Knit hat and crochet flower for my sister-in-law.

20140902 4 pm: Using 5.5 mm bamboo needles, cast-on 81 sts, join round w k2tog first and last sts. Switch to 4.5 mm needles for duration. I’m substituting a rolled stockinette edge, plain for 2.25” before starting the swirling purl bumps (k9, p1). And I’m adding a large crochet flower, improvised.

Update 20130903: I don’t care for how rigid this yarn is. I am already a bit bad at making my increases and decreases look neat and not holey. But this yarn doesn’t have much bounce, and is rather rigid within the strand. Every flaw stands out in the stitches. And I don’t think the wash and drying flat to block is going to help. I stretched and tugged, but it still looked the same to me. I’ll re-evaluate in the morning.

Update 9 am: And we’re good! I’m not crazy about the decreases still, but it looks presentable. It doesn’t stay rolled as well as I could like, but the flower looks great with the added rhinestone button center.

Everything is all packed to mail. I hope she likes it, and I hope it fits!

Flower

Rnd 1: Magic ring, ch 1, work 10 sc into ring, slip st to join.

Rnd 2: Ch 1, 1 hdc, 2 dc, 2 tr, 2 dc, 1 hdc, ch1, then sl st into same space as join, skip 1 sc.

Repeat around, skipping 1 sc, and sl st into next sc. Finally sl st to join. Total 6 small petals.

Rnd 3: Working behind the petals: ch 8, skip petal, sl st into next unworked sc.

Repeat around, slip st around first ch-8 to join. Total 6 loops.

Rnd 4: ch 1, 3 dc, 2 tr, picot, 2 tr, 3 dc, ch 1, slip st around next ch 8.

Repeat around for a total of 6 large petals. Finish off.

Sew center to hat, also tack along edges and tips. Add button to center.

(Edit to clarify sl sts in round 2, and better formatting for working.)