Lattice Beret: Is It The Worst?

©The Knit Guru 

Lattice Beret 

Overall rating of 1.3/5 from 3 votes
Cost: Free

  I tried to get as much information as I could about this pattern, since it is very barebones.  I checked the posts on her old blog, Lunchbox of Awesome and her current blog, The Knit Guru, along with comparing it to the Ravelry Project Page.

  She says she used size 5mm and 7mm needles, that is an US size 8 and a bit bigger than a US size 10.5.  Her project page on Ravelry she says she used DK weight yarn, but on her blog post she says she uses a chenille yarn with some sparkle.  I have never seen a chenille yarn that is thin enough to be a DK, most are Aran or thicker.

Hi I just finished this and ended up with a beanie instead of a beret. I read the instructions to say do the repeated rows over the next 12 rows instead of 12 times so I only ended up with 1/2 as many rows as I should have. Its a cute beanie, a quick knit and I’m going to do it again but not tonight. LOL

~ sallyknits101 (over 9 years)

  From looking at the picture, I do believe that the original hat is done with the 12 rows of the lace repeat before the decrease.  I tried to see if she put anything about gauge or the actual yarn she used.  I couldn't find that anywhere, just that "loose gauge is best" for this project.  The hat is worked flat and then seamed up.  She says to sew the two sides, but I think she means to sew the two sides together and not that you will have two seams.

Frogged and restarted on 29/04.

I’m mystified by this, I followed the (admittedly not great) pattern to the letter, and the hat turned out child sized… Either I horrendously misread the pattern, or the pattern is horrendous.

Anyway, I am a disappointed as I really like the yarn, and loved the look of the hat in the picture accompanying the pattern.

As I can’t wear it, and I don’t know any kids, I’ll donate it, with my other items, to KAS.

~ BeaniePad (5 years)

  When I did my test knit, done flat with some DK yarn, my hat was going to be 17" at the brim and only 4" tall.  I then reknit it and when I used a thicker yarn I ended up with it being 23" at the brim and 6.5" tall, which I think matches the picture more closely, but not quite.

Yarn: Red Heart Hometown USA in Chicago Charcoal - Needles: US 10 and US 13

  I am a tight knitter, and The Knit Guru might be a loose knitter.  I really wish she had put any kind of numbers having to do with the dimensions of the finished item so I wouldn't have to keep guessing based on the picture.  I think I went too bulky with the yarn on this one.

Yarn: Red Heart With Love in White held double - Needles: US 10 and US 13

  I stayed with the new needle sizes, but went with a bulky weight instead of a super bulky.  It was a bit closer but I still wasn't able to get the size difference between the ribbing and the body of the beret like she was able to.  My yarn-overs seem to want to pull in on themselves while hers stay very open.  I might have had to go up another size, but that would have then put me way past the 2mm difference in needle size she had.

  Overall, I don't think this is written out very well to be a pattern to used by other people.  It would be great as a reminder to her as to what she did if she wanted to make the hat again.  There aren't too many things she would need to change to make it into something anyone could use.  She just needs to add what yarn she uses so people have an idea of what weight the yarn really is and could possibly get recommendations on Ravelry, also add what gauge we are aiming for on the brim and the body of the hat.  A few finished dimensions of the hat wouldn't hurt either.

New Year, New Challenge

Pattern: Antler Toque by Tin Can Knits - Yarn: Red Heart Eco-Ways in 3372 Petal - Needle: US size 8

  A while ago there was a trend going on around the internet where people were going to the lowest rated place in their area for various themes.  They were getting their nails, hair, or makeup done at the lowest rated salon.   It was then expanded to compare the lowest and highest rated locations.  Then people were buying things from the best and worst locations, so they could be buying cakes from the highest and lowest rated bakeries and comparing the results.  This got me thinking about how I could do this as well.

  I thought it would be really fun to try it with yarn and patterns.  There are some rules I made to go along with this project/challenge.  The yarn or pattern has to have a few bad reviews, not just one, and it has to be something I can get ahold of fairly easily.  While it would be fun to see how I feel about the Tangled Poets Advent Calendar 2019 from Aberdeen's Wool Co, I feel like it would not be easy for me to find.  I also really like the ones with the really scathing reviews, like this one:

Sloppy written pattern:

* No legend for abbreviations (neither written pattern nor chart)
* only a few measures

* inaccurate pattern

After the 5th row of chart and the second bug I found, I frogged my project.

It’s impudently to take money for this!

~ Vorlesetante (10 years ago) 1/5 stars

  I'm going to be posting the reviews I find while making some of my own.  However, I'm not doing this to shame the designers or yarn brands.  I'm curious if these patterns really are as bad as people think they are, or are they just written in a way that isn't compatible with the person trying it.  Any dates I have on here will be accurate to the time of posting.

