FO: Military Barbie Beret...

Pattern: Nancy Drew/Speckled Beret by Kate Gilbert (Interweave Knits Winter 2005)
Start/Finish: Mar. 9, 2006-Mar. 14, 2006 (had to restart)
Yarn: Louisa Harding Kimono Angora (color 4); one 25g ball (124yds/112m)
Needles: Addi Turbo DPNs size US1-sh/2.5mm
Modifications: Unspeckled; used a different type of tubular cast on than called for; renamed Miltary Barbie upon seeing the pink camo patterning

More notes plus progress pics below the flip.

The pattern uses a tubular cast on described here, which, if I understand it correctly, leaves live stitches. The impression I get is that you run elastic through the cast on edge, but the pattern in IK doesn't say anything about that.

I neither wanted to use elastic nor wanted worry about how solid the brim was, so I restarted the beret (rather than frogging completely, I just started from the other end of the ball of yarn and frogged and knitted at the same time) using the tubular cast on that Anna posted a tutorial on. Only made a slight alteration for working in the round, which was to purl for four rows in the beginning before picking up and knitting stitches.

Admittedly I omitted a row here and there for this particular beret. Since the yarn broke a few times--I later figured that the breakage was because the yarn was worn from being worked and reworked--I would not have had enough to finish without joining another ball by a little more than ten inches. I didn't really want to join new yarn for just a few, short rounds so I just worked a few rounds less. Didn't affect the overall result as far as I can tell but that did show me that one ball of Kimono Angora is *just* enough for a hat.

I'll conclude with one final image and a thought:



Does this make remind anyone of those paint stands at the fair where you have a frisbee or piece of cardboard spinning on a wheel while you squirt paint on it?