- Pattern: by Kim Hargreaves, from “Precious”
- Yarn: Valley Yarn Sheffield (merino/angora/silk) color 02, 168 yds
- Size/Needles/Gauge: Modified for 21″ head, 5.75 spi on US 7’s, 5’s for ribbing
- Time to knit: About 1 week in January 2011
This past winter was wicked cold outside and I was/am on a hat kick… plus snowy weather in late March does not exactly inspire to retire my hats anytime soon!
The pattern is fine, no errata, but honestly I think it’s overly big (tall). As written, the hat involves 2″ of ribbing, then 59 rows in the textured cable pattern, which at a row gauge of 7 per inch, yields a total hat height of about 10.5″. I love slouchy hats so I decided to go with it, but in the end, it was just too big. So I frogged down to the second cable crossing (row 23) and worked it as the first cable crossing with decreases (row 37). Then I finished the hat as written, so effectively I removed rows 23-37 or 2″ from the hat height. It’s not exactly a mod, but I knit this in the round as I personally would rather not have a seam up the back of my hat. To begin, I used the long tail tubular cast on for 2×2 rib, as shown here.
The yarn, Valley Yarn Sheffield, is one I’ve used before. As I like to try different yarns, this is basically an endorsement. The yarn is incredibly soft and fluffy, and knits up into a cozy, luxurious fabric. It does shed a bit and develop a fuzzy halo, but it’s nothing unexpected considering the 15% angora content. I adore the color, a very clear pale blue. It survived its frogging and reknitting, no worse for the wear.
I really love this hat, it’s feels like a warm hug around my head!
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