First Hat

I asked Dad what I could knit him for Christmas. He doesn’t do scarves. If he wears gloves, they’re heavy leather work gloves. He’s very brand loyal to his socks (gold toe fluffies). He doesn’t normally wear hats either, but he will around the farm, down at the barn or out in the woods splitting logs. So he requested one in hunter orange.

I bought a Caron one pound skein of bright orange. Then realized that it was worsted weight, so I went looking for a pattern. I found a simple rolled brim hat (#4) in Fashionable Projects for the New Knitter by Alison Barlow. Just knit stitch in the round with some decreases for the crown. This was my first attempt at knitting in the round. Being nervous, I headed for Paula’s. She linked the first round together for me, and then watched while I knit several rounds. Six inches of in the round knitting later, I switched to double pointed needles to start the decreases. Another first for me, and I failed at doing it gracefully – I split things up very unevenly. Between that and being unsure how to knit two stitches together from different needles, the very top of the hat is a bit squiggly. But all told, a success! Here it is, modeled on my stuffed owl.

Except … when I tried it on, it looks decent but doesn’t come down to my ears – half the point to Dad wearing a hat. Having bought the one pound skein, I still have plenty of yarn left. So I’ve started on a new hat. I plan on knitting at least nine inches before starting the decreases this time, that should be enough to bring it over my ears.
I’ve developed a new obsession that is actually helping my knitting quite a bit. Tim Minchin. Winter brings out the night owl in me. I’ve had the head phones in the computer watching Tim Minchin videos late into the night while doing lots of knitting. I believe I will get the second hat done in time for Christmas.

White Wine in the Sun, Tim Minchin’s Christmas song: