WIP Report, in lieu of Eye Candy

Happy Friday! Maybe it's the wind, maybe it's the grey, maybe it's the dismal lack of plant life, or maybe it's because I've been going out a lot and missed my zzzzs this week. Whatever it is, it's kept me from taking any photos for Eye Candy Friday.

I can, however, show off a one-skein child's cabled hat which I am designing for a gift. My yarn of choice is Karabella Aurora 8, in a medium shade of teal green.

At KIP the other day, spinner extraordinare Theresa mentioned that a cabled pattern will pop more when it is worked in a multi-ply yarn than when it is worked in a single-ply yarn.

Theresa's point went over my head until she started talking about flat planes, triangles, and squares. I imagine these shapes and a Light Bulb Moment occurs! The plys in a 2-ply will tend to lay flat against each other, while the plys in a 3-ply will form a triangle that resists flattening, a 4-ply will form a square .... Theresa's got a clearer explanation on her blog. Plying affects the yarn's structure. Duh.

So after swatching and frogging this 8-ply cable-loving yarn for about 2 weeks, I have found the right combination of knits & purls, the right gauge, and the right number of stitches to achieve a child's head circumference of 18-to-20 inches/45-to-51cm. I'm using a chart that says the finished hat height should be 8"/20cm. Which seems like a really tall hat for a 1-to-2 year old. There are no babies handy, so I'm going to wing it and aim for 7"/17.75cm height, unless somebody tells me different.

Enjoy the weekend, next week is a short one for most Americans.