Swatchless

Let me introduce you to my newest buddy!

The lego man that I knit earlier this month (Some Assembly Required), is now decked out in WAFFLES and K-Botics gear!  I had such fun making the teensy tiny clothes….that once I made a hat, I couldn’t stop!  The WAFFLES shirt was knit from yellow baby weight yarn (very light fingering yarn) from the top down with raglan sleeve shaping.  The shirt needed a row of ribbing at the bottom to keep it from rolling.  The WAFFLES motif was stitched on later in chain stitch.

I used acrylic yarn (bits and pieces left over from knitting robot hats) to make the purple and blue clothing, but I needed to split the yarn up, and use a single ply, and sock needles (2.0mm DPNs).  The hat was knit from the crown to the brim in stripes incorporating the K-BOTICS and 2809 colourwork section before a row of ribbing and casting off.

The sweater is knit from the collar down, raglan style ending with a row of ribbing.  Sleeve stitches were picked up and knit to the cuff, then I picked up the neck stitches and improvised a hood that would fit over a lego head–significantly different proportions than a human head!  I embroidered K-BOTICS and our logo on the sweater using light blue, to match our team hoodies.

This little guy is looking for a new friend.  I may have to make one or two more when I get a bit of free time!

What should his name be?

Today I received a large box that was held shut with duct tape.  The card said that it was from members of the robotics team and their family.  I have never gotten a package that large before from ANYONE!

To my great surprise and amusement I opened it to find it full of yarn–in all K-Botics team colours.  What a treat!

I see team knitting lessons in the future!

I help out with the K-Botics FIRST robotics team (blog), and this past weekend was our robotics competition in Toronto.  I have been knitting robot hats for the last few weeks in preparation.

This hat uses a honeycomb texture that I learned when knitting Newfoundland Mittens.  The robot and team numbers are embroidered on afterwards.

This hat, is for our chief robotics scout.  The hat has a crown that stands up when the hat is worn.  The crown was made in segments, by knitting 10 stitches, then casting on an extra group of 10 stitches, then knitting in the round for 3 rounds, then decreasing 4 stitches every alternate row.  After the crown, the top group of stitches were picked up and the hat continued and decreased as usual

This hat, has a reverse stockinette rolled edge, and alternating panels of stockinette and reverse stockinette stitch to create an interesting texture.  The robot was added on afterwards with chain stitch embroidery.

And…for our driver, who lost his earlier hat while skiing, here is the replacement (knit in stages)  The first of which is a pink tentacle moustache that he wore on April Fools day.  What a good sport!

Ordering at Tim Hortons

By the end of the day the hat was ready, and being worn for practice matches at the Greater Toronto Regional Competition.

In the pit at GTR

While at the competition I knit a hat for a rookie on our team, and added a tassel on top by continuing the hat with I-cord, and then attaching a tassel to that.  His smile was priceless when he put it on.

The next hat I made was a bit smaller, for one of our younger fans.  She’s six, and has very long pigtails that fit through holes on either side of the that.

The M.C. of the competition wore his hat proudly too.

The hats certainly caused a stir at the competition.  We may see other teams knitting some up in the future.

In the mean time, I’m going to take a break from robot hats, and knit something else for a change.

Happy Easter everyone!

Today the latest robot hat got modelled.  They are starting to be an interesting fashion trend–kids wear their unique hats to our team meetings!

It is wonderful to have knitting appreciated this much!  I look forward to making a few more before our next team competition, but I’m not sure what other “creative” things I can add to these hats.

Any ideas?

Spring is here, which finds me digging through my yarn stash, looking for bright colours, and lighter weight yarns, and thinking of making things other than hats and mitts!  Apart from the threat of flurries tomorrow it is really starting to feel like the seasons have changed.

They daylight lasts longer, and the birds are chirping and flowers are pushing up through the warming soil…..and I’m knitting robot hats.

Here’s one for the MC of the competition.  The red is added because that’s his team’s colour.  Hopefully he’ll wear it while he announces our matches.

