LOTR Knits: Eryn Harn

My friends Anna and Justin are casually strolling through the Woodland Realm in their Eryn Harn — that's Sindarian for woodland helmet. This tilted toque is more Elvish play wear than it is combat regalia. This hat is a birthday present that I made for my friend Matty Kuhn. I guess that make this a man's hat, but Anna thinks otherwise.

I used two yarns: a variegated sepia, and a dark worsted chocolate. It gives this hat a rustic quality as if it were made from old tree bark. This is a great project for left over yarn when accurate yardage is not as important.

The garter stitch has a humble home-spun feel, and it's very elastic, but I don't use it very often in my design work. The garter stitch makes a very thick, spongy fabric — which makes this hat very warm and snug.

I designed this cap entirely in short row, knitting flat from left to right — as opposed to "top-down." Eryn Harn is based on three tapered leaf shapes flanked by small gussets.

 That's Samwise Gamgee in the background standing by the "You Are Here" sign in the Giladrial lobby.

Some sewing is required — the two sides are joined at the back.

I'm not very big on embellishments. I finished the edge with a four-stitch I-cord for stability and trimmed it with a black crab stitch border. A small I-cord loop marks the back.

This hat was inspired the classic representation of the Loatian Buddha. What a happy fellow, no?

Initially I worked on each leaf-shaped panels separately and pieced them together like a soft jigsaw puzzle.

The gussets (marked in orange) are actually of increased and decreased sections

This combination of short row shapes and gussets makes the hat tilt back and curve softly towards the front.