FO: Sockhead hat

I showed you this one a few weeks ago, and I think this might be the longest it's ever taken me to knit a hat (at least, the most time actually spent knitting a hat - hats that got abandoned for many months probably technically took longer). It took me a little over three weeks, and it feels like the ribbing took most of that time; it took forever! Once I was onto the stocking stitch it was much faster.

Brim down

This hat is really straightforward - lots of 2x2 rib, lots of stocking stitch in the round, a few decrease rounds, fasten off and you're done. The project was excellent for working on whilst watching TV, and for carrying round in my bag and knitting the odd row here and there. But being easy didn't mean it wasn't interesting. I love the yarn (Devon Sun Yarns Dazzler). I don't think I can say that enough. The colours are beautiful, and there's even a little bit of sparkle (just a tiny bit; enough to catch the light, not quite enough to appear in photos). I really enjoyed seeing what happened next with it. They hat started off with pretty spirals that got closer and closer together, then spread out again. There is one chevron in the hat, right up in the crown. I was a little concerned that the yarn might turn into crazy chevrons all over the place, but it was actually pretty controlled. I really enjoyed knitting the yarn to see what would happen next.

 

Super slouchy

I mentioned when I showed you this as a work in progress that I wasn't sure it would fit, but thankfully it does. If I knitted it again I'd add an additional 8 stitches on top of the 8 I already added, but more so the decreases at the top were perfect rather than specifically to improve the fit. I really like how this hat fits: with the brim down it is super-slouchy and really shows off the yarn, and it's easy to make the hat a bit less slouchy by folding the brim back on itself (which has the added advantage of keeping your ears cosy). I have a feeling I'll be making more of these, and I might use the measurements to make some slightly quicker DK weight versions in the future.

 

Brim up

Obviously I have finished this hat just in time for spring, so it probably won't get much wear before the autumn, but there is some hope - I keep hearing people predicting snow over Easter, and just this once, that sounds like a good idea!

 

A bit less slouchy

If you want to knit your own, the pattern is Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure.