My dad is a huge fan of DC and Marvel heroes, but Wolverine is his all-time favourite. Maybe it’s because he’s Canadian, maybe it’s because he has badass Adamantium claws that come out of his skin — but I think it’s because, just like my dad, Wolverine can’t be taken down very easily.
I’ve written before about my parents’ past critical illnesses, and now it’s rearing its ugly head once more. Dad’s had a tough go of things these past eight months — he had a brain bleed in July from his blood thinners and needed a craniotomy, then in December he was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoma (PTLD).
PTLD is an extremely rare form of cancer, occurring in 2-4% of transplant recipients, and typically within the first five years post-transplant (often due to their weakened immune systems from the anti-rejection drugs necessary for organ transplant). It’s even rarer to pop up in transplant patients 16 years on like my dad.
When I learned that Dad was going to start chemotherapy, I decided he needed a hat. I took to the Internet to look for Wolverine-inspired patterns, and the options were slim. So I made one up instead!
I used Chart Minder to create a knitting chart from a picture of Wolverine’s iconic mask I found online. Luckily, I already had most of the colours I needed in my stash: a nice yellow, navy blue, and black for the outline. I picked up some white and brownish-yellow yarn from my local knitting store, Blackbird Knitting and Needlework.
At first, I thought it’d be easiest to knit the hat in the round using the Fair Isle technique. However, it ended up being a big mess. The floats inside the hat made it too tight and lumpy, despite my best efforts. So I ripped out my stitches when I was more than halfway done, and started over. This time knitting flat and using Intarsia.
I prefer Intarsia to Fair Isle because it’s easier to manage my tension, especially when there are multiple colours in a row. The hat turned out larger than expected, so I wove a strand of elastic thread through the ribbing section to cinch it up.
It’s been a surreal and often unsettling experience for our family to have the saga of rare illnesses resume after so many years, but I am radically optimistic that everything will be okay in the end.
Until that point, my dad can don the mask of his favourite sideburned superhero.
Awwww, what a great project in honour of your Dad! Your thoughtfulness will be loved by him <3
What an awesome chapeau!! Your mom sent out pictures of him being Wolverine. I will try to send the pictures to you and Deb. You have, once again, outdone yourself, baby girl.