After Effect
A slip-stitch beanie pattern in 2 Acts by Corrado Lark

The Needs:

Needles:

• US 3 (3.25 mm) 16” circular needle or DPNs.
• US 5 (3.75 mm) 16” circular needle or DPNs.
• US 5 (3.75 mm) 32-40” magic looping needle or DPNs.

Yarn:

Two skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, a fingering weight, worsted spun merino wool yarn (210 yds/50g per skein):
Color A in the “Cobbler” colorway, a dark, berry-cobbler colored skein.
Color B in the “Norway” colorway, a light, sky blue colored skein.

Notions:

• A stitch marker to mark the beginning of round.
• 10 (11, 12) (13, 14) stitch markers to help remember the slip-stitch repeat (place one to note every repeat)
• A tapestry needle.

Gauge:

With larger needles, 14 sts and 16 rows per 2” (5cm), or even 28 sts. and 32 rows per 4” (10cm), blocked, slip stitch stockinette in the round. Use a needle one or two sizes down for the corrugated ribbing (smaller needle), depending on how tight or loose you want the hat to fit.

Sizing:

• Extra Small (Small, Medium) (Large, Extra Large)
• Fits size 17 (19, 20.5) (22, 24)” 43 (48, 53) (56, 61) cm heads.

The Backstory:

This has been a long time coming. When I was a student -now I’m talking from the age of 6 - I was put in advanced math classes. I tested at a pretty high rate, but honestly, my heart wasn’t ever in it. Growing up, I was always that nagging kid in the front of the class, answering the questions without doing the homework, asking “what’s the real life purpose of any of this?”

And I used to doodle all over my math notes. By the time I got to AP Calculus at Bacon Academy high school, (ur welcome, it was the best school name, especially when I was a vegetarian), I had started drawing dots and connecting them to make Escher-like stairs or all sorts of hexagons and patterns. I would actually get in trouble for doing it…kind of like my very own “Beautiful Mind” compulsion designs.

So cut to a few months back being shown a dot journal by Mina, the @KnittingExpat. It never occurred to me that dot paper was a useful tool for a knitter, but once the dots were connected (again, ur welcome), I knew I had to have one. And thankfully, the wonderful @TimothyKellyArt gifted me one!

Within days, I naturally started connecting dots again like I hadn’t done since freshman year of college.

Anyway, long story long, the after-effect of all of this math education is culminating in this one design. It is the first of many I’ve already knit or plan to knit in my journal. It’s changed my life in some ways and made me realize that, while I didn’t find knitting until later in life, the beginnings for what would be my career started way back when without me knowing it.

Thank goodness for connecting the dots.

The Key:

• k: Knit.
• p: Purl.
• ktbl: Knit through the back loop.
• sl1: Slip one stitch as if to purl.
• k2tog: Knit two stitches together, decrease of 1 stitch.