Ply and Burl

Remember this hat from ages ago?

Well, here’s the pattern, finally!

Yarn: One skein Noro Kureyon, pick your colorway
Needles: US 7 DPs or Circular (I love knitting on two circulars, more on that later.)
Gauge: 16 to 17 sts per 4″
Size: Men’s hat, made for 22 to 23″ head circumference.

Notes:

This hat is meant to fit snugly on a man’s head, so it actually fits quite comfortably on a woman’s head too. If you wanted to adapt it for a gal, I’d suggest nixing an inch from the circumference for a tighter hat, or just keeping it the same for a fitting but not-too-snug hat, and reducing the stockinette section by 1 to 1.5″. (I did that on my first try, and the hat fit me well, but I had to rip out because it was for the boy!)

Pattern:

Cast on 88 sts.

Work, in the round, 2×2 ribbing for about 1″.

Work in stockinette for 4.5″. In last row, place marker every 11 sts.

Switch to the following pattern until 5 sts remain between markers:
Rnd 1: k2tog before each marker (reducing 11 sts in total)
Rnd 2: Knit.

When five sts remain between markers, k2tog before each marker on every row until 1 st remains between markers.

Remove markers, thread yarn through remaining sts, cinch up, tie or graft off and voila!

The birthday kureyon hat is finished and has been giving my boy hat head for days! (Accompanied by my fine chalk art, which has been on the board since August!)

(Boy size pattern write up to follow.)

All that talking about the inimitable Kureyon hat got me itching to make another. Which was fortunate, for at the precise moment I felt the yen, my sweetie placed an order for one. I’m making up the pattern as I go, and surprisingly, it’s working out perfectly. Perhaps I’ll post it once I’m done. In the meantime, behold: the start of my modeling career! I’m wearing the almost finished hat.

Certain things in this world have universal appeal; in my humble observation, they include: puppies, babies, girls in bikinis, ice cream, chocolate, and Noro Kureyon hats.

What is it about this old hat? I’ve been wearing it forever — I can’t even remember when I made it, but it is at least six years old, possible nine. The yarn has started to felt, there’s a little hole on the side, an end has come unwoven and pokes out the bottom, the top is puckered due to my off-the-cuff pattern design, the roll at the brim has come unrolled, and the hat’s gotten loose all over.

Yet every time I take out this hat, I get scads of compliments. Even I’m under its spell — I’ve only made two other hats for myself during those years, both of them more becoming than the Kureyon hat, but they never got as much head time. Clearly, you can deduce from my nomenclature, I think it’s due to the yarn; that lovely, rainbow, speckled, earthy yarn.

Yesterday, I had a brief moment where I thought I’d lost this hat, and I secretly had that feeling you get right before you cry. Luckily, I found it just moments later, and no tears were shed. But it made me pause to admire the irresistible magnetism of my little hat, such a grand enchantress of headwear!

Do you have an object you’ve knit like this? Perennial friend you wear year after year? Widely admired despite being a little old and rough around the edges?