Hello Knitters!

[Ryan Ross]

If you are knitting inward from the brim to the centre and the knitting is domeing then you need to decrease more stitches, or do fewer rows between decreases.

The fabric does need to be firm, so using thicker yarn or smaller needles will help it stay in shape.

As you work you need to stretch the knitting out to its fullest diameter to see how it will lie when worn - be careful if you are using wooden or bamboo needles not to pull on them or you will snap them. It might be better to transfer all the sts to a thread or circular needle to stretch the cap and then knit them off afterwards.

You can reshape quite a bit if you are going to felt it, but it is a bit of a pain to get right. It is better to have the top flat to start with.

I work berets in crochet and start in the middle of the top so I am working the other way round from your knitted ones. When I have a disc large enough for the top I work a few rounds without shaping and then begin the decreasing towards the brim. The bit of extra height gives a better look to the finished cap and it tends not to fall into creases as much as a cap with a more abrupt fold in it.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

Thanks for the intel, Anne!

Yep, these bonnets are ever so slightly domes, before being felted; that said, they always end up perfectly flat, after the felting. What I'm noticing is that there just isn't enough room in a perfectly flat bonnet to have the top be relatively flat, while the hatband is where it's supposed to be on one's head. I'm starting to think that I'll need to make some sort of hat block, in order to get the same effect as seen in the painting. All that said, I'll certainly try reducing additional stitches on the top, while using the same rate I have been, on the bottom. That and some creative shaping after felting might do the trick!

[Pleater]

The height is mostly in the edges and the fold under - the shape is much like a dinner plate upturned over a soup plate, the dinner plate being the top of the cap.

Mathematically the rate of change in stitches is slightly different between the top disc and the bottom ring, there is more distance between changes in the ring than the disc as the ring is actually part of a cone.

I should have explained that first - but I see required shapes and proportions without any real effort, and then try to explain them in terms of pi, d or c and often the result is an expression close to in the listeners.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[fluter]

I should have explained that first - but I see required shapes and proportions without any real effort, and then try to explain them in terms of pi, d or c and often the result is an expression close to in the listeners.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

Hee hee. Just don't switch us to theta and ro. :ootd:

[Ryan Ross]

I should have explained that first - but I see required shapes and proportions without any real effort, and then try to explain them in terms of pi, d or c and often the result is an expression close to in the listeners.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

Hah- no worries! I have the hats down cold, these days. Been busy...

[Pleater]

Indeed you have been busy - and I do like the colours, but in my spare time I've devised a method of making berets on my knitting machine - it is a bit fiddly, but rather fun to see it working out.

I can do a fairly small one now - a military sort of size, and now will have to work out a general pattern so I can use different yarns and make different sizes, also make huge ones and felt them.

The knitting machine method is to knit the cap in sections using holding position, and done sideways, so one side of the knitting is the centre of the disc and the other is the edge of the ring. When ten sections have been knitted the first row is joined to the last and then all that is needed is to close the small hole in the centre and to form the headband.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[stringandbeans]

I just joined X (although I did lurk for awhile back in 2007 before my brother's wedding). I've been knitting for years, and have been fiddling with kilt hose patterns for my son and brother - just playing for now, no real hose yet!

Hadn't considered the headgear before...I love felting projects and this one looks GREAT!

[unaspenser]

hi stringandbeans! You just added me on twitter (I'm Shekure there and on ravelry). Welcome to XMTS. Always nice to see another knitter.

[Jon Lilley]

Hi Matt,

I'm also a knitter. I started (for myself) because most of the pipe band kilt hose on the market are entirely too tight. I'm too young for compression stockings so I figured I needed to do something for myself. I was whining to my Gaelic teacher and she offered to teach me what I needed to know. I knit my first pair of hose a little over 3 years ago and the end result was a hoot. She said they looked like rugs on my legs, but they actually turned out perfectly for busking on St. Patrick's Day. Nice and warm!

My second pair turned out to be very disappointing, because the yarn wasn't exactly the same color. I took 'no dye lot' to mean the colors all perfectly matched. I'm not going to reknit a new one to match since I doubt I'll be wearing them again.

Presently, I'm working on a silvery white pair to wear on formal occasions. I'm knitting them at the same time (just on different needles) so I'll be finished with them soon. They aren't particularly fancy, but that's what I was aiming for . . . just presentable.

I just joined Ravelry and I'm MacLilley, if you're interested.

I hope you're enjoying Edinburgh! It's a beautiful place!

Slàinte,

[Friday]

Welcome to XMarks.

A lot of us are also over at Ravelry at Kilt Hose and Flashes

there is also a "policy" that we must see pictures to believe.

[Jon Lilley]

Hi Friday!,

Just lost my external hard drive so must retake pictures. Not a problem, just need to make the time. I'm honored that anyone would be interested in looking at them. I had a great time learning how to make them.

Slàinte!,