But ideas are always fermenting and some ideas bubble up again and again.
Like hat ideas.
I love knitting hats, but sometimes, I am so disappointed by the latest most popular hat—its just another beanie or sort of beret (a tube that has a stretchy stitch pattern that can be stretched out to a flat beret)--Me? I love interesting hat ideas.
Start with--
What is the desired function? Warm , Style or both?
What is the desired fit? Snug or loose?
What is the desired coverage? Top of the head? Head and ears? Head, ears and neck? Head and neck?
Style is a whole other issue.
Some styles are deemed feminine, some masculine, some gender neutral, some juvenile, some mature, some classic, (timeless) some retro (from a previous time period)
Lot's of time these style designations are not very strict--
Sometimes, a single hat style can be, depending on the yarn and other factors, multi purpose!
Take my pleated Kitty.
I first made it in a tweed—and it reminded me of a style of US Army cap—the official name? I forget—but the slang name is extremely vulgar term. (think of a kitty, it could be a cat, or it could be a pussy(cat) but pussy could also be mildly vulgar term, and there is another very vulgar term—moving away from the cat meaning and more to the vulgar-- (and this is what is used for the army caps.) I worked backwards, from the very vulgar, to the mildly vulgar, to the innocent kitty when I named this hat.
Lot's of time these style designations are not very strict--
Sometimes, a single hat style can be, depending on the yarn and other factors, multi purpose!
Take my pleated Kitty.
I first made it in a tweed—and it reminded me of a style of US Army cap—the official name? I forget—but the slang name is extremely vulgar term. (think of a kitty, it could be a cat, or it could be a pussy(cat) but pussy could also be mildly vulgar term, and there is another very vulgar term—moving away from the cat meaning and more to the vulgar-- (and this is what is used for the army caps.) I worked backwards, from the very vulgar, to the mildly vulgar, to the innocent kitty when I named this hat.
But the same basic design, with different wools, and you end up with a very Russian looking hat, (think Dr Zhivago.)
Do it again, in a tweed, and felt it, and now the hat looks like a Scottish hat! (or at least, sort of like one used by the Scottish military units)--a Glen Garry bonnet—Not exactly alike, but similar, all the same--especial in this untrimmed version. Add a red and white ribbon, a cockade and a toorie (a small pompom) and it would be much more like the Glen Garry bonnet.
The Russian version I think is very masculine, but the other two versions? I think these are gender neutral!
Hat come in so many shapes and styles. I wish more knitters were adventurous and knit fewer half dome hats, and more stylish ones!
Hat come in so many shapes and styles. I wish more knitters were adventurous and knit fewer half dome hats, and more stylish ones!
