I love the hat, don't knit but love your "beret goodness." You are such an inspiration Laurie!I wanna be you when I grow up! Wait I am older than you. Ahh well!

I thought about you yesterday in AC Moore. I wasn't sure if I should get LB chunky or thick n quick...then I remembered I have no money and should probably leave.

I wonder...do you think two (or maybe three) strands of worsted would work? I have a ton of that at home!

Krista, yes, I think two strands of worsted would be just fine. I love mixing yarns like that, holding two different colors together, you get a tweedy look on the knit.

The Bug-Eye Secret Agent In Beret pix is beret fabulous. Hee hee hee. SUCH glam glasses for affordable price warms my heart. Yes I did try the beret, however because I have no judgment and was feeling very wooly, I used my chunkiest yarn...when it began to look like a kitty-pi I pulled it out. Next I printed out your directions, did a bit of gauge-ing, then made the ribbing wide enough (!)and have a fine and dandy beret from the Licorice. Now I'm going to work on others for christmas gifts and see pom-poms in my future :) Thank you!!

Knitting been beret beret good to me...

I haven't made the beret, but if I did I would swatch and then (if necessary) adjust the number of stitches. I don't follow patterns that often, and when I do I try to grasp the overall concept and think of the numbers as suggestions. Sometimes this actually works.

I once inadvertently made a stocking cap by knitting around and around until the hat was long enough and then decreasing very, very slowly. I had grasped the hat concept, but not part about decreasing quickly at the end. (Apparently somewhere in the depths of my brain lurks the belief that I am a conehead.)

I made your first beret. It was a fun knit. However, it didn't look good on me. I was crushed! I wanted a beret! But, I took it to a friend, and, she likes it and it looks good on her. So, it was meant for her not me. I'm still beretless. SOB!

Lucia, if I were to make a stocking cap what sort of cast-on would you recommend? I don't want a ribbed brim, but plain stockinette would roll. I can't figure out how they keep toboggan hats from rolling, except I think the machine-knit ones are actually two-ply (knit like a tube and rolled in on itself.

I want to find a cast-on that wouldn't roll.

Or, more specifically, a cast-on and knit combo that wouldn't roll but also isn't ribbing.

It is not wrong to base knitting projects on their commuter friendliness. It's when I have the longest uninterrupted stretches of time!

You could do garter stitch brim (k and p every other round) or knit several rounds and purl one to put a break in the roll of stockinette.

Oh Laurie, I think I know this one! What about a picot edge? Use a provisional cast on, knit a few rows, do one row of K2tog, YO, then knit the same number of rows as before. Pick up and knit the provisional cast on stitches with the live stitches. Make sense? Probably not...I'm not so good at writing these things down...but there are a lot of tutorials online.

Krista, yes, that's a good idea, I may try that. It looked almost like her hat was knit out of sock yarn (it striped and made little patterns) so I may check out Allison's store, I think supercrafty just got in some new sock yarn.

Also, is it a sign of the apocalypse when *I* want to knit with sock yarn????

The four horsemen...

Intarsia
Kitchener Stitch
Cabling without a cable needle
and...sock yarn

Okay, lunch is over. Have a good day!

My current project is a strip afghan, because I can take one ball of yarn and a crochet hook with me on the bus in a grocery bag, and the end product is small and self contained enough to not end up spilling over into the lap of the person sitting next to me on the bus.

I've also gotten really good at crocheting while standing up in the train (assuming I have a spot against the wall to lean on) and while waiting on the platform. Often, I'll have the yarn in a baggie in my backpack, and feed it over my shoulder. The baggie keeps it from snagging on stuff and screwing up the tension, so the stuff I hook while sitting looks just like the stuff done while standing.

I made your beret but, because I did not take your advice and use smaller needles (I guess I am a nontight knitter), it was pretty large. I will probably pull it out and try again with smaller needles, and I suppose I ought to actually do a swatch for the gauge, as well. I'm sort of a lazy knitter that way - I do lots of scarves and dishcloths that don't require any advance work.