Here’s another one for one of our presenters.  There are holes all over the hat to let his curls out.  In theory, it’s going to be awesome.

There is a cute detail added to this hat.

Our robotics team has heart!

Image courtesy of ski.canada.travel

Sad news:  While skiing this week the most fabulous robot balaclava hat/mask has been lost by our team’s driver somewhere on the slopes of Mt. Tremblant.  If you happen to see a blue robot squid balaclava, please let me know!

At the Competition

At Walmart

At Subway

At least this hat has had a lot of fun while with our team.  We hope that it can be found, specially before our tournament in Toronto (April 1-3)

glowing tentacles on the bus

In the mean time….if this hat is never found…what is a suitable alternative/punishment??  We’ve brainstormed several ideas

1. Wearing a tentacle moustache on a string
2. Wearing tentacles on a hairband

What do you suggest as an alternative for this magnificent hat?

The past few days were spent on the road at a FIRST robotics competition in Pittsburgh.  It is a rewarding and exhausting way to spend a weekend, and such fun to see the students learn and compete, and be so proud of their accomplishments.

One of my accomplishments over the weekend was to knit up 4 robot hats!

Hat #1: complete with ponytail holder so our long haired girls can keep their hair back.

Hat #2: Headband knit in team colours following the “Jaywalker Sock” method of creating zigzags.  Team number is sewn on later.

Hat #3: Robot eyes are beaded, and there are beads around the base of the hat, hanging down from strings.  This hat is a bit noisy, but certainly stands out in a crowd.

Hat #4: Striped hat, with an onion on top!  Robot was embroidered on after hat complete.  Team number stitched on too.

There is a 5th hat that was finished on the bus ride home, but it has not yet been photographed.

I’m afraid that most of the knitting going on here will be robot hats until our competition in Toronto on April 1-3.

It is fun to knit something ridiculous every now and again!

It seems robot knitting is ALL the rage these days!  I got the Knitpicks catalogue in the mail today and saw this on the back cover.

I’m a bit tempted to make something similar….but have to focus on robot hats first.

I have to say that I am very impressed with this month’s catalogue.  There is such variation.  Gorgeous socks…I particularly like the “boyfriend socks” [Ravelink] by Mary Jane Mucklestone found in “The Joy of Sox”

image from Ravelry.com

There are great kilt socks in kit form, and a set of Japanese inspired socks and leggings textured with lace and cables from “Knitted Socks East and West” by Judy Summer.

There are some whimsical purses on a fruit and veggie theme that incorporate beaded knitting, stranded colourwork, and a whole lot of fun.  I’m not sure if I could pull off using one of these, but I bet they would be a hit among some hip teenagers somewhere!

What really got me was the next section of Amigurumi Knits based on the book by Hansi Singh [Ravelink]

Knitted insects (ants, praying mantis, spiders) hermit crabs and even a jackalope!  Check them out if you have an urge to knit something unconventional.

image from Ravelry.com

image from Ravelry.com

And….for those of you with little ones to knit for, the Barnyard Buddies kits look adorable!  It wouldn’t be a far stretch to adapt other bonnet and shorties/longies patterns to create more animals for your baby.

There’s a cute piggy pattern with a curlicue tail…so adorable!

Good job Knitpicks on the great package of inspiration.  Usually I get upset by paper catalogues in my mailbox, but the one this month is not a disappointment!

To celebrate the completion of the FIRST robotics build season (meet the team! see our blog!) I have charted and written up the pattern for our unique and delightful robot hats.

Download the hat pattern in .pdf form (full colour charts, photos and instructions)

We wear these hats to competitions, and other events, and they are also regular winter hats to some.  They help unite us as a team, and show our Canadian spirit when we are competing in the USA.  The first hats were knit on the way to the International competition in Atlanta Georgia, on our 22 hour bus ride.

