Pattern/Technique: Sparkler Hat by Koryn Stone, size 6 months
Modifications: didn't add pompoms to the end of the i-cords but instead tied knots in each i-cord (see notes)
Materials: 1 skein Camp Color CC Fingering per hat
US 2 (2.75 mm) 10” circular needle. Used ChiaoGoo shorties tips in 1.75” length with 6” cable
New skills: n/a
Lessons/Notes: I started knitting this hat on wooden DPNs and the experience was awful. Trying to cast on stitches on DPNs was really tricky and resulted in my tension being way too tight, which was really rough given the higher friction of the wooden needles. Switching to stainless steel circulars was the right call.
When attaching the yarn for the i-cords, I first tried holding the yarn tail double with my working yarn but it made the i-cord stitches pretty thick (thankfully it's covered by the extra long i-cord used to tie the bundle). Later on I attached the yarn using a simple knot then held the tail vertically.
On the 2nd hat I made each of the i-cords roughly 2 inches long so that they looked a bit more consistent.
I tried making pompoms following the instructions in the pattern but found that the short strands were really easy to pull out of the pompom. I was worried about their long term durability so instead of attaching the pompoms I instead tied a single overhand knot in each of the i-cords.
What I'd do differently: Nothing
Care: Hand wash, dry flat
