This began as a project to recreate a hat for a friend, Kim—A much loved hat that has seen better days. The only request she had for the new hat was that I not make it with a wool yarn. Well. When I began working on my version, I didn't actually have the hat before me. So much for re-creation. I knew all I needed to know: (1) It had tassels. (2) It had a cable pattern. (3) It fit me. With that, I casted on and began.
I wasn't sure if this would fit an adult at first, but after blocking, I'm concerned that it won't stop stretching!
Pattern Original and available for download.
Finished Size About 9" wide and 7.5" tall.
Yarn Blue Sky Alpacas, Dyed Cotton color #619 (Tomato), 1 skein.
Needles US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 9 (5.5 mm).
Notions Cable needle, sewing needle, waste yarn, and stitch markers.
Gauge This was a measure-as-you-go project...
Yarn Notes
Blue Sky Alpacas's Dyed Cotton is amazingly soft and stretchy. And WARM.
I didn't realize that the color (#619) was alternately named 'Tomato'. Kim is allergic to tomatoes, but I hope she likes this hat!
Pattern Description
I used a tubular cast-on to begin the k1p1 ribbing on the smaller needles. After the ribbing I switched to the larger needles and incorporated a 6-stitch cabling pattern; for variety, I used both front and back cable methods.
I used the stitch markers, primarily, to separate the 6-stitch cables at each side of the hat because I would need to add tassels to those ends. I knit the body of the hat in the alternating cable pattern until it measured 7.5". The 6 end stitches on each side were then placed on waste yarn and the rest of the stitches divided between two needles for grafting.
To finish the hat, I used a a sewing needle and length of the yarn long enough for grafting, to: (1) Insert through the 6 stitches on one side of the hat (removing waste yarn) and pull it to gather the stitches together, as you would do to finish a hat at the crown. (2) Graft the center stitches from the two needles. (3) Repeat Step (1).
You may be able to see how the base of the tassel looks, here:
A shot of the grafting seam (I think it turned out nicely):
And of course, to finish the hat, I made two tassels and inserted their ends through the center of the gathered stitches (at the sides of the hat).
It was a quick project—Over the course of a couple days, I finished it in 2-3 hours. It wasn't until I finished my hat that I pulled out the other. Well, you can see the difference:
So, once again, I hope it fits.
