Back in the Groove

I started the Moss Stitch Hat from the Luisa Harding Accessories book using the specified yarn (Fauve) in a teal-ish colour. She says 6mm needles, I started with 5mm (loose woman). Guess what? I didn't do a swatch - it's only "cast on 31 stitches" - that is a swatch, isn't it? It soon became apparent that the tension was too loose and by quite a bit too. The "swatch" was frogged and I started a second "swatch" on 4mm needles. This "swatch" was more like it and so became the beginning of the hat:



It's a very nice construction. You knit the crown and the brim together. The crown is flat moss stitch, the brim is also moss stitch but careful use of short rows causes it to be wider than the crown and thus faintly "frilly":



The fold is created by a single line of reverse stocking stitch on the public side. Here's a close-up of that one stitch "fold line" from the private side:



The colour is a bit wonky in this shot - it came out severely grey and I had to doctor it (and even though I was a nurse, I was never a doctor.)

After finishing the crown and brim you pick up stitches along the top (shorter) edge and decrease for the top. Then you seam the thing. Not over here, you don't!

I have done a provisional cast-on (using the crochet hook method) - you can see the trusty red crochet cotton in the first two of those pictures above. I shall then graft the seam (stand by with the chocolate and alcohol), pick up the stitches and work the top in the round, using either dpns or, more likely, the two circular needle method.

The fact that this is moss stitch gave me pause - how on earth do you graft moss stitch? I then realised that it's going to be exactly the same as grafting 1x1 rib, (isn't it? Reassure me, someone!)

Newsflash:

Patterns have arrived from Fiddlesticks (The Garden Shawl - this is the "Swap Shawl", and the Romance Shawl - because I couldn't resist it). No pictures, yet - I'm off to gloat.