OO! I knit your beret yesterday afternoon while watching the Oscar Red Carpet show and drinking a beer (or 2). I am a pretty loose knitter, and cast on/ribbed with a 6mm, did the body in an 8mm and it was perfect. I used Fleece Artist "Big Blue" and it is yummy. I think I could make another from the same skein no problem! Thanks for the fabulous pattern. Forecast here for snow tomorrow, how handy.

I should have said, given your concern: I consider this ALL MY FAULT. I really enjoyed doing a hat after many years off from knitting in the round. So it was valuable practice and a good lesson on how I shouldn't be lazy.

I have been meaning to knit a beret, but I've been beret busy. (Ohhhh, that was terrible.) I wasn't sure I'd wear it, so I kept putting it off. But you look so cute in yours, I think I'll go for it!

I have the yarn on hand, maybe I'll start a little birthday knitting project today!

I made the beret with a few modifications of my own to the pattern (control freak to the end). I ended up increasing my stitches a lot more to give it a larger drape, and now that it's done, it's a little too... err, drapey. Le sigh. I think when I find the inspiration (and finish my first pair of mittens, which are 99% done!) I will rip it out yet again and give it a third go round. If I was French though, I could SO pull off the drapey beret. :o)

I am the above anonymous commenter. Oops.

I haven't made one yet but I am really looking forward to doing so! Will it be included under "Knitting Recipes" on the sidebar there => ?

I knit the beret and it came out great. I used Bernat Softee Chunky yarn and the needle size you recommended. It came out perfect. It doesn't look good on me, so I am still looking for someone to give it to.

Good job!

Somebody gave me a barnes & Noble gift card for Xmas. Nothing in the yarny section of the store grabbed me except your book, which is houw I found you. Between your blog and the yarn harlot's, I get my laughs for the day.

I cast on the beret yesterday and have gotten thru the increase row with no problem. Had to dash out to Michaels this morning to get 16" #13s so I could keep going. I'll post it on my blog when it's done (assuming it looks good, but how could it not, right?). Forgot what kind of yarn I'm using, so I'll have to tell that part later, too....

I haven't knit the beret, I am stuck in fingerless mitten land. I need to quit wearing mine, then my co-workers won't ask me to make more! Hmmm... as for the cast on, maybe a cable cast on?

Hi Laurie:

I started your beret pattern with Noro Silk... need to pull it out (due to my own mistake), but love the pattern so far!

For a brim that won't roll, try seed stitch. I love love love this stitch, it looks great and doesn't roll. In case you haven't done it (I'm sure you have!), you need an odd number of stitches, just k1,p1 in the round (the p will go on top of a k and the k will go on top of a p each round). Once you're done with seed stitch, just knit two together at the end of the row and now you have even numbers that make the decreasing easy.

Laurie,
Enjoying the blog, and I've queued the beret on Ravelry! There are some nice finished projects you could see there if you're curious if it's working for people. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/super-simple-fast-and-easy-chunky-hand-knit-beret

As for your stocking cap... a seed stitch edge might have a nice texture, though double knit (which I can't do) would be smoothest.
Jennie

Hi Laurie!
I have some mulberry (Wine!) colored LB WoolEase chunky with your beret written all over it. I have about 3 balls, so I think I'll make it a set... mittens & or scarf.

Stocking Hat Advice: Knit a hem! To do this, knit an inch in stockinette and then 1 round of purl stitches. Then continue with stockinette for your hat. The purl round will surve as a fold for the hem. You'll have to stitch the hem to the inside of the hat though. If you are feeling fancy, you could start with a provisional cast on (and blog a demo for us all) which would make sewing the hem a bit more stretchy.

