Three's a Charm Tam - Interweave Knits Fall 2012

A few weeks ago, I went on a trip to Boston and was in need of a project for the plane. My current WIP was a shirt - too big for travel. So I stopped by The Yarnery on Grand Ave to pick up the yarn for a hat. Specifically, the Three's a Charm Tam from Interweave Knits 2012. The Yarnery didn't have the yarn that the pattern suggested, but the salesclerk recommended Berrocco Blackstone Tweed instead. It's a wool, mohair, angora blend. I picked a teal color. While the yarn itself was nice, and had a good feel, I don't know if I'd recommend using it for cables. The yarn had a tendency to split, and sometimes just pulled apart while I was knitting, likely due to the mohair and angora content. Since stitches have to be stretched behind and in front when working cables, this tendency was a bit frustrating sometimes. In addition to pulling apart, I also encountered a knot in one ball. The color, however, was gorgeous.

 The pattern consisted of three complicated cable repeats offset by triangles of trinity stitch. If you're new to working with cables, you should probably skip this pattern as it had not just the basic hold two stitches behind, knit two from the left needle, return the two stitches held behind to the needle and knit them, but also hold two in front and purl one, and two unusual cables that also reduced stitches in them (a new one for me).

 I enjoyed working the cables and the 'plain' rows of knits and purls in between. I did use a piece of scrap paper to keep track of the row on the trinity repeat and the cable row. It took me about a week to knit, but when I put it on my head it didn't quite 'flop' like I'd expected. It was kind of flat.

With fingers crossed, I decided I'd block the hat to see if it took a shape closer to that of the hat pictured in the magazine

After letting it dry, I tried it in again. Better, but still not as floppy as I'd have liked. I refuse to rip out an entire hat and knot in a larger size needle to see if that fixes the problem, so I guess I'm living with it. Here's a trinity stitch section.

And here's the cable.

I'm hoping it stretches out more like the photo in the magazine. 

D