A Good Hat

Last Sunday, I got a text from a friend that said “Do you like to knit with Brooklyn Tweed yarns? If so, do you want some?” The answer, of course, was YES and YES. She was finding it difficult to knit with this very woolen spun yarn and wanted to switch to something she could knit on autopilot (I think the way she tensions the yarn pulls it pretty taut, and the yarn was drifting apart on her). So I became the owner of FOUR skeins of Shelter in this lovely teal color (“Tartan”) and one skin of the bulky yarn, Quarry, in a deep purple (“Hematite”). 
Boy 1 immediately spotted the bag on the coffee table. (In his defense, it was a Chipotle bag – and you know teenage boys and their burritos.) I think he expected to see chips when he peeked inside. Instead, he found yarn – but he grabbed it and said “Ooooh, this would make a good hat! I love the color!”

This knitting mama knows how to seize the moment. We went to Ravelry and I showed him some hats I had favorited, including the 1898 Hat. This is a free pattern from the Seaman’s Church Institute, and I think it’s brilliant. The headband features curved earflaps and a doubled garter stitch fabric that is super squishy. The crown is a single layer of simple stockinette. I know slouchy hats are all the rage right now, and I’ve knit some for Boy 1 – but he prefers a beanie style hat because it doesn’t slip down over his eyes. He also yanks his hats down over his ears – this design eliminates the need for extra yanking. The hat is quick to work on a US 7 needle and came out perfectly!

You work the garter stitch part flat, with increases and decreases to make the curvy ear parts:

Next, you graft the edges together (see the provisional cast on at the beginning in dark purple yarn?). For instructions on how to graft in garter, I used this helpful video (which just appeared on the Mason Dixon Year of Techniques series last week – perfect timing). I should have switched to regular Kitchener stitch instructions when I got to the 3 stitches of stockinette in the middle – you can see here how a garter ridge runs right across it. Next time I’ll do better:

Then you fold it in half. The center ridge of the flat part becomes the bottom edge of the hat, which leaves you with two edges where the crown begins. You just pull yarn through those two edges with a crochet hook and then start knitting in the round to finish the hat in the normal way. So clever.

The crown decreases are in seven places, which I think has a very pleasing effect:

This hat was a joy to make, and the perfect companion when I was recovering from a bad cold (maybe even flu?) last week. Fingers crossed that he doesn’t lose it (the last hat was lost). But if he does, I’ll just make another one. This pattern is a keeper!