Haven't tried it yet because I'm working on something else, but how much do I want to do a beret? And how good do I look in hats?! Perhaps I'll start one tonight...

xo

I love your beret but alas, I wouldn't get much use out of it here in the Dallas area. Maybe if I moved to the Panhandle? Amarillo, yeah! I might could wear it more often up there.

Go with Krista's picot-edge idea -- I pretty much always use a ribbed brim with a tubular cast-on, which I really like, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. I've never done a picot edge myself.

Seed stitch is good too, or moss stitch, or for that matter any small-repeat knit/purl combination should work.

I just found some yarn while stash-diving that would be perfect for the beret. Since I finally finished my socks last night, I'll probably start on the beret tonight! Snow is in our forecast for tonight, so it will come in beret handy!

P.S. I knit very tightly, so I plan on following your directions exactly!

Hey Laurie,
Why don't you have everyone who's made the beret send in a picture of themselves wearing it? I bet they'd be cute.

Jo, while that is indeed a rockstar idea, I need an intern first. The cat sweaters almost killed me. Oh! I'd like my intern to look like Javier Bardem, too, if possible. Since we're asking for interns and all.

I have not knit your beret. I beret, beret, badly want to though. However, I don't really look good in hats. I fear the beret wouldn't be beret kind to me. (hee hee, I crack myself up!)

I have made about 10 hats using Lion Brand Wool Ease chunky and love it. I have it in way toooo many colors and an not allowed to buy anymore of it. Looks like it is time to make a beret or three.

I made the beret (my first hat-in-the-round!) two weekends ago. I want to say I used thick n quick, but I can't remember at the moment. Maybe it was chunky. Bad, Kim, for not remembering yarn!

Anyway, I *accidentally* knit 6 inches instead of the 4.5-5 that were recommended in the pattern, so it's a bit floppy, but I like it and it came out rather well, I'd say! It's a little itchy because of the wool, but I like it!

If anyone is interested: http://kimskitchensink.blogspot.com/2008/02/where-have-i-been.html

Dude...I always have a "Set Sock" for when I'm on set and have down time so I have somthing to do while I wait but can still pay attention to what's going on, plus it's small.

Since you're a professional scarf-knitter, I thought of you when I saw this

http://orphan.org/index.php?id=40

Just be glad you have a bus commute. I live in a rural community and have a 25 mile drive - no knitting time (unless I get stopped by a long train!)

I've been making stocking caps for a couple months now and they're super easy! Basically you make a standard "watchcap" except you knit tons & tons of rows between the decreases. I usually make mine about 2 feet long, but I made one for my 8 year old niece that's almost 6 feet long. (She loves it! I make the caps in order to use up scrap yarn. Just make sure all the yarns are the same gauge (combine them if you have to) so you don't get some too skinny (or too fat) areas. I drop the current yarn/join a new one whenever I feel like it, not just at the beginning of a round or whatever. They turn out super funky and fun. This is a great in-front-of-TV or on-the-bus project, 'cause you really don't have to think. I don't even do a consistent number of rows between decreases, just what "looks like" two or three inches. The perfect project for the non-anal knitter! :)

I made your beret using one entire ball of Rowan Chunky Print in pinks shading from pale to fuchsia + charcoal grey, and I love it! I have three balls of deep jade yarn that are up for my next beret, perhaps mixed with a skein of variegated teals/jades in worsted weight if the jade alone isn't chunky enough. I get so many compliments on that beret!

I made your beret using one entire ball of Rowan Chunky Print in pinks shading from pale to fuchsia + charcoal grey, and I love it! I have three balls of deep jade yarn that are up for my next beret, perhaps mixed with a skein of variegated teals/jades in worsted weight if the jade alone isn't chunky enough. I get so many compliments on that beret!

OOH OOH I'll be your intern! I spend my life on the computer, heh. I've been reading your blog for quite awhile and you crack me up, if you ever need help handling a large volume of internets related stuff, I'd be glad to lend a hand :)

Ok, that kinda made me sound like a freak...I'm a 21 year old, hence a vast majority of my socializing is done via laptop. I do have a life though...promise!

