hat | Drawn Out Yarn

A wave of young people washed up on the shore of Lake Ontario this week – and they’re all looking for Pokémon.

Since last weekend, the trails down by the water in my neighbourhood have been peppered by youngsters (and the not-so-young folk who just love the franchise). That is, of course, because of the Pokémon Go game that recently came out. I hear the kids are looking for Squirtles and other water-oriented Pokémon, which are thought to be most prevalent near water.

In Canada–where summers are fleeting–it’s nice to see people enjoying being outside, even if they are glued to the game. I haven’t minded sidestepping them on the sidewalk, and it’s been funny to watch them run through the nearby college campus.

All this brings back memories of my little brother, who had about five Pokémon Gameboy games as a kid, and would always watch the show when it was his turn with the remote. Weirdly, he has not been keen on the resurgence of Pokémon now… But never mind, I have enough nostalgia for the both of us.

The trend has also repolarized Pokémon crochet patterns, which I have seen popping up on Reddit and other forums. A few years ago, there was a big Pokémon amigurumi trend, so there’s plenty of pattern options for people who want to create a baby Charmander – or my recent obsession, a Bulbasaur that you can grow a plant in. How cute is that?! I saw the pattern and now I can’t find it… Ugh.

I was inspired to join in the craze by my friends at the podcast Geek Top Five. Check them out! This week there’s a great list of sought after Pokemon, and some details about the new game.

So, I’m tossing my own creations on the pile. I did an adult size Poké Ball hat, and a toddler size Pikachu. I figure parents are always trying to catch their wee ones in the park anyway, so it’s a pretty adorable fit. 🙂

I had a go at writing down the patterns, too! So, if you want to take a crack at them, or just get inspired to make your own, go nuts!

(I bet Pokémon stuff would be really popular to sell at fairs and markets, but since we don’t own the rights to the characters, that’s probably a bad idea, right?)

So, what did you make this week?

Jax

P.s. Last month I got married! It was a fabulous year of planning and prepping, but I’m looking forward to much more stitching now that I have more free time! I’ve already got two other projects on the go… Can’t wait to share them with you!

Click for more pictures and to see the patterns…

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This winter has been all about hats.

An ear-flap hat as my first commission ever. Another bear earflap hat and mittens when the first one turned out to be too small for the toddler. (I was gutted!) A hat for my Secret Santa to keep her cozy as she walks her English bulldog. A hat for an old friend. Dozens of hats with massive pompoms falling off my loom like snowflakes from the clouds.

There’s no sweeter project when you’re camped in front of the TV watching White Christmas for the millionth-and-a-half time. And since I kept seeing those massive pom-poms all over town in the last couple of months, I figured this was the year for cranial snuggles.

And you know what? It’s nice to do a few projects that aren’t a labour to create, and yet still manage to be crowd-pleasers.

I’m sure a lot of you think this is cheating, but I love the knifty knitter loom. Here’s the way to create perfect hats every time.

On a 36 peg round loom:

-Six rows of alternating *knit 2 stitches, purl two stitches*

-19-25 rows of e-wrapped knit stitches (depending on how long you want your hat and if you want it to be slouchy.)

-Begin decreasing by taking the loop of every fourth peg and putting it on the peg to the right. Knit off all these moved stitches. Then e-wrap all the remaining pegs (this would be three pegs in a row, then a space).

-Continue decreasing by taking the middle stitch of every remaining block of three stitches and moving it to the right. Knit off these stitches. E-wrap all the remaining pegs (this would be every other peg on the loom).

-I’m probably doing a poor job of explaining this. Here’s a great video on decreasing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui8hc5-uT4k

-Take your working yarn and wrap it around the whole loom. Cut it, leaving a long tail. Then use the working yarn and pull it through each stitch. Using you knitting tool take all the stitches off the pegs and pull the yarn to close the top of the hat.

-Tie it off on the inside of the hat.