Cozy Knits: Part I

One of the (many) fun things about publishing designs in books is the long lead time from sketch to finished product. You work and work on first your submission, then your sample, then your pattern, and by the time the book comes out, it's like a pleasant little surprise!  (I hope this doesn't sound like a disguised complaint -- I'm really serious about this.  Books just take a long time to publish, and while I'm usually rushing to publish my next design before the seasons change, it's really nice to send something out into the wild and then wait for it to come back in its final, pretty form.)

About a year and a half ago, I was delighted to have two designs accepted for publication in a new book by Tanis Gray focusing on Cascade Yarns Pacific and Pacific Chunky.  And it's not that I forgot about them, but I wasn't sure when the book would come out so I wasn't exactly waiting by the mailbox.  Then, suddenly, earlier this month, there they were on Ravelry and the book had come.

Cozy Knits: 50 Fast & Easy Projects from Top Designers is a really fun book, full of quick projects (50 of them, as you might have guessed), several of which I'm pretty sure I'll be making as gifts this year.  (And hey, I've got to love a book that considers me a "Top Designer".)  Since it feels like so long ago that I knit my contributions, I thought it might be fun to revisit them and try to remember what was going on in my life when I designed them.

The first is the His & Hers Cabled-Brim Tam & Beanie:

© Joe Hancock

After going through my stitch dictionaries a few times (one of my favorite pasttimes), I had decided I was a little in love with a particular cable:

And after doing the ol' swatcheroo and holding it up to my head and Neill's alternately a few times, I realized that it would be equally as fitting for a man or a woman.  So I sketched out a little feminine tam...

And also a manly beanie.  Well, a unisex beanie.  I would totally wear this one, too.

(Please note that the model for the man-sketch above is Wes Anderson, from a behind-the-scenes look at Moonrise Kingdom in W Magazine.)

I worked on the tam during my first trip to TNNA, finishing up the cabled brim during my layover in Denver.  I remember sitting at the gate waiting for my flight to Columbus and measuring the brim against my own head while looking in a pocket mirror and hoping no one thought I was crazy.  This went on for a long time.  And, later, I realized that the familiar looking faces I saw waiting for the same flight were Stephanie Dosen, Joanna Johnson, and one of the gals who runs Petite Purls.  Go me.

Anyway, both hats begin the same way, with a cabled brim knit flat.  Then, the two ends of the brim are seamed together and stitches are picked up for the body/crown of the hat from the edge.  They both knit up very quickly, and I'm pleased to have them back in my possession now!

Some more specs...

Sizes: Tam - 17 (19)” (43 [48.5] cm) circumference to fit head circumference up to 20 (23)” (51 [58.5] cm); 8¼ (9)" (21 [23] cm) high. Shown in size 17” (43 cm). Beanie - 17 (19)” (43 [48.5] cm) circumference to fit head circumference up to 20 (23)” (51 [58.5] cm)

Yarn:
Cascade Yarns Pacific (60% acrylic, 40% superwash merino wool, 213 yds/100 g), #10 Olive, 1 skein for each hat or size.
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) circular needle, 16-20" / 20-50 cm long (depending on size made) and set of double pointed needles

Gauge: 18 sts & 23 rows = 4" / 10 cm in St st

You can check out more about the His & Hers Cabled Brim Tam & Beanie on Ravelry here.