stitches in purl, and then adding the knit stitches, which are the foundation of the mock cable rib. As the pattern itself is 5 rows, the idea is to add a new pattern line every 5-10 rows to keep each pattern repeat parallel.
Preliminary Sketches of Top-Down Beret
My favorite on-line place to go is Knitting Fool, which is a repository of oodles of patterns. I chose an eyelet rib or cable pattern that most of us have seen – 2 stitches, a yarn over in the middle, knit a few rows, and decrease by pulling a stitch over a couple to create the cable effect. Here is my circular version, using Knit Visualizer, of the pattern. I created the MCCO stitch using the stitch editor in Visualizer.
I may decide to move the purl stitches to the right end of the pattern.
Gauge
As I am familiar with my own way of knitting, and about how many stitches per inch I usually get with a given yarn, I tend to skip this step. However, if you do not know, or you like to swatch, make yourself a swatch knit in the round, and measure from there. Gauge of flat knitting and circular knitting can vary. Some good links for getting your gauge may be found here and here, and in the videos below.
Center Beginning
The first decision is to have a flat center, or a little tab, such as found on the classic wool beret, growing out of the center. If you want a tab, this is how to do it.
Tab Beginning
This is done using I-Cord. Using double point needles (dpns), cast on three stitches, leaving a tail of 4-5 inches in length. I-Cord is done by knitting the three stitches, sliding them to the other end of the needle, and repeating. This video is very nice in illustrating how to make an I-Cord.
While you are knitting, include that long tail left over from beginning. This means you are doubling up your yarn and knitting the tail into the stitches. This keeps the problem of the tab’s tail having to be woven in later on. It also makes a fatter tab, so you may wish to use only two stitches for your I-Cord tab. Whatever you do, knit all the stitches for each row of I-Cord, do not slip the first or last stitch if this is something you do with regular knitting.
I decided to do a 3-stitch I-Cord for the tab. Here is my picture of the long-tail cast on, with a tail of about 6 inches.
Long Tail for I-Cord
Well, I knitted up a 3-stitch I-Cord. Too fat! Ripped it out, and produced a 2-stitch I-Cord. Here is the tab, knitting the tail in as I created the I-Cord. And, as you see, there are now 4 stitches, which can be used as the foundation for the beginning of the beret. There is also nothing to weave in along the I-Cord itself.
2-Stitch I-Cord, with Long Tail Knitted Into Work
Now that you have all sorts of information, here we go . . .and to quote Elizabeth Zimmermann,
Pithy Directions (so far)
Yarn: Full of Sheep, in cream
Gauge (from yarn wrapper): 4 st. per inch, 5 rows per inch
Needle Size (from wrapper): US 10.5
I am using size 8 needles because I knit loosely.
Directions:You can knit this beret with the traditional center tab, or flat. Up to you. I am using a tab for mine.
Begin Tab. Using a long-tail method of cast-on, cast on 2 stitches with about an 8-10 inch tail. Make the I-Cord (see above video or written directions) knitting with the long tail and the skein yarn doubled together. Knit 5 rows of I-Cord. At the end, there will be a total of 4 stitches available from the doubled yarn of the I-Cord.
No Tab: Cast on 4 stitches. Knit one row. Divide evenly over 3-4 needles. Mark beginning of round.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 