I just realized that this blog title is something of a double entendre. Take Heart is a pattern by Fiona Alice, published in both Pom Pom Quarterly: Issue 7 (Winter 2013) and Fiona’s book, Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey, but if you’re in the same mood I’m in these days, you could also interpret the the title as a positive, motivational announcement, as in “take heart in these difficult times by enjoying some hot pink!” I’ll take it.
While this color (Ella Rae Superwash Classic in Maroon Flush, a worsted weight) encapsulates the #pussyhatproject, it’s also a favorite color of mine. At some point in my life I discovered that certain shades of bright pink and raspberry can be flattering to my pale olive skintone, and since that moment I’ve been in love with all varieties of pink. There’s also something really fun and empowering about wearing a typically masculine garment (a blazer, or silk button-down shirt, for instance) in a typically feminine color. While I wouldn’t exactly call this a masculine-style hat, the foldover brim is very classic and reminiscent of a casual beanie, so I thought that aspect kept it from being too “precious” in the pink, and hopefully wearable in the future.
The pattern does call for aran weight yarn, so I held this worsted-weight yarn double, threw caution to the wind, and cast on without checking gauge. While I’m pretty happy with the finished object, it did turn out a bit big, mostly lengthwise, although again, my small head-size comes into the discussion here, since it’s a little bit loose around the brim. I added the cat ears specifically for the Women’s March by picking up 13 stitches, knitting in garter stitch on smaller needles (a US 6, I think), decreasing every other row at the edges, then finishing it off with a centered double decrease (CDD) once I had three stitches remaining, and binding off the final stitch. If I’d had a little more time I probably would have reinforced them with pipe cleaner or felt, but I’m planning on pulling these out and replacing them with a pom pom anyway, so it wasn’t worth the trouble.
Despite my use of photoshop, these are clearly iPhone photos and not quite up to par with my nicer camera. They’ll do for now – I just wanted to share while I remember all the details. Ravelry Project Page here.
Stitch Party 