Introducing Sea Urchin!

 It's mid-February and the weather is crazy throughout most of the country!  I hope you are all staying safe and warm and dry.

This latest pattern is called Sea Urchin (thank you Kathleen for the name suggestion!).  It will fly off your needles when worked using super bulky yarn, but with just 2 rows in the pattern, it will go quickly, no matter what yarn weight you use.  I used Lion Brand Hometown yarn and one skein was more than enough.  The pattern includes instructions for all yarn weights, so you can make this hat with whatever you have in your stash.  It will look great in any color too!

Covid is still running rampant and making life very difficult for so many.  Many hospitals aren't accepting chemo caps at this time.  As much as we all want to help, donating hats to places that aren't accepting them will only end up with hats being discarded.  Please check with any sites before you send or drop off items.  DEHH is again accepting some hats, but there are still NO library drop off sites open.  All hats at this time must be machine washable and need to be washed before being mailed to me.  

More info about that can be found on www.delawareheadhuggers.org

SEA URCHIN

You will need 6-weight yarn and size 13 needles or another combination listed below.

Abbreviations:

RC:  knit second stitch, but don’t drop off needles, then knit first stitch and drop both together

k1b: knit 1 stitch below

p2tog:  purl 2 stitches together 

k2tog:  knit 2 stitches together

Cast on 49 stitches, place marker and join, taking care not to twist stitches.

Row 1: *RC, p2, k1, p2*; repeat around

Row 2: * k2, p2, k1b, p2*; repeat around 

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until piece is about 7 to 7.5 inches in length.

Decrease Crown:  use dpn’s when needed

Row 1:    *RC, p2tog, k1, p2*; repeat around

Row 2:   *k2, p1, k1b, p2tog*; repeat around

Row 3:   *k2tog, p1, k1, p1*; repeat around

Row 4:   *k2tog*; repeat around

Row 5:   *k2tog*; repeat around

Finish: Cut working yarn, leaving a 6-inch tail.  Draw the tail through the remaining stitches, cinch closed and secure.  Weave in ends and share.

If using 5-weight yarn, use size 10.5 needles and cast on 63.  

If using 4-weight yarn, use size 8 needles and cast on 84.  

If using 3-weight yarn, use size 5 needles and cast on 105 stitches.   

The pattern is worked over 7 stitches.