Lisa! Do you have any pictures? I am dying to see one of your creations!

And Elizabeth, I will file your offer away for future reference :)

I had noticed your beret in the Rome photos. :-) You DO look mysterious! :-) Am currently working on one of "your" berets, and love it! Either I knit tighter than you, or the Lamb's Pride Bulky I am using is less bulky than yours, because my gauge came up 4 stitches per inch. No problem, because I read your backup information, and figured out the right number of stitches for my size. (I'm a relatively new knitter.) I wouldn't have tried a hat yet if you hadn't shared your pattern with us. Thank you! (PS: And I very much enjoy your writing style.)

great new you you've invented with the honkin shades and
"grande beret". I can totally imagine the- rolled- into- itself - cap ...but It may be a lot of knitting on small needles with sock yarn...If I was ambitious I would try it and let you know but , alas....I knit with 3 different kinds of yarn at once just to get it done....and scarves only!!!!!!oooooh if you get an intern, can I get a massuese/gardener/poolboy? ( I have no pool)

Speaking of your intern Javier Bardem...I never knew how much a haircut could affect a man's hotness. Seriously, he was waaaay hot on the Oscars last night but in the trailer for the movie...ugh. I love how in his acceptance speech he said something like "and the ugliest haircut ever put upon a head" in his cute accent. And then telling his mom in Spanish that obviously warmed her heart. Awwww.

Knit the Beret, Twice so far. 1st attempt wasn't quite "poofy" enough and 2nd attempt (Lion Brand Landscapes) is perfection! I lurv it and my DS17 hates it, so It must be perfect.

Q: Is it wrong that my knitting is largely based on what I can do while on the bus?
A: if your knitting makes you wrong, do you wanna be right?

Ok, I think this might be in the "dumb" category for knitting, (I haven't much progressed beyond scarfs, an unsuccessful Kitty Pi, and cat toys). When I use a different yarn than the one you used to make the prototype, do I switch needles (size?). I guess I mean, do I follow the size needle suggested on the yarn wrapper or do I stick with what you used and hope that most chunky-ish yarns will work out with that?

That last "anonymous" was me, but I swear I put in my info last time! Sorry!

I agree with Grace about knitting a hem. However, instead of "sewing" the hem, I fold the brim in half like Grace says, and I pick up the stitch on the cast-on edge that corresponds to the first stitch on my left needle and knit the two together. As you proceed, the folded fabric should turn out to be neat and flat. To start, I cast on the number of stitches for the project on a circular needle, make my join, and I knit about 1 1/2", then the purl row, then knit another 1 1/2", then fold in half and pick up a stitch at time from the cast-on edge. It's slow going but I don't have to go back and sew up the hem. It's not completely smooth on the right side but it doesn't look homemade. And if you do some yarnovers and knit-two-togethers at the fold, when you fold it to create the hem, you will have an attractive shaped edge!

how can you resist the power of sock yarn?
I had to learn how to make socks just to justify buying the dang yarn.
I look like crap in hats, but you are all bug eyed cuteness. No fair!

Oh no, not SOCK YARN!!!! I hope you'll love it as much as I do. Self-striping sock yarn can keep me amused for hours. I guess I'm easy to amuse!!

Gretchen, can you tell me what yarn you're using? That might help....

Also, I used to wish my name were Gretchen. I love that name.

Knit and Tonic blog has a couple of free beret patterns.

Hi laurie, I made the beret and it turned out ginormous! I think I knit loose and you knit tight and I foolishly didn't knit a swatch...totally my fault. I'm going to try it again with a swatch adjusting for my lazy knitting! thanks for the pattern. I do think it is tre cute!

