Bombshell Betty, Mark II

[msmcknittington]

*plays fanfare*

It is done. After a ridiculous amount of time (it feels like), I have the pattern written and the pictures edited. And now I will show you the pictures and provide a link for you to download the pattern. And then I will do the same in knitting and steamfashion. (Sorry, friends, who read both.)

Yes, I'm wearing a white silk scarf and a leather coat. Why? Because sometimes I can't help myself.

Vital Stats

Yarn: Recycled from a wool/acrylic sweater. It has 10 wpis. A good substitute would be 1 skein of Cascade 220 or 2 skeins of Elann Peruvian Highland Wool.
Needles: US 8 / 5 mm
Size: One size, which should fit anywhere from a 21-inch to a 23-inch head (Version 1 will fit up to a 24-inch head comfortably. I was saying 25-inch for Version 1 before, but I tried it on my brother, who has a 23-inch head, and there wasn't enough room to go that big.)
Knitting Time: 6 hours or so



Front and back

In the back, you can see how the center panel starts out small and then widens. This helps the cap fit closer to the back of the head where it narrows into the neck. Unfortunately, this also means that if you have a lot of hair like I do, you won't be able to shove it up in the cap anymore. It's more flattering when your hair is down this way, but Version 1 is more comfortable when your hair is up.



Side, other side

The new double decrease I used really brings out that decrease column in a good way. It also blends very well into the pattern in the jaw strap.



Unbuttoned

It is so much cuter when unbuttoned on me! Having it buttoned just emphasizes how round my face is. Unbuttoned, my chin speaks for itself.



Download Bombshell Betty, Version 2

I think my next goal is to either find a styrofoam head to photograph hats on or to find a willing model. I'm so tired of taking pictures of hats on my own head. I just keep finding flaws in my face. Like when did I get such dark circles under my eyes? They never go away. Always there. Blah.

Comments

[beraht.livejournal.com]

You look like an Italian peasant with it buttoned. The aviatorness really comes out when it is not.

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

I've never been Italian before. Usually I just get Indian men asking me if I'm from Poland or Jewish. (Really. It's happened like four times.)

Anyway, I'm convinced that the aviatorness comes out when it's unbuttoned because it doesn't show off my huge forehead. It's the one feature I can say I got from my mother.

[sora50.livejournal.com]

You're not Jewish? Isn't your sister named Rachel? I've never met a non-Jewish Rachel.

Your forehead isn't that large. Besides, a large forehead never hurt Jennifer Gardner.

[beraht.livejournal.com]

All the Rachels I know aren't Jewish.

[h0taru.livejournal.com]

Really? I know a few non-Jewish Rachels (though I agree that the majority I know are Jewish. Kinda like the Ruths I know, though there's a non-Jewish Ruth, too!).

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

My sister is actually the only Rachel I know. I can't think of another one. The only one that's popping into my head is Rachel Lynde, and she's fictional. :/

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

Wait, it gets weirder. My name is Sarah, my sister's name is Rachel, one of my brothers is named Daniel, and my grandmother's name was Ruth. And yet, family tradition has it that we're Catholic/Lutheran. At least some weirdo Protestants think both Jews and Catholics have horns under their hair.

[sora50.livejournal.com]

I KNOW! When I read that your name was Sarah my Jewdar went *Blip*. When I read that your brother's name is Daniel my Jewdar went *Ping!*. When I read that your sister's name is Rachel the damn thing near exploded.

Then again, I grew up in New Jersey which probably has one of the highest concentrations of Jewish people outside of Israel, so my experience with Jewish Rachels might be skewed.

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[(Anonymous)]

Awesome. The first of my friends with her very own blog. I am very isrmesped.Love those socks! Twisted has a yarmulke knitting class on April 6th! One can then make a matching set socks and a yarmulke.Trying out the bib in the One Skein book. Another teacher is pregnant. I think there is something in the water at Pac Crest.See you soon. Mouse (aka Susan B)

[bexi.livejournal.com]

LOL, people think I'm Jewish all the time, too. I think the hat looks great!

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

Becki, it always surprises me when we have some little thing in common. Like hair that won't behave itself and being practically birthday twins and now other people think we're Jewish.

Thanks! I'm fond of it.

[bexi.livejournal.com]

We will just have to be BFFs. *nods*

I'm trying to think of something else we can have in common. I'm slightly pigeon-toed, how about you? My knees only point straight ahead when my feet are in a ballet position 1. Also I'm literally tongue-tied. Now I sound like a mutant...

[cigarettes214.livejournal.com]

squee! Downloaded, and will attempt, or at least get a more experienced knitter to do it up for me :)

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

It's pretty easy! If you need help, ask me and I'll try. Like if you need help working in pattern, I'll be happy to tell you when to knit and when to purl.

[patrikia.livejournal.com]

Help! I'm having trouble with the beginning of the side panel:

[Pick up 40 stitches through chain selvedge.
41 stitches on needle...Row 1 (RS): Sl 1, work 8 sts in pattern, pm, ssk, work 10 sts in pattern, double decrease, pm, work 10 sts in pattern, k2tog,pm, work 8 sts in pattern, k last st.]

I don't have enough stitches to do all of that! 1+8+2(SSK)+10+3(double decrease)+10+2(K2tog)+8+1= 45, but only 41 stitches on needle.

What am I doing wrong??

Thanks, 'cause I love the pattern!

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

Oh, shoot. It's supposed to be ssk, k8, not ssk, k10. Sorry!

ETA: And k8, k2tog, of course.

Thank you for pointing it to me. It's really very much appreciated.

[patrikia.livejournal.com]

Thanks! 'Cause it's coming along really fast (did I mention I love it?). :-)

[blackbird-xiii.livejournal.com]

Hi! Found this through Ravelry and I love it! I'm having a problem though at the beginning. I'm pretty sure I'm just being stupid but where it says under Center Panel to "Repeat the four previous rows until 24 sts are on needles," I get lost. I always come up with an odd number of stitches. Because I CO 7 sts, anytime I M1 twice in a row, it continues the odd number sequence. Where am I messing up?

Thanks for this great pattern!

[ti-flatline.livejournal.com]

I'm working on a steampunk outfit for Halloween. I'm going to try this in a cotton/elastic blend because my head is a little bigger than other girls'...lol so hopefully I can get a little more space and maybe even put some fuzzy lining around the edges.