Fetching-Inspired Hat

Okay, I finally finished my Fetching hat, which was more than a little bit ripped-off from Cheryl Niamath's pattern for Fetching fingerless gloves in the Summer 2006 knitty.

This should have been a super quick knit, but I ran into a few technical difficulties. Initially, I underestimated the size of my head. Frankly, it's amazing I don't tip over from the size of it. Then, my master plan for decreases at the top of the hat went a few rows too long and I ended up with a silly looking point at the top. What should have been a simple matter of ripping out the last 6 rows or so went terribly awry and I kept dropping stitches until I had pulled out way more than I had intended. I had to step away from it for a few days before I could fix my mistakes and move on.

But it's done now, and I'm pretty pleased with it.

The specs: This was knit on US size 6 double pointed needles and took just shy of a full skein of Rowan Calmer (in calmer). It is pretty light and stretchy and should be good for wearing to work or other short trips where you don't want hat hair but need to keep your ears warm. Extensive snow shoveling or other arctic adventures will call for a warmer hat.

The pattern: For a large women's hat that is roughly the size of an average men's hat (using the same gauge as for the gloves), cast on 120 stitches. Follow the pattern for Fetching gloves through the third cable round (only you should have 24 ribs instead of 9). Continue in 4x1 ribbing until hat measures 5.5 - 6 inches from cast on edge (depending on how ginormous your head is relative to mine or how far you like to pull your hat down around your ears).

First decrease:
Row 1: K4 P1 K4 P1 around (120 stitches - 24 ribs)
Row 2: K2 SSK K2TOG K3 P1 around
Row 3: K7 P1 around (96 stitches)
Row 4: K2 SL1 K2TOG PSSO K2 P1 around
Row 5: K5 P1 around (72 stitches)
Row 6: K1 K2TOG K2 P1 around
Row 7: K4 P1 around (60 stitches - 12 ribs)

Second decrease:
Repeat Rows 2-7 from first decrease (30 stitches - 6 ribs)

Third decrease:
Row 1: (K2 SSK K2TOG K3 P1) 3 times (24 stitches)
Row 2: (K2 SL1 K2TOG PSSO K3 P1) 3 times (21 stitches)
Row 3: (SL1 K2TOG PSSO SL1 K2TOG PSSO P1) 3 times (9 stitches)

Don't bind off. Use a needle to weave yarn through all of the loops and pull closed.

That's it. Hopefully the top looks more or less on purpose. I still have visions of making a pair of mittens to match, but we aren't there yet.

If you try this, or you have a better plan for the decreases, or I completely screwed up the math, let me know. Whatever you do, I hope your ears stay warm.