Black Cat Journey Hat ~ Seed Stitch Top Variation

A custom order hat, knit from hand dyed black alpaca. It reminds me of my black cat~ she looks black until the sun shines on her, then she is really a dark dark brown.

I knit the top in a seed stitch, which I feel adds interest when using a solid color.

(I still need to write up instructions on where/how to add the beads~ doing this in a separate post)

Click here for the link to the basic Journey Hat Pattern.

Seed Stitch variation~

~Knit the Journey Hat pattern as written through round 12.

~ You need to knit a seed stitch in the round on an odd number of stitches. This means you will have an odd number when you begin decreasing, so once you place your markers, the first section of stitches will have one more stitch than the others. (I know, this may throw some of you retentive knitters into a fritz, think of it as creative therapy! ) Just ignore it and knit your decreases as if you had an even amount.

~Round 13~ M1 , *P1, K1* , repeat entire round. (97 stitches)

~Round 14 and on... Knit in seed stitch until your hat measures 5 inches from the edge, then begin your decrease rounds as follows...

Decreases~

In seed pattern, place a marker every 12 stitches (remember, your first section will have 13 st)
When decreasing in seed stitch, you need to knit (or purl) 3 stitches together. This will keep your seed pattern from looking all wonky. If the first of these 3 stitches is a knit stitch, K3tog, if the first of these 3 stitches is a purl stitch, P3tog. Got it?

To keep things simple, I wrote the decrease instructions as KNIT (K), but make sure you keep to the seed pattern.

~Decrease round 1~ *K9, K3tog* Continue in this pattern entire round.
~Knit 3 rounds normally
~Decrease round 2~ K8, K3tog* Continue in this pattern entire round.
~Knit 3 rounds normally
~Decrease round 3~ K7, K3tog* Continue in this pattern entire round.
~Knit 2 rounds normally
Continue to in this manner and knit 2 rounds normally between each decrease row until you have 9 stitches left on your needles. Switch to your dpn when you feel it is necessary.
Thread needle and connect all remaining stitches and secure, closing the hole.

meow!