This is quantum physics in theory (incomprehensible unless you're a hardore math simp) but in practice it is Black Magic (you have to sell your soul and sabity in order to perform it).
btw @ everyone who can't wrap their heads around this, here's a longer video going into more detail about prepping the damaged area and mending/darning technique with actual explanations!
Are you from the 16th century? Are you a whaler? Are you a Basque whaler? Yeah, me neither. But would you like to look like one?
Saw this post. Thought, I want that hat. Made it. Wrote the pattern. Bon appetit.
PATTERN ↓
From 1530 until the early 1600s, Basque whalers annually crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Canada. During the ice-free months of June to January, scores of workers established a semi-permanent station dedicated to processing the harvest on the shore of the Strait of Belle Isle, a narrow channel on the whales' migratory route between Newfoundland and the mainland of Labrador.
In the winter of 1577, the sea ice set early, trapping ships. Unable to return to their homeland in northern Spain and southern France with a full hold of processed whale oil, many were forced to stay in Labrador, where they died of exposure and scurvy.
In the 1970s, the site was rediscovered. More than 62 graves and the remains of 140 whalers were found in the cemetery. Some of the graves contained textile fragments.
(Piecework Magazine, Jan/Feb 2014)
NOTES I am still a beginner knitter. I started this hat without a plan, I just looked at the pictures and tried to make something that looked kind of similar. Used a ball of mystery yarn from my nan. And it turned out great! And then I blocked it. And it was too big (the guy who never knits swatches finally got bit in the arse, who would've thought). My tension is okay-ish but on the tighter side, so if your head is bigger than mine, you'll be grand. Also, I've never written a pattern before, so I hope it makes some sense.
YOU WILL NEED
≈ 80g of DK weight yarn
A set of 4mm (US 6) double-pointed needless
Darning needle
A piece of cardboard (or something else to wrap the yarn around to make a tassel)
Scissors
SIZE ↕ 31cm (12”) (without the tassel) and ↔ 25cm (9.5”) (my head is 55cm (21.5”), and it fits quite well, but it could stretch a bit more and still look good)
DIRECTIONS
SEED STITCH STRIPES
Cast on 84 stitches and join in the round
Work in seed stitch for 11 rounds (round 1: *K1, P1*; staring with round 2 you just P the knits and K the purls)
Purl 1 round
Knit 8 rounds
Purl 1 round
Work in seed stitch for 7 rounds
Purl 1 round
Continue in stocking stitch (*K*) until the hat measures 11-12cm (4.5”) from cast on edge
CROWN DECREASES AND PURL STRIPES
(It's a lot, I know. But I like the look of these better than the usual crown decreases, they're a bit less visible)
Dec#1: K5, *K2tog, K10* × 6, K2tog, K5 [77]
Knit 4 rounds
Dec #2: K5, *K2tog, K9* × 6, K2tog, K4 [70]
Knit 3 rounds
Dec #3: K4, *K2tog, K8* × 6, K2tog, K4 [63]
Knit 3 rounds
Dec #4: K4, *K2tog, K7* × 6, K2tog, K3 [56]
Purl 1 round
Knit 1 round
Dec #5: K3, *K2tog, K6* × 6, K2tog, K3 [49]
Knit 1 round
Dec #6: K3, *K2tog, K5* × 6, K2tog, K2 [42]
Purl 1 round
THE CONE (idk what to call it)
Knit 2 rounds
Work 5 rounds of *K1tbl, P1* rib (you don't have to twist the knits if you can make the 1×1 rib look neat. I can't, so…)
Continue in stocking stitch for 7-8cm (3”) (or more, depending on how floppy you want your hat to be)
Dec #1: K3, *K2tog, K5* × 5, K2tog, K2 [36]
Knit 3 rounds
Dec #2: K2, *K2tog, K4* × 5, K2tog, K2 [30]
Knit 2 rounds
Dec #3: K3, *K2tog, K3* × 5, K2tog, K1 [24]
Knit 2 rounds
Dec #4: K1, *K2tog, K2* × 5, K2tog, K1 [18]
Knit 1 round
Dec #5: *K2tog* [9]
Cut yarn and thread it through the remaining 9 stitches, pull tightly (I usually do it twice), secure on the wrong side
TASSEL
Make a tassel (I used a paint brush case instead of a piece of cardboard and wrapped yarn around it 45 times)
Attach it to the hat
FINISHING
Weave in all ends
Block the hat
CONGRATULATIONS
You can go whaling reread Moby-Dick and rewatch The North Water in style!
Things I wish I had read in "beginner" sewing tutorials/people had told me before I started getting into sewing
You have to hem *everything* eventually. Hemming isn't optional. (If you don't hem your cloth, it will start to thread. There are exceptions to this, like felt, but most cloth will.)
The type of cloth you choose for your project matters very much. Your clothing won't "fall right" if it's not the kind of stretchy/heavy/stiff as the one the tutorial assumes you will use.
Some types of cloth are very chill about threading, some are very much not. Linen doesn't really give a fuck as long as you don't, like, throw it into the washing machine unhemmed (see below), whereas brocade yearns for entropy so, so much.
On that note: if you get new cloth: 1. hem its borders (or use a ripple stitch) 2. throw it in the washing machine on the setting that you plan to wash it going forward 3. iron it. You'll regret it, if you don't do it. If you don't hem, it'll thread. If you don't wash beforehand, the finished piece might warp in the first wash. If you don't iron it, it won't be nice and flat and all of your measuring and sewing will be off.
Sewing's first virtue is diligence, followed closely by patience. Measure three times before cutting. Check the symmetry every once in a while. If you can't concentrate anymore, stop. Yes, even if you're almost done.
The order in which you sew your garment's parts matters very much. Stick to the plan, but think ahead.
You'll probably be fine if you sew something on wrong - you can undo it with a seam ripper (get a seam ripper, they're cheap!)
You can use chalk to draw and write on the cloth.
Pick something made out of rectangles for your first project.
I recommend making something out of linen as a beginner project. It's nearly indestructible, barely threads and folds very neatly.
Collars are going to suck.
The sewing machine can't hurt you (probably). There is a guard for a reason and while the needle is very scary at first, if you do it right, your hands will be away from it at least 5 cm at any given time. Also the spoils of learning machine sewing are not to be underestimated. You will be SO fast.
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