November 3, 2008

Chicks With Sticks!

A call came in this morning from my dear friend Barbara Silverman, founder of A Package From Home (see diary September 16, 2008 – A Package From Your Home) which provides packages to lone solders serving in the IDF (lone soldiers are young men and women with no family in Israel who volunteer to serve in the army). It was not hard to hear the excitement in Barbara’s voice as she shared the story of "Chicks With Sticks"…a group of Israeli women who enjoy knitting and other handcrafts. When the group was looking for a meaningful project for which they could use their talents, the idea came up to knit warm hats for soldiers serving in the army. It seems that the standard IDF-issued hat was not particularly warm or comfortable and the hat that the group came up with was just perfect…in comfort and style and conformed to regulation standards as well. So, the pattern was shared, knitting started and word spread. The result has been pretty impressive. As Barbara just wrote in an email this afternoon…

Just this past week, "A Package from Home" packaged 175 hats for soldiers serving in Golani and tank units. When they came to pick up the packages and saw the hats they were thrilled. The hats that soldiers currently receive from the army are made of a synthetic fleece-type fabric that’s nowhere near as warm and snug. One of the soldiers asked me to make sure the packages he gets all have hand knit hats.

The hats provide physical warmth and emotional support and we feel good knowing that somewhere tonight, a soldier doing guard duty in the cold will be wearing a warm hand knit hat, made with love.

The weather is getting colder and time is of the essence. Our goal for the coming winter is to get an additional 2000 hand knit hats to lone soldiers serving in combat units. If you are a knitter or know someone who loves to knit and wants to help keep our soldiers warm this winter, please see attached pattern. All hats must be made to pattern in order to conform to army regulations.

The finished caps can be sent to Barbara at 12/63 Keren Kayemet L’Israel Street, Jerusalem, Israel 92428. The best part? The cost of the wool is about $4.00! If you are a knitter or know one, pass this on. It is a great project – quick, easy and cost-effective as well.

Simple Soldier’s Hat, Two Ways

There are two patterns here, one for a hat that can be knit flat on two straight needles and one for a hat that can be knit in the round on a circular needle and/or double pointed needles. The latter method is recommended because it requires less sewing up at the end and tends to look neater.

Yarn: You must use machine washable plain black worsted weight yarn – this is in order to comply with both the soldiers’ requests and army regulations. Look for a yarn that is soft, warm and non-felting. Superwash wool is best, acrylic or a wool/acrylic mix is okay. You’ll probably need about 220 yds. / 200 m.

Gauge: 24 or 28 stitches = 4 inches/10 cm. in K2P2 rib stitch

Needles: Use whatever size needle you need to get gauge. The 4 mm – 5.5 mm range is a good place to start. For circulars, use a small circumference, 12" to 16".

Pattern A: Knit on Two Straight Needles

Loosely cast on 98 stitches and work back and forth in K2 P2 rib as follows:

Round 1 (right side): K1, [K2, P2] until one stitch remains, K1

Round 2 (wrong side): P1, [K2, P2] until one stitch remains, P1

Repeat these 2 rounds until work measures 9.5 inches / 24 cm., ending with a wrong side row.

Shape crown

Row 1: On right side, K1, [K2, P2tog], K1. 74 stitches remain.

Row 2: P1, [K1, P2], P1

Row 3: On right side, K1, [K2tog, P1], K1. 50 stitches remain.

Row 4: P1, [K1, P1], P1

Row 5: K1 [K2tog], K1. 26 stitches remain.

Row 6: Purl

Row 7: K1, [K2tog], K1. 14 stitches remain.

Row 8: Purl

Row 9: K1, [K2tog], K1. 8 stitches remain

Break yarn, leaving a 20-inch / 51 cm. length. With a tapestry needle, thread the yarn through the remaining 8 stitches (pull tight) and then sew up the back seam using mattress stitch, being careful to match up the rows. For help with mattress stitch, see here: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring04/mattress.html, or here: http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/basic_techniques/misc.php

(scroll down to "Finishing" and then select "mattress stitch" for a short video demo)

Weave in the ends and admire your work! Please wash & dry your hat before mailing.

Pattern B: Knit first on a Circular Needle, and then on Double Pointeds

(Or, you can work the entire hat on double pointed needles, if you prefer)

Loosely cast on 96 stitches. Join work, place marker, and work in K2 P2 rib until work measures 9.5 inches / 24 cm.

Shape crown

(Here you begin a series of decrease rounds. When you find the hat getting too small to work on the circular needle, switch to double pointed needles.)

Round 1: K2, P2tog to end of round. 72 stitches remain.

Round 2: K2 P1

Round 3: K2tog, P1 to end of round. 48 stitches remain.

Round 4: K1, P1

Round 5: K2tog to end of round. 24 stitches remain.

Round 6: Knit

Round 7: K2tog to end of round. 12 stitches remain.

Round 8: Knit

Round 9: K2tog to end of round. 6 stitches remain.

Break yarn, leaving a 6-inch / 15 cm. length. With a tapestry needle, thread the yarn through the remaining 6 stitches (pull tight). Weave in the ends and admire your work! Please wash & dry your hat before mailing.