TO TARN, OR NOT TO…….. by Talitha Kuomi

Tarn on the whole is, as they say, a horse of a different color.  Or perhaps to say ‘of a different texture’ is more accurate.  Tarn is somehow stiffer than you’d expect something to be that’s been made from soft cotton t-shirts.  This stiffness means that worsted weight tarn knits up more like a much heavier weight regular yarn would, so you can’t just substitute another worsted weight yarn and get the same result.

Smurfy Tarn

Now some people don’t like tarn, or they don’t have a good place to buy it and they don’t choose to make it themselves.  If one of these scenarios applies to you, this doesn’t mean that knitting a pattern written for tarn is out of the question.  You just have to choose a yarn to use instead and swatch until you get the required gauge.  I know, though, that the idea of endlessly swatching can be quite daunting, so read on.

In case you’d like to knit Acacia, from the Fall 2010 Issue of Tangled, my friend and I have done a bit of the legwork (or should I say fingerwork) for you.

Acacia hat, knit with tarn

For this pattern I took an educated guess that bulky or chunky weight ‘regular’ yarn knit up on the same size needles that the pattern calls for would produce the same size finished hats listed in the pattern.  You’d still have to swatch to be safe, but now you know that starting with a bulky weight yarn and adjusting your needle size to get gauge will work.

Acacia stitch detail

Before telling you all here that bulky weight yarn would work, I wanted to be absolutely sure that my estimating was right.  My friend Jean generously offered to knit up an Acacia with Araucania Nature Wool Chunky to see how it went.  Her lovely version is shown in these photos which were taken by Carolina of TripleC Photography in Brooklyn.

Acacia by the sea

Turns out that the stitch pattern in the hat helps it to hold its shape well (even though the Nature Wool Chunky is not at all a stiff yarn) and it fits perfectly.  Knit happy!

Acacia knit in Nature Wool

Talitha Kuomi blogs at www.talithakuomi.com.

SLOUCHY HAT LOVE by Brittany Tyler

Here in Montana, hats are not optional. That’s no joke, it gets coooooooooooold here sometimes. My small doggie door once let in a draft so frigid, the pipes attached to my laundry sink froze solid. So, even the most fashion-conscious and hat-opposed are forced to cover their heads in the winter.

Me wearing the red beanie inspired by the one worn my Kirsten Dunst in the film Elizabethtown.

My hat of choice is the slouchy hat. I think this style of hat looks good on nearly everyone and doesn’t horribly smush down your hair. Before I even finished the Elizabethtown inspired Claire beanie, I knew I wanted to make the same hat in a much heavier and warmer aran weight yarn for the upcoming Montana winter … not that I don’t love my cabled hat knit in Artyarns cashmere sock yarn.

My much chunkier Malabrigo version of Claire.

If you want to make a chunkier Claire too, here are the pattern modifications:

MATERIALS
Yarn: 2 skeins of Malabrigo Twist or ~300 yds aran weight yarn
Needles: US size 6 circular needle 16″ long; US size 9 circular needle 16″ long; US size 9 set of double-pointed needles
Notions: Cable needle; stitch markers; tapestry needle, pom pom maker (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

With smaller needle CO 84 sts.

Brim:

Rnd 1: *[K1, p1] four times, p2, k1, p3, repeat from * to end.
Rnds 2-5: Repeat rnd 1.

Increase rnd 1: *[K1, p1] four times, p2, m1l, k1, m1r, p3, repeat from * to end – 96 sts.
Increase rnd 2: *[K1, p1] four times, p2, k1, m1l purlwise, k1, m1r purlwise, k1, p3, repeat from * to end – 108 sts.

Body:

Change to larger needles and continue following Claire hat pattern beginning with round ten working the decrease rnds as specified until you have 12 sts left.

Finishing:

Block lightly over a dinner plate and attach a pom pom if desired.