Shine Bright Hat

This article contains some tips and extra videos for the Shine Bright Hat by Lamb & Kid. As always, if you have any questions about this pattern, please email us at support@knitrino.com.

Getting Started with Knitrino

If you're new to Knitrino, check out the Quick Start guide for short videos that show you how to use Knitrino.

Interpreting the Charts

If you're new to reading charts, you may wish to see How to Read Knitting Charts.

Swatching in the Round

To make a small swatch in the round, knit as instructed using a long circular, and then slide the stitches to the other end of your needle. Continue knitting, leaving a long float of at least 6" between each side. Your edge stitches will be loose and sloppy, but the middle stitches will give you a good indication of your gauge! If you'll have plenty of yarn, for the project, we recommend cutting the long floats before blocking so the knitted fabric lays flat.

Measuring Gauge

Block your swatch by submerging in cool water and laying flat to dry. If you'll have plenty of yarn, for the project, we recommend cutting the long floats before blocking so the knitted fabric lays flat. Lay a ruler on top of the swatch and count how many stitches are in the center 2-3".  Don't measure the sloppy edge stitches. In the photo below, you would count the stitches over the 2" shown inside the gauge ruler cut out, then multiple by 2 to compare with the listed gauge. 

In this case, there are about 11.5 stitches across 2"/5 cm, which gives 23 stitches over 4"/10 cm for the colorwork. If we were trying to get a target gauge of 24 stitches over 4"/10cm, we might want to go down a needle size. If we were trying to get a target gauge of 22 stitches over 4", we might go up a needle size.  

Colorwork Tips

Knitrino recommends knitting stranded colorwork with two hands. The strand of yarn that is carried lower than the other on the wrong side will create larger stitches and can appear more dominant on the right side of the fabric, so carry the float of the background color in the upper position on the wrong side, and the motif color or contrasting color in the lower position. For most right handed knitters knitting with 2 hands, you'll carry the background color in your right hand and the motif color in your left hand.

The floats should lie flat without being taut when the stitches are well stretched out across the needle. Adjust the tension of the carried yarn at the end of each round, if necessary.

If a stitch is pulled too tight and appears too small on the right side, it can be fixed by making a duplicate stitch over top in the correct color.

Locking Floats

In some places, you'll have long stretches of the background color where the motif color isn't used. You may choose to lock your floats every 4 or 5 stitches to secure them. This will help with your tension. 

To lock floats, bring the resting color over the working color behind the work before working the next stitch. Knit. Return the resting color to the resting position. The dominant color (typically the contrasting color, in this case Color B) should be kept in the LOWER position when looking at the back of the work. For Right Handed knitters, this would typically be held in your left hand. See notes above under "Tips for Colorwork".