  On Ravelry you can rate things without giving a review, so something might have a low or high rating, but no reason to go along with that rating.  This means that I have had to expand my search areas.  One of the yarns that fit the requirements only had such a bad rating because it was listed online as a three pack, but people only received one skein when they ordered it.  There was nothing about the quality of the yarn at all in any of those reviews and when I looked into it further, the single skein listings had pretty high reviews.

  Another problem I've run into with the yarn is how wildly varying the reviews will be sometimes.  The following reviews are both for Caron Simply Soft which has an overall 4.6/5 rating from 1604 votes:

This is the absolute worst yarn I have ever used. Not only does the yarn split with great ease, but in every skein I must cut out inches and inches of poor quality yarn half a dozen or more times per skein. There are entire sections that are just fuzz or the yarn is thinned out and appears to be a lighter weight. Unacceptable. Truth is, the gorgeous colors and sheen will draw you in and tempt you, but don’t let it. Buy something else.

~ Logan626 (one month ago) 1/5 stars

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This is among my favorite yarns and has been for several years. It is so very soft. The colors are exquisitely rich. The drape is lovely and washing and drying is perfect. I would recommend this yarn to anyone wishing to make garments or afghans with a bit of sheen.

~ Maple Mountain Magic (3 months ago) 5/5 stars

  I personally would agree more with Maple Mountain Magic, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who agree more with Logan626.  Yarns also have different ratings on different websites.  On Ravelry Caron Simply Soft is rated 4/5 while it is rated 4.6/5 on Joann's and 4.7/5 on Michael's websites.  I'm starting to get really excited for this!  I think I'm going to call each part "Is It The Worst?" or "Is It The Best?"

The Yoga Saga

   When I first started going to yoga again, it was being taught by Virginia/Lucy.  She did the Yoga FlowX and the Yoga MO+RE.  I didn't know the difference between the two, so I figured I would try both.  I'm not sure which style I got that first day, but it was pretty fun.  She had taught the wrong class on that Tuesday and just went with what she was feeling for that Thursday.

Pattern: Not Quite Ribbed Hat - Yarn: Caron Super Soft in Bone - Needle: US 8

  The next time I would have been able to go they moved the class schedule around and it was now Yoga Restore with Mike.  I wasn't sure about it but went anyway since it seemed kind of popular.  It was a lot slower paced and focused more on stretching and holding poses.  I liked how relaxing it was over the other ones.  After a few weeks on the new schedule, Mike announced to us that he wasn't going to be teaching anymore because of things going on in his family.  He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to come back, but that he was going to be gone for at least six weeks either way.  I stumbled upon the Vino & Vinyasa class with Lucy at the end of October.

Pattern: Not Quite Ribbed Hat - Yarn: Caron Super Soft Brites! in Berry Blue 9609 - Needle: US 8

  We then got Joanna as an instructor.  Tara and I were at her first class and while I have been trying to make most of them, anyone else with us has changed over time.  I was the only person, besides Joanna, at this last class.  I don't know if the other people aren't going just because it isn't Mike or what, especially since I see them around the building during class time.  However, it did mean that Joanna and I got to learn that we both really like board games after class.

Pattern: Not Quite Ribbed Hat - Yarn: Caron Super Soft Brites! in Berry Blue 9609 - Needle: US 8

  The bottom picture shows how the 3D printed pom-pom keeper works.  The loop of elastic goes through a hole at the top of the hat and then the keeper makes sure it can't get pulled back out.  I have tried it on and pushed down on the pom-pom and couldn't feel the keeper there at all.  There are going to be a lot more pom-poms for this blog from now on.

2022

Here is a quick list of everything I got done in the year of 2022.

Crochet: 209
Hats:
~~~Crochet Showtime Hat: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
~~~HDC Hat
~~~Swirling Drop Hat
Scarves/Cowls:
~~~Crochet Showtime Cowl: 1-2
Other:
~~~Worry Worms: 1-3, 4-7, 8-11, 12-18, 19-27, 28-31, 32-38, 39-52, 53-68, 69-117, 118-140, 141-159, 160-170, 171-185, 186-200

Knit: 20
Hats:
~~~Lucky Bamboo Hat: 1, 2
~~~Woven Lattice Hat A: 1
~~~Woven Lattice Hat B: 1, 2-3
~~~Slippy Hat
~~~Crown Hat
~~~Plain Top-Down Hat
~~~Jazzy Knit Hat: 1-3
~~~Not Quite Ribbed Hat: 1-2, 3
~~~Bat Hat
~~~Witch Cat Hat
~~~Cable Hat
Scarves/Cowls:
~~~Wheat (mostly)
Shawls:
~~~Feather and Fan Shawl