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Erland Hat Modifications

(My modified version of Erland above)
Hi, Knitters,
I think Tanis Gray's Erland hat design is genius! In Erland Tanis shows such a complete understanding of design and how to effectively puzzle together her Fair Isle repeats to make the most beautiful hat. This is one of my most favorite knits ever! Thank you, Tanis. I highly recommend this hat pattern. It is fun, simple and gorgeous.
I'll start with some links:
Now you can see by comparing the photo above to the photo directly below, I made a few minor adjustments to the pattern. The original pattern is wonderful as is and as you can see it fits well on the model.
I am particular about the fit of my hats and it probably has something to do with living in an extremely cold climate. Your hats become your best friends in the winter. So I like my hats to be a bit more fitted, even snug, and a bit longer to generously cover my ears. The original has a looser fit and it is a little short to cover my ears.
This is, of course, all just personal preference. The original hat fits fine and you can knit it exactly as is in the pattern.
The original version of Erland knit by Tanis Gray (above).
The pattern is completely charted colorwork which is so simple to follow and is really one of my favorite types of hat patterns. In the pattern, there are 4 repeats of the chart which makes a 22-inch circumference hat. I usually like my hats to be about 19-20 inches in circumference. I have a 22-inch circumference head measurement.
So to make the hat circumference be about 19-20 inches, I took out one of the chart repeats and did only 3 repeats of the chart instead. I changed the needle size/gauge as well. 
 
I started by using a US size 7 needle which made the gauge slightly larger at 5 stitches per inch.
I cast on 96 stitches and worked 2-inches of 2 x 2 corrugated rib. Now, if I were to do this over I would've only done 1-inch of the corrugated rib. This was for a couple of reasons. 
When you remove one of the chart repeats the top of the hat will become more pointed. I blocked out the point as much as possible, really stretching the crown to be rounded as it was drying (as you can see in the photo above). With the 2-inches of corrugated rib the hat was a little longer than I wanted (this was because I went up in needle size and gauge), in the end, making the top of the hat not fit snuggly on the top my head. Basically, there was a little point at the top that I wanted to flatten out.
What I ended up doing and really liking is I rolled the brim under and folded it in half. I then whip-stitched the cast on edge to the Latvian braid on the inside of the hat and it turned out perfect! I absolutely love the doubled brim. And the one-inch reduction in length made the top of the hat sit perfectly on my head which rounds out the point, it disappears. The finished length is now just right to cover my ears. 
It turned out great! This is one of my favorite hats of all-time. I know I will love wearing it this coming fall and winter.
We have beautiful Erland Hat Kits in the shop right now. The kit includes a Ravelry download code for the pattern, the Home Worsted Weight in Snowy Pine and Marmalade, your choice of faux-fur pom-pom color, stitch markers and a hand-stamped project bag. We have it priced at a really good deal for you. 
Okay, off into the weekend we go! Have fun with the Erland hat, whatever version I know you will love it.
love, susan

2 comments

  • Hi, Teddy,
    By removing one of the repeats the top of the hat does become a little pointier at the top. You can try to stretch and block that out as much as possible. When I wear the hat the pointiness seems to disappear. This shape doesn’t have anything to do with the length of the corrugated rib at the bottom. I hope this helps to explain a little for you.
    Susan

    Susan
  • Hi Susan, Love your modifications of Tanis Gray’s beautiful hat but I was misled by your comment that if you had it to do over, you would have done only one inch of rib. I thought I was being smart by just doing one inch of ribbing at the outset, but the finished hat has a very cone-head fit. Apparently the tucking under of the second inch that you did somehow provides the extra stretch needed to allow the hat to fit properly at the crown. I’m having a hard time trying to think of a way to fix it other than tuck under my single inch of corrugated rib, which sadly is what drew me to your modification in the first place! Thanks for listening.

    Teddy

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