Made the beret, and have had LOTS of compliments!! I don't know if you consider this a good thing or not, but I "honored" you by using the beret pattern with my very first homespun yarn! The yarn is very typical of first-attempt spinning -- very chunky with lots of thick and thin places -- so I figured it was probably comparable to your chunky yarn. I also followed your suggestion and used #10 and 11 needles. About the only thing I don't like about the finished product is that it doesn't drape as nicely as yours, but I know that's the fault of the yarn and not your pattern!

Thanks for sharing the goodness!

I made one and I love it! I wore it to school today and my way-too-cool-for-their-own-good high school students loved it. :)

If you're on Ravelry, here's the link: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/AlliCat236/crazyauntpurl-super-simple-fast-and-easy-chunky-hand-knit-beret-by-laurie-perry

Hi again. I have a bunch of different yarns, so I meant my question in the vein of "how would one do this"? But for example, I have a bunch of Bernat Alpaca that the label says to use size 10 needles. Could I fudge that to use larger needles? What about yarn that says size 8 or 9 needles? (Like all the Encore I have around from the afghan I never finished. Should I just double the strands of yarn? And of course, there are the mystery balls that I lost the labels too. I probably should learn to make swatches and figure out the math for the size needles. Of course shopping for more yarn is always a possibility, but I really should start using what I already have!

...and me, yet again...last time, I promise.
very sweet of you to say nice things about my name. But usually it is German Shepherds who are named Gretchen...and when they ask my name at Starbucks, (so they can label my cup), I say "Ann" just to make things easier! Why my southern mamma went German on me, I'll never understand!

Gretchen -- with something like the encore you'd definitely have to do a swatch. The best way I know for adjusting the needle size and stitches of a pattern is to do a swatch and measure it.

I can try making this hat in something like your Bernat alpaca (or SWS, I have some of that at home and I think it is a similar gauge) and see how it turns out.

I made the beret using LionBrand Jiffy*, colorway El Paso ("Intense mix of burgundy, denim, sage green and dark gold"), on size 10/11 needles. Somehow I don't think it came out nearly as cute as yours, or maybe it just doesn't look as good on me as it does on you and your models. But I've gotten quite a few compliments on it, including one from a lady that owns the yarn store I was in. So I guess I done good :-)

*Only problem is, I fell so in love with this yarn/colorway that I had to go out and buy two more skeins and make a matching scarf. And I know that Jiffy isn't really wool, like you recommended, but it thinks its a mohair. So that counts, right? :-)

Oooohhh, come join us on The Dark Side. It's very cozy here with teeny sock projects and yards and yards and yards of beautiful yarn!

Suz, that sounds really cute! I think you can make it out of anything you want, and I may have to try it with the Jiffy stuff myself, I think I have a few skeins of that in the stash somewhere....

I have a writing assignment to do tonight. What am I doing HERE? Why am I not working on it? What does this have to do with knitting? OH! If you want a just-plain-warm cap, I can email you my toque pattern - it's like a knitted football, and you stuff one end inside so it's double. A long-knitted one gives you a bit that flops over very cutely (yep, a word). I have one that I double and then roll up the brim so there are FOUR layers over my ears, useful in the -38 windchill we've had lately. (There's a couple pictures of how these things look and work on my January 26 post.)

This is not a comment about the beret, tho 'tis loverly. I'm just now getting around to reading all your posts about Rome and wanted to comment, so sorry that this is off-topic.

I lived in Rome for a semester in college and went on my honeymoon. Me and the hubster are going back this fall, eight years later, and leaving our 2 year old daughter with the grandparents. (Yikes! But it will do us good.)

I have traveled alone myself and did not mind it. To Venice, where not surprisingly, I got lost. It's so easy to do there. I highly recommend. Anyway, going it alone can certainly beat traveling with annoying people (which describes most people unless you choose carefully--most people I know, tho I love them dearly, become really irritating once they leave foreign soil).

