I mentioned previously that I am working on a Glengarry hat for my kilts and I have finished the second test piece. The first one I did was in gray wool and followed the pattern exactly as found in Folk Hats by Vicki Square  so I could figure out how to do all the short rows, check the size and see if it all worked out like I want.

And I have pictures…

First off, the size is for a 22 inch head and starts with a cast-on of 112 stitches. My head is a seven and seven eights which is almost 24 inches, so I checked my gauge in the test piece and added another 16 stitches to bring it up to 128. This turned out to be just right.

Second issue was that the band edge was all stockinette so it curled like all get out, so in the second test, in denim colored wool by Patons (looks nice – I may do a sweater in it) I did just three rows of 2 by 2 ribbing to control that.

I also wanted to make a couple of mods. From what I could see in pics on the web of Glengarrys the prow at the front is higher than that at the back, but in the book’s pattern they are both three inches, so I modified the pattern with more short rows on the sides so the front is three inches and the back is just two. This turned out juts right and the hat looks better than the first test (which I didn’t totally finish as the curling was just too much. No, don’t tell me to steam it.)

So I worked on the hat between calls at work all last two weeks and finished at home this morning. The last task was to graft the top center seam with the Kitchener stitch, which I had never done. Reading the how to in my knitting reference I compliantly said to myself, “Hell no.” and proceeded to invent another way. I don’t know yet if this is new, but it made sense and worked great. If you know it from elsewhere, let me know.

So when you finish this hat, before grafting the top, you end up with half your stitches on each side of a circular needle. I remembered binding off and thought I would try binding off the two sides together. Here’s how:

1.    Divide your stitches evenly between your two halves of the circular needle. This means the extra cable length comes out at one end of the hat and the needles at the other. When you finish all the stitching you should be situated with the needle points at the back of the hat. The hat should be right sides together, so you will probably turn it inside out.
2.    Align the needles side by side in your left hand if you knit right handed, points to the right.
3.    Take a third needle and insert it as if to knit through the last loop on each needle and knit them together, pulling the knitted loops off the two needles.

Insert the third needle as if to knit through both of the last loops on the right needles.

4.    Put the new loop back on the needle nearest you. It doesn’t matter if it is slipped knit-wise or purl-wise.

Slip the new loop back on one of the left needles. Alternate!

5.    Insert the working third needle (which is now empty) knit wise through the last two loops (which include the new loop you just made) on the near needle and then through the last loop on the far needle and knit all three together, sliding the three off the two needles, leaving you the new loop on the right needle.

Knit through 1 plus 2 loops together until done.

6.    IMPORTANT: On the next stitch slip the new loop onto the far needle instead of the near needle and knit the three together – the new loop and the two old loops, one from each needle. Keep alternating this way, putting the new loop on the alternate needle each time so that the seam is symmetrical.
7.    Repeat from #3 until done.
8.    When done, weave in the ends.

The finished seam bind-off when done stockinette side facing stockinette side.

I was pleased with how this turned out on the hat seam. It produced a cord-like ridge in a groove on the top/right side of the fabric, which is fine for the hat as it’s supposed to have a groove there. On the inside of the hat, which is all purl, the seam is not particularly visible.

The seam bind-off from inside the hat when done as described here. It's nearly invisbile, but test it yourself.

I don’t know what the stockinette side would look like if I had done the seam wrong sides facing. Maybe I will try that on the next version of the hat, or a swatch. I want the groove, and if it’s smooth like the purl side on this one that won’t work for this project.

I’ll have another post with pics the denim wool Glengarry mentioned in this article. I will make the pattern available someday soon.

Related articles:

• Sylvie’s Summer Cotton Poncho… (bohemianknitter.blogspot.com)
• The Importance of Knitting Gauge (knitting-patterns-techniques.suite101.com)
• Circular needles, cat help and gloves and questions, oh my. (crazyauntpurl.com)
• Dads and Grads Who Knit (timesunion.com)