Beanie Binge for Justice

I have been a woman on a serious mission for the last month. My lawyer daughter and her work team have been taking part in a JusticeNet Walk for Justice to raise money to stop people slipping through gaps in the legal system. For reasons now lost in time, I offered to knit beanies for the team's walkers to wear on the walk. My original thought was to design a symbol and make the hats in various colours from my not insubstantial wool stash. I found a scrap of graph paper and played around with symbols, opting eventually for Scales of Justice.

I had worked about 5 rows of my prototype, when I fortunately realised that using 4 ply yarn was a bad idea. A more thoughtful search of my stash turned up 3x200gm balls of Bendigo 10 ply Aran - in cream. It immediately occurred to me that not only was this quicker and easier to knit, but if the team all had hats with this base creamy-white it would be unifying. I liked the idea of knitting white hats for justice.  The idea now had a life of its own and I was up and running. I found 3 contrasting colours in very solid 8ply for the emblem and set to work.

The first one off my needles was fine. I worked out, however, that I could shorten the scales a little to avoid them wandering into the crown. It took 3 more before I had what I thought was the best version. All were, however, visually clear and wearable.

Over the next 18 days I knitted 20. By then 17 had registered to join the walking team.  My original 600gm of Aran made 10 beanies, so I ordered another 600 from Bendigo, as well as 600 gm of 10 ply cotton, for those who might be allergic to wool. 

The Authorities (my granddaughters) said yes to pompoms, so I made 20 of those and attached them. 

Such intensive knitting was hard on my hands, especially the thumb joint on my left hand, which is largely stationary. Exercises and a brace helped, and I really enjoyed doing it. In the end it took 4-5 hours per beanie. I varied the size slightly. I began using 5mm needles with the wool, varied it up to 6.5 and ended using 5.5. I also varied the number of rows before beginning the pattern and in the crown reduction. There should be a fit for most people.

The 10 ply cotton is not as thick as the wool, and the contrasting colour shows through a little but it works well enough. Reducing needle size reduced the shadow, but required stitch adjustment.

I also made one in another colourway for a family member from a different workplace, walking as an individual.

In the end, 34 of the work team registered for the walk. I used all the Bendigo wool and cotton, and found, at the last ditch, a skein of cream alpaca yarn my brother had bought me back from Peru.

I couldn’t find my swift to wind it into a ball, so did it by hooking the skein over my arm. This ended in a tangle that took me the best part of two hours to sort out, but resulted, 10 minutes before my handover deadline, in the last 2 beanies!

As I wasn't sure that I'd have enough yarn to finish the last one, I began knitting it with a narrow band, planning to make it a headband if I ran out. There turned out to be plenty of yarn, so I finished the crown. The result was a skull cap, so  I added  to the band- as you can see!

Just as well I did. It was 6C when the team assembled at 7.30am this morning, so ears needed covering and the beanies were useful. 

The team raised over $14,000 - a remarkable achievement. They also won the best-dressed team prize!

I'm delighted to have helped along the way. This is the first time I have designed a knitting pattern. I enjoyed the design process and learned a lot. I intend to document the pattern for others to use. I'd like, however, the basic colour scales of justice on white/cream background to be reserved for this team. This year's participants will hopefully walk again next year in their beanies and I'm up to add extras for new recruits.

I also enjoyed the knitting. It was somewhat rushed: 36 beanies in 40 days is not a record I'm looking to break! While it wasn't a stash-buster, I did end up with about 700gm of wool less than I started. Interestingly, while my arthritis gave me trouble along the way, in the last 10 days it was well under control. Worth knowing.

It's been a privilege and a lot of fun to be involved. Many thanks to my family for encouragement and help.

And hats off to all the walkers!