seed stitch

I love the seed stitch pattern. I see it and I get all cozy inside. I've been wanting to make a hat with this stitch pattern for ages, but the challenge that I felt decreasing and closing the hat would present kept me from it for quite some time. I'm not sure what exactly made me realize I was up to the challenge, but a few weeks ago I bought some beautiful cream colored wool [can't remember the brand and have since tossed the tag], pulled out my size 11 needles and cast on 75 stitches.

This hat is one of my favorites, maybe just because I've been dreaming about it for so long. I thought I had the decrease figured out and had chosen to knit three stitches together so I could keep up the alternation of knits and purls that the seed stitch requires. I was not happy with the way it was looking, so I put it aside thinking I'd either give in and just keep on knitting three together or that I'd come up with some other creative solution.

I was on Highway 1 somewhere between the Morrisey and Highway 17 exits when it came to me. I remembered seeing, what I would consider, a decorative decrease [a decrease done a beautiful but obvious way so it becomes part of the charm of the piece] in a pattern I'd gotten from Sarah SD a few months ago. I thought, and maybe even exclaimed aloud, "Oh I could totally do that!" So I did. And here is the finished result.





So here's the pattern:
Cast on 75 stitches [men's hat] on size 11 circular needles.
Row One: K1* P1 K1 P1 [repeat from *]
Row Two: P1* K1 P1 K1 [repeat from *]

Alternate rows one and two until the piece measures about 5 inches from CO and then begin decreasing
Decreasing:
Row One: Continue in seed stitch pattern for 11 stitches then, depending on the row you're on, P2tog K2tog [or K2tog P2tog if that's what will continue the seed stitch pattern]. Continue decreasing this way for the rest of the row 11 stitches, then K2tog P2tog or vice-versa so you continue in the seed stitch until you get to the end of the row. You should have 65 stitches on your needles at this point.
Row Two: Complete row without decreasing.
Row Three: Continue in seed stitch pattern for 9 stitches. Then P2tog K2tog [or vice-versa so you maintain the seed stitch pattern]. Continue decreasing this way for the rest of the row, K2tog P2tog every 9 stitches until the end of the row. You should have 55 stitches on your needles at this point.
Row Four: Complete row in seed stitch without decreasing.
Row Five: Continue in seed stitch pattern for 7 stitches. Then P2tog K2tog [or vice-versa so you maintain the seed stitch pattern]. Continue decreasing this way for the rest of the row, K2tog P2tog every 7 stitches until the end of the row. You should have 45 stitches on your needles at this point.
Row Six: Complete row in seed stitch without decreasing.
Continue in seed stitch pattern for 5 stitches. Then P2tog K2tog [or vice-versa so you maintain the seed stitch pattern]. Continue decreasing this way for the rest of the row, K2tog P2tog every 5 stitches until the end of the row. You should have 35 stitches on your needles at this point.
Row Eight: Complete row in seed stitch without decreasing.
Row Nine: Continue in seed stitch pattern for 3 stitches. Then P2tog K2tog [or vice-versa so you maintain the seed stitch pattern]. Continue decreasing this way for the rest of the row, K2tog P2tog every 3 stitches until the end of the row. You should have 25 stitches on your needles at this point.
Row Ten: Complete row in seed stitch without decreasing.
Row Eleven: Maintaining your seed stitch K2tog P2tog K2tog P2tog, or vice-versa if necessary to maintain pattern, for entire row.
You should have 15 stitches on your needles. Now it's time to finish off the hat. Take a tapestry needle and thread the long end of the yarn through it. Then thread the yarn through the remaining stitches a few times. Pull the yarn through the top centre of the hat and weave in the loose ends.

Oh my goodness I have so much respect for people who write knitting patterns on a regular basis. If this doesn't work for you, if you have questions as you're attempting this please let me know. Oh, I know I said that 75 stitches fits a man's head, and it really does, I tried the hat on and it's too big for me. Good thing I wasn't making it for myself. I think somewhere between 70 and 72 stitches is good for a woman's head. This, of course, means that you'll end up with different numbers of stitches between decreases and at the end of each row you decrease. To figure out how to decrease just take the number of stitches you cast on originally and divide it by four or five [whichever it divides into evenly]. Take that number and subtract four and you'll know how often you have to knit and purl stitches together.
Example: 75 / 5 = 15 15-4 = 11; 65 / 5 = 13 13-4 = 9; 55 / 5 = 11 11-4 = 7; and so on and so forth.

Okay, I hope this makes sense. If not at least I realized my dream of making a seed stitch hat.