Just Shire Things

Originally, I had imagined this pattern as a sweater vest, the colorwork going around the bottom. You know, because what’s a hobbit without a vest. But after my baby sister Alena saw the color chart, she convinced me to make it into a hat for her first. I couldn’t say no since The Hobbit is her favorite and her birthday is just around the corner.

The real miracle here is that I knitted it BEFORE her birthday, which is this weekend. We’ll be going to the Ren Faire to celebrate, and I can already taste those scotch eggs. The downside is that it’s going to be stupid hot, so she won’t get to wear her hat or LARP as a Hobbit while we’re there. Megan-Anne is planning to wear her Star Trek uniform, because of course she is.

“After a while he stepped up, and with the spike of his staff scratched a queer sign on the hobbit’s beautiful green front-door.” – The Hobbit, Chapter I, “An Unexpected Party”

Welcome to Hobbiton, the home of many illustrious Hobbits such as Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, where ale flows freely and vests are a must! With this Shire approved hat, no matter where your adventures take you – perhaps even as far as Farmer Maggot’s cornfields – you’ll have colorwork inspired by Bag End to remind you of home.

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About the Hat

Inspired by the round doors and windows set into the hills of the Shire, this hat is worked in the round from the brim up, using smaller needles for the Brim, Body, and Crown of the hat; larger needles are used to work in stranded knitting for the Colorwork Band only. This hat pattern is recommended for knitters who have experience with stranded colorwork, knitting in the round, and reading charts.

Recommended Yarn: Two skeins of Lattes & Llamas Geek-A-Long Yarn (100 grams/ 328 yards) or a comparable sport weight yarn in two contrasting colorways.

Sample is shown in ‘Verin Sedai’ as MC and ‘Slimer’ as CC.

• MC: 27 (30, 33, 36) grams/ 89 (98, 108, 118) yards
• CC: 26 (29, 32, 35) grams/ 86 (95, 105, 115) yards

When choosing your yarn, make sure MC contrasts with CC. I recommend taking a photograph of the yarns together, and then changing it into black and white to see if the colors contrast strongly enough.

Needles:

US3 / 3.25 mm DPNS and 16” circular needles

US4 / 3.5 mm 16” circular needles

Sizing:

Sizes 1 (2, 3, 4)

Finished Hat Circumference: 18.5 (20, 21.5, 23) inches

Finished Hat Length: 7.5 (8, 8.5, 9) inches

Of course, the most important and (optional) tiny detail on this hat is a rune marked on one of the doors. I used red (DMC 666) embroidery floss to stitch it on there. How else are the dwarves supposed to know where the party is at?

~ Jac

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” —Thorin, to (and about) Bilbo Baggins