Q: Is it possible to knit the Fish hat flat on two straight needles?
A: Yes, I know of at least one knitter who has knitted  this hat on straight needles. She casted on 2 extra stitches for the seam. The easy way is to make the seam on the side. It's nicer to place the seam at the underside of the hat, so it will almost be invisible. But then you'll have to split up one short row part - which might be a bit difficult.

 

 Q: What does W&T mean and how do I do it?
A: W&T means 'wrap and turn'. It’s a technique you use when knitting short rows. When you have to turn after 10 sts, you slip the 11th sts to the left needle (unknit), wrap it, slip it back to the right needle and turn the work. This way you don’t get big holes when knitting short rows. Here is a good tutorial on how to do this.

 

 Q: The pattern says I don’t have to knit the wrapped sts? Why not?
Some knitters dislike knitting wraps a lot. For the fish hat, knitting wrappes is not really necessairy, because the lips form a brim that rolls over the wrapped sts.

 

 Q: My Fish Lips are not centered. What do I do wrong?
You’ve probably started the second lip at the wrong place.  After the first lip is finished,
you knit 66 sts to start the second lip. These 66 sts include 32 sts for
the first lip, 26 sts 'in between' and 8 sts for the second lip. Then you wrap&turn, knit 9, w&t knit 10 and so on.

 

 Q: Can I find the Death Fish Hat pattern in print somewhere?
A: Yes, the Fish Hat is part of a pattern book (available in print and as E-book) that was made for charity. Stefanie Keir of Save The Children has combined a lot of free hat patterns to make an inspiring knitting book. More info: http://ahatintime.blogspot.com and  http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/kenyacrisis

 

Q: The Fish Hat is much to big for my baby/toddler.  Is there a way to knit a smaller one?
A: Yes. For a size just a bit smaller you could try thinner yarn and smaller needles.
For a really small baby you can use Zephyrama’s new-born adaptation.

 

Q: The Fish Hat is to small for my grown up head. How do I knit a bigger one?
A: The Knitty pattern fits both large children and grown ups. Try bigger yarn (or doubled yarn) and bigger needles if it is still to tight. You could add a few extra sts, but not to much unless the hat might get out of shape. 

 

Q: The tail I knitted doesn’t look like the tail on the pictures at Knitty
A: Knitty adapted the tail part to get less seams, but this made it more difficult to knit and put together. So if you want, you could try this way:
Fish Tail
Put 11 sts on hold on safety pin.
Change the other 11 sts. to straight needles US3/3,25 mm.
  1.. (RS) k1, kfb, repeat until last st, k1(16 sts);
  2.. (WS) and all WS rows: p all sts.
  3.. (RS) k1, kfb, repeat until last st. (24 sts);
  4.. (WS) p all sts
  5.. (RS) k1, kfb, (k3, kfb)  repeat 5 times, k2 (30 sts)
  6 - 12  St.st. (p. on the WS, k on the RS)
13. k15, turn
14. P2tog, p. till end
15. k

 Repeat row 14 en 15 until 10 sts remain. BO. Knit the other 15 sts. on the needle in the opposite way. Replace the 11 sts from the safety pin on straight needles. Knit the other side of the fish tail in the same way.Turn the hat inside out. Sew fish tail together. Turn back.