Finished Object: Flore Hat by Tina Whitmore for KnitWhits

meri 2015.01.03

This is the almost finished version of the hat. You can see that the dark blue points curl up, and the green cap doesn’t sit quite as flat as one would like.

The knitting and tacking down of points (yipe) and weaving in of (many) loose ends was actually done on Thursday. However, as you can see, it was still a bit unfinished, with the curling of the dark blue leaves and the popping up of the cap leaves. (The curling of the other leaves was handled by sewing down the points and peaks to each layer below. Yes, that was a lot of sewing.) But, since there’s no ‘layer below’ for the dark blue layer, that process wasn’t going to work. The instructions said to iron the hat, and I pondered that, but I also wanted the points and peaks of the green cap to lie more flat, so I went another route.

I ordered a second (styrofoam) mannequin head (you really can get just about anything from Amazon), since my plan was to pin things down, and I didn’t want to pin my real mannequin head. That arrived yesterday, but I was out of spoons in the evening. So, this morning, I tackled my project.

I put the hat on the new mannequin head, and pinned down each of the peaks and points on the dark blue and green tiers of the hat. Then I assembled the fabulous new steamer I received for Christmas, and steamed the heck out of the points I had pinned down, and the stitches connecting those points.

After letting the hat sit, pinned, for a couple of hours, I removed all of the pins, holding my breath. To my relief, everything stayed where things should be, and the hat was complete, save for pictures, this post, and creating a Ravelry project page. (All of which I’m taking care of now.)

So, here’s the finished product.With any luck, I will be able to get to the post office and get this on its way today. I hope the recipient (and her mother!) enjoys it.