Project Notebook: Insta-Hat

Here’s another fun project I picked up from spending way too much time on Instagram (I’d love you to follow me there, if you want!). Just after Christmas, Lee Meredith, also known as leethalknits, released a mystery knitalong project known as the Insta-hat.

The pattern uses bulky yarn and strategically slanted decreases paired with yarn overs to make a sort of zigzag texture across the hat.

It offers three sizes depending on the amount of slouch you want.

I went wild on this one and did not knit a gauge swatch (gasp!) and didn’t use the size needles the pattern called for (double gasp!) and it still came out just fine. Knitting is magical sometimes.

I knit the medium size on size 11 needles, and it’s not all that slouchy though it is a little long. I sometimes fold the brim up when I wear it for extra warmth and less slouch.

You can find the links for each step of the pattern — there are only four and it took me less than a day to knit — linked on Ravelry.

Did you knit an Insta-hat or would you like to? I’d love to hear about it!

What’s on or recently off your needles?

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I can’t resist a pattern that’s both useful and a little silly, and that’s exactly how I feel about the Rybka pouch pattern from the delightfully named Rat and Sea Witch.

I know you’re going to ask, because I did, too. Rybka means little fish in Polish. (And because you’re also probably going to ask, Rat and Sea Witch comes from people’s attempts to say the designer’s name, Ratasiewicz, which if you say it fast kind of sounds like rat and sea witch.)

It’s easy to make a little fish bag in different sizes to suit your needs. The pattern has specific instructions for an Airpods Pro case and a pencil case, but you could change the length easily to hold more stuff, and change the size in general by working with a different weight of yarn.

The pattern calls for sock yarn and mohair held together to make a fingering weight gauge, but you could try it with heavier yarn and see what size bag you end up with.

Whatever size you make it, this looks like a fun project for holding trinkets or everyday items. The mouth of the fish is the mouth of the bag, and it closes with a drawstring that is also the strap. I wonder, too, if you could make one of these with a small clasp frame that could be the fish’s mouth and then you could just work I cord straps that would attach to the sides of the fish.

I could also see stripes, or fish of different colors to use up your yarn leftovers. How about a sunglasses case with a little loop to attach to your bag? Once you start thinking about all the ways you could use a fish-shaped bag in your life, I think you’ll see that you probably need more than one.

If you make one of these I would love to know how it went!

You can grab a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Rat and Sea Witch]

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