Dear readers, please accept my apologies for my silence and neglecting some comments on my last post! I'm not sure what all went on but there was some kind of temporary vortex between wordpress and gmail, and a number of old-ish comments suddenly appeared in my email well after the fact. But never fear, I haven't returned to you empty handed. But no, I have pictures of an angry cat clad in crochet!!
This is the Lael Viking Helmet. I've made one of mamachee's patterns before (these flip flops, which we a gift for a friend, but now that I look at the pattern page again I really want some for myself) - her patterns are seriously freaking cute. Honestly, the viking helmet pattern didn't do it for me in the end. Don't get me wrong - the concept and FO are the BEST. But those vertical ridges of post stitches were nothing short of a royal pain. The thing about working crochet in the round is that your stitches don't line up exactly one on top of the other, so oftentimes in objects like hats there is a natural bias that can create a spiral. This normally isn't a problem unless you want a perfectly vertical ridge. The pattern appears to try to correct this tendency, but it doesn't do so until round 9; by that point the top of my hat was already clearly spiraling. And then the correction is actually written so you skip the stitch *after* the post stitch in every other round. If you want to fight the bias you should actually be skipping the stitch just *before* the post stitches. So basically what I'm saying is, I had to constantly fight to keep those post stitch ridges straight, which kind of pissed me off. I love the hat and I'm glad I made it. I think there's some element of "some people's crochet will bias more than others" here, vs. "this pattern seems to be fighting what is a natural tendency of crochet fabric." It's an adorable pattern but I don't think I'll make it again, even though the hat would look smashing on me as well.
That said, I worked up a pair of booties in a tried and true pattern:
These are the baby mary jane "skimmers" from Sylver designs. And now that I look at this pattern again, why oh why have I not made a pair of these for myself as well?! Sigh. These booties are pretty much always a winner, in my view. Malcolm doesn't quite agree, though.
Til next time - which I promise won't take so long.
The at is awesome though if annoying to make.
angry mal is the best mal. and also the best model.
carolyn recently posted..It rained today.
If I had actual crochet skills, I would totally make both of the objects in this post. Wouldn’t M’s chubby cheeks look just *smashing* in a Viking hat? I think so
And those little shoes are so cute!
whitney recently posted..Things I make for Maddy: more Maddy-pants!
It really seems like this is an issue in the pattern and not so much your own crocheting technique, and it’s a good thing you’re an expert crocheter! i do love this hat, though, and probably need to make one.
That hat is the best! The skimmers are pretty darn cute as well. And kudos to you for finishing the hat. I can see myself in a similar situation… frogging while having some sort of minor meltdown!
Laura recently posted..Pewter Snood
I so love the picture of Mal in the hat. Like, a lot. I’m so impressed by your crochet skillz!
Jacey recently posted..On finishing