a red Chemo cap

cute, eh?

Last year I made a couple of chemo caps for Halos of Hope using some red sport weight bamboo yarn that was in my stash. The yarn was originally purchased for a shawl, but the intended recipient preferred a warm red to this colder candy apple red. After making two or three last year, I put the rest of the yarn aside; that was quite enough 1x1 rib for a while. But this year I'm determined to finish what I started so I've cast on and made one more red chemo cap. My kitchen scale tells me that there's enough red yarn left for one more. And if I make a striped version combining all my leftover bamboo scraps, there may be enough yarn for two hats.

The pattern is adapted from Marnie Maclean's Pismo hat pattern - basically a ribbed watch cap. I've reduced the number of stitches to 132 to compensate for the heavier yarn and sped up the crown decreases. This size fits my head nicely but I'll make the next one slightly smaller - I'd think after losing their hair chemo patients may need smaller hat sizes. Bamboo yarn strikes me as a very good choice as it's so soft and non-irritating. A newly exposed scalp can be very sensitive to the slightest itchiness in fibers, especially after chemotherapy I've read.

Using up scraps of yarn in my stash is part of the challenge with my plan to Surmount the Stash in 2012. Other than sock yarn and dishcloth cotton, scraps make up my stash. The second week of January begins today and I'm off to a good start.