A Tale of Two Hats

The winter cardigan that I made was screaming out for a hat.  I had plenty of wool left over and the time and energy, so I cast on and started ribbing.

All seemed to be going well.  I knitted the brim, then worked a band of purple inside the brim as a way of saving on the random grey yarn. 

Because I was using a circular needle I was able to stretch the knitting to check for fit.  Every now and then I would have a few minutes in front of the mirror, with balls of wool trailing and the knitting needle waving around like a pair of antennae, wrapping the knitting around my head.

Then I made an interesting discovery.  Not being a fan of patterns, I thought I had made a fair estimate of how many stitches I needed.  I was woefully adrift.

The solution, I thought, was easy.  I picked up stitches at the edge of the rib and started knitting in the other direction until I thought it was wide enough, and then cast off.  It still wasn't right, so then I had to do the same thing all over again, picking up stitches from the other side of the rib.  

This meant that for the top, I had to pick up yet more stitches from the edge of the additional stitching before decreasing for the crown.

After all the improvisation, the hat turned out pretty well, so it deserved a flower.

Then I tried it on.  My husband, ever the diplomat, didn't say much.  My daughter was more forthcoming and said it looked like a tea cosy, especially with the flower, it was just too barmy.  My answer was I don't care how nuts I looked, I want a warm head.  

I had to admit defeat.  It was too small, the brim didn't cover my ears properly, and it kept slipping up to the top of my head.

Nice hat, wrong head.  I needed to find the right head. 

At New Year I took it with me when we went to visit my brother.  I insisted my sister in law, Mary Ann, who has a dainty little head, try it on.  Suddenly the hat looked a proper jaunty number on her, 1930s home made chic.  She chose a button from her mother's button box, and now the hat is hers. 

Meanwhile, I had already cast on a frighteningly large number of stitches and was working on hat 2.  Here it is, complete with deeper brim...

... no extra sections to pad out the rib, a satisfying halo effect at the crown...

... and just to wind my daughter up, two flowers.

This is the hat that keeps my ears warm.  I love it.

Linking up to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.