The pattern is based on the Robot Hat pattern that I found on Ravelry last year.  It is knit with any worsted weight acrylic yarn, and 5.0mm needles.  My pattern is fully customizable to fit large and small heads alike based on a small swatch.

Our hats are each unique; the variations have included different stripes, different colours of robots, having a rolled up brim, having pompoms, curlicues, or horns.  We’ve even made headbands too!  Our team challenges each other to come up with more wild and wacky hat ideas, and figure out how to make them.  Each hat has robots on it, and is made from our team colours, and has 2809 (our team number) on it.

Some Math:  We recognize that team members, and mentors and younger supporters all have different sized heads.  It is a good idea to do a gauge swatch and a bit of math to make sure your hat will fit.

Measure the circumference of the head:________________inches.

Make a swatch in stockinette stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) that is at least 2 inches x 2 inches.

Lay the swatch out flat (but do not stretch it), put a ruler on top of it and count how many stitches fit in one inch.  It may be easier to count how many stitches fit in two inches, then divide by 2.

Stitch gauge: ______________stitches per inch.

Generally hats stretch to fit around your head.  Subtract about an inch from the head circumference so the hat will stretch to fit around the head.

Hat circumference = Head circumference – 1.

Hat circumference =_____________

Cast on = Hat circumference  x  stitch gauge

Cast on = ___________________

Cast On the appropriate number of stitches for your hat. Join in the round being careful not to twist.
Work an inch or two in K2, P2 ribbing (more if you are going to flip the brim over)

Change colours as desired.

Knit an inch or two before starting the robot and team number motif.

It is highly recommended to use a spreadsheet or several pieces of graph paper to chart out the entire hat to be sure that everything is centered, and that the robots and team number can all be incorporated.  You can graph out team logos and other different robots if you’d like.

TEAM NUMBER

ROBOTS (source)  click for larger image

Try on the hat from time to time to be sure that it is long enough before you start decreasing.  Knit until the hat is long enough.

Decreases: Divide the number of stitches by 4, place markers at each division.  Each round, decrease by knitting together the two stitches that precede the marker.  Each round the total number of stitches will decrease by 4.  Continue until there are about 8 stitches left.  Cut the yarn, draw the yarn through the remaining stitches and pull tight.

Headband Option – Knit in the round.
Round 3 start robots leaving space for team numbers
Round 7 start team logo close to the top
Knit 1 round after robot complete then purl one round, then knit the lining for the headband (same number of rows that you knit for the outside.
Cast off.  Fold headband along purl line.  Sew Cast On and Cast Off edge together

Toppings:

Antenna–instead of decreasing so rapidly, decrease every 3 rows or so, to create a spike at the back of the hat.

Pompom–cut out two circles from cardboard.  Cut out a circle (1 inch diameter) in the centre of each circle.  Hold the two circles together, and wrap yarn around through the middle and around the outside over and over again.  When the circle is full, cut around the outside edge and separate the two cardboard circles a little.  Tie a long piece of yarn around and fasten it tightly around the middle bundle of strings.  Remove the cardboard, and trim the pompom.

Curlicues (source)
Cast on 20 stitches. (The final length of your curlicue will be the same as the length of your cast on row.)  Knit into the front and back of each stitch loosely, ending up with 40 stitches. Bind off purlwise. Here you see the curlicue already curling on the bind off row.  Take your finished curlicue and twist it in the direction it is already curling.

Horns and other structural knitting
Knit with wool and one strand of copper from a copper scrubbie (which is actually knit, so you can unravel it really easily).  You are limited only by your imagination.

I was asked today if it was possible to make a rather interesting balaclava for a robotics competition… (meet our robotics team)

The guy was serious too…promised to wear it….in public……

I know the hat is crocheted, but I betcha I could knit something similar.  I know the curlicues are possible (tutorial courtesy of “Knitting In Colour”).

This will have to be one of my post-ravelympic challenges.  I wonder if the hat ends at the mouth area, or if it continues down around the neck.

Would you wear a crazy hat like this in public?