my ears are so happy

I am now the proud owner of the perfect winter hat. Casey was kind enough to take me up on the hat for art swap and I couldn't be more thrilled. And holly cow, was she fast! We e-mailed a bit trying to decide on the perfect yarn and color blue and ended up deciding ivory was the best choice in Debbie Bliss 100% merino wool which is lovely and soft and showcases the stitch pattern so well. Look at how similar it looks to the hat I posted! Incredible. She seems to have a bit of pom-pom insecurities, but I love the pom-pom, and don't know what she is talking about.
 

on my head keeping my ears toasty. . .

The generous, very funny, and talented Casey gave me the pattern to post. She said it was a bit by the seat of her pants. I haven't tried it yet, but I think it makes sense. if you have questions, just post a comment and Casey and I can help you (I may not be much help) Thank so much Casey! **and I know I do have a pretty small head. Pete's is even smaller and the doctors have really noticed the girls tiny heads. hmmm.

Amy's Hat

Materials:

2 balls Debbie Bliss merino aran (100% merino wool, color 101, 78m/50g, 24 rows and 18 sts to 10cm) Note: manufacturer recommends 5mm/US 8 needles. I used 5.5 mm as the pattern stitch is dense. I do not know what my gauge was but I believe it was 6 st/inch.

Pattern Stitch:

Hat is knit flat (because I could not figure out how to make the pattern stitch work in the round!), using the plaited basket stitch from Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Requires an odd number of stitches.

 
Row 1 (right side): K2 * insert needle from back to front between first and second stitches on the left-hand needle, knit the second stitch, then knit the first stitch, then slip both stitches from the needle together; repeat from *, end K1

 

Row 2: P2, *skip next stitch and purl the second stitch, then purl the skipped stitch, then slip both stitches from the needle together; repeat from *, end P1

 

The hat:

I made the ear flaps first, starting by casting on three stitches then increasing two (on each ear flap) on each knit row. I made them at the same time, using both balls of yarn, mainly because I didn't know what I was doing and knew I wouldn't be able to repeat it. I increased every other row until I had 19 stitches for each ear flap, which was conveniently almost 3 inches long (had it not been, I would have ripped it out and increased every third or fourth row). The flaps were knit in the pattern stitch as best as I could accommodate the increases. Next I did something stupid: I tried to use a cable cast-on to cast on the body of the hat while the ear flaps were still on the needles. I probably should have cast-off both flaps, then cast on the body of the hat and picked up stitches along the top of each. But, whatever, it mostly worked. I picked up stitches like this:

 

CO 21---[PU 19 ear flap]---CO 42---[PU 19 ear flap]---CO 22

 

That totaled 123 stitches, which worked for me because I like a snug hat (123 stitches at 6 st/inch (which I am pretty sure was my gauge) is just under 21 inches—Amy told me her head was 23" (and I tried not to dwell for too long on how gigantic my melon is by compare), so I figured around 21 inches was good, given the stretch of the wool and the flexibility I found in my pattern swatch).

 

So, then I knit the hat flat in the pattern stitch for about six inches or so. The cast-off was another adventure, since I wanted to try to keep the decreases in the pattern stitch as best as I could. So I did two K2tog on the last row before the decreases, to get down to 121 stitches (I figured I needed an odd number for the pattern stitch, but that was very close to 120, which is divisible by six). Then, I did K1, then *K4, K2tog and repeated from the * around. I did a normal purl row (no deceases) but had to fudge a little to get into the pattern stitch ( i.e. I think I started with one purl stitch instead of two or something). On the next knit row, I did K1, *K3, Ktog, etc. I went on in this vein until I was just doing K2togs, and had about 10 left. I cut the yarn, threaded it through, tied it off, etc. I made the braids, a (lousy) pompom, and finished it up with a study mattress seam. I blocked the bottom edges of the hat, to keep them from curling up.

Comments

[Lili]

Wow!

Thank you so much for sharing your pattern with us! it looks lovely. the chicago winds are making my ears cold too!

thanks!

[melissa]

delurking to say thank you so much for this pattern- it's summer here in NZ but I've been looking for a hat pattern like that for ages. I'll definitely knit in in autumn! I especially like that it's knitted flat- I'm useless with circs...

[anja]

Not only your ears, but your eyes should be happy too! The hat is lovely, I bow to Casey's seat-of-pants abilities. This is the way knitting patterns should be made - someone just going ahead and doing it, the rest of us watching excitedly.

[Laura]

Oh what a beautiful job she did! Love the stitch pattern and it looks like she picked the perfect yarn!! Lucky you and lucky her and lucky us that y'all are sharing the pattern. Thanks. :)

[hannah]

that basket weave stitch is so great, as is the whole hat. so glad your ears are happy and totally amazed at casey's abilities! thanks for sharing the pattern.

[Sharon]

Thanks so much to both of you for posting the hat pattern. It's much nicer than the original! Perfect timing for me as my 9 yr old daughter saw a similar hat and wants me to knit one for her. Now I don't have to search for the perfect pattern. Here it is!

Sharon

[rose]

Thanks for the pattern - I love that stitch! I wish I had that "tiny head" problem, my family runs in the other direction.

[Grammie]

The hat is just perfect!

[joleen]

i don't know what she's talking about either- that's a gorgeous hat! ♥

[Krista]

Nice. I've never seen a hat in that stitch before. I like!

[Dawn]

ooooooooo I love that hat! Now if I only knew how to knit! :o(

[Kristy]

Oh it is so beautiful. I have been on a hat jag lately and I think I am going to have to add this one to my ambitions. I am in awe of its patterny goodness. So great!!! Thank you for sharing!

[tanya]

I can just hear you saying "I'm so pretty, Oh so pretty and witty ..." hehehe Look great on! Thank you Casey for the pattern!

[jess]

stunning hat - great pattern!

[Casey]

Amy,
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you have the nicest readers in the internet, but wow--you have the nicest readers on the internet! Thanks for all your kind words about the hat. That plaited basket weave stitch is a winner in my book. It is tight but not stiff, it is fun but easy to knit (just use a yarn with some stretch to it, otherwise the knit rows are miserable), and it is pretty. Have fun!

Casey

[hillary]

very cute! If I hadn't hurled my knitting across the room never to be picked up again last night I'd definitely give this pattern a shot!

[*jenny]

how cute! that is indeed the perfect winter hat. gee i wish i could knit, but the instructions look like a foreign language to me...

someday!

[di]

It's lovely! great texture- thanks Casey and Amy!

[laura r.]

yeah cayce, yeah amy!
yeah for suverting the capitalistic culture!

[Claire]

thanks for sharing this pattern, it's a beautiful hat. I haven't seen that stitch before, I think I'll try it!