I am in the middle of planning the deets for our trip, and I lurk on the Italy forum at slowtrav.com all the time. It's a great site for hyper-planners like myself. It is equal to Tripadvisor in usefulness and the people on that board are VERY knowledgeable and almost overly helpful. They are mostly positive and passionate about Italy (or whatever the country discussed on that particular forum). I love their do-as-Romans-do philosophy and their slow-down-and-soak-it-up emphasis. If you want to go for two weeks or more, talk to those guys. If you want to go only for a long weekend, just don't mention it to them unless you would like a berating. I gotta love their enthusiasm, though. Plus, they have members who post lots of fashion photos surreptitiously snapped of Gianni and Giada Random. Really fun to look at.

That is all.

Gotta love Lion Brand. And I just knit a tank top in the round because it's the only knitting I can do while in the car. Well, I started it this summer on our vacation, I'm almost done with it...

BTW, this guy takes random photos of fashionistas all the time: http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

Fascinating.

Haven't even bought my first set of circular needles yet! I'm not much of a hat person, but I like the beret, so I may try it--eventually.

I did your beret in a very chunky, colorful yarn as a gift knit (with matchign scarf) for a homemade Pay It Forward challenge. It turned out a bit large; useable, but I think the recipient is simply rolling up the edge and wearing it like that. Hey, at least she's wearing it!

Finally, someone else who realizes Wool Ease Chunky is:

1) Good
2) Very different than Thick n' Quick

Hi! I've made the beret, twice, once with 3 different yarns from my stash--one is sport weight, one worsted, and one dk weight, I think. I used 10s and 11s, because I knit loose, and more stitches because I felt like it and had started 2 other styles of hat with the same yarn combo so I knew how many stitches I needed. (the hat is a bit too big, though) The second beret was with 2 strands of worsted weight held together. I've been told I look cute in both of them--success! Now I'm making gloves to go with the second one, since I had bought way too much yarn for it.

I made your beret using 1 1/2 skeins of Patons Rumor in Halcyon Heather. It's *adorable*...only problem is that the band is a little big (even though I took your advice and used smaller needles; a 10 for the band and an 11 for the pouf). I'm wearing it anyway, 'cause I'm a rebel again. Maybe I'll email you a picture, if that's ok?

Seriously..........glass look very Jackie O

Seriously..........glasses look very Jackie O

I'm planning on making it very soon. I had the same exact yarn (dont know the name) - the pink colored that your sister in law wore - but I had knitted it into a purse that I wasn't happy about. I ended up taking the whole thing out this weekend & have winded it up for the beginning of the beret! Cant wait to see how it turns out!

I made a beret just the other day! I read your first beret-happy blog and then about 2 hours later, my sister in law says to me "will you make a hat...thats kinda floppy?" and I showed her your blog and shes like "Yah! That's what I want!" She wanted it a bit different, so I didn't really use your pattern. I just sorta made it up as I went. But I just used a regular worsted weight that striped beautifully! I think it's called "Moods" or something. It was black and purple. I just used size 6 needles, and cast on about 115 or so. Did an inch or so of 2x2 ribbing and then the increases like in your pattern, and just made it a bit longer because she wanted it more...floppy! I just sort of made up the decreases because I wanted it to be more...quick? (we're all full of technical terms here!) It turned out great, she loves it, and I haven't gotten any pictures yet!

Hi. I've made your beret using size 10 needles for the body (size 8 for the ribbing) and it is a little small for a beret, but I wear it with the ribbing turned up as a sort of cloche. It keeps me warm! I tried it again using size 11 needles but it was huge! So, now I'm trying size 10.5 needles for the body and size 7 for the ribbing. I hope it will turn out just right.

I made one to match a never ending scarf I am working on, but I was twitchy about how much yard I had and I made it a little too short. It's also a little too loose...but this are my problems, not the pattern problem. The pattern was awesome and you are right that it is addictive...I keep wanting to improve on my last try. It still looks adorable.