If you were wondering if I only knit hats as gifts, you’d probably be right. Sometimes I knit other things if there are special requests, but hats are one of those things that I just love knitting. They’re just so fast and portable, and you can get creative with them without much effort. The day before Christmas eve, I was finishing up the last of my Christmas knits for my family and feeling a bit sad that I was out of quick, portable knits and would have to lug around a sweater project if I wanted something to work on at holiday parties. As I was thinking that, my roommate wandered through the living room and stopped to admire some yarn I had left out. That’s when I realized that I should knit her something! She always has nice things to say about my knits and yarn, but she also knows that it’s my job, so she has never asked me to make her anything. That made me want to knit her a quick, belated, Christmas present, and she was really excited when I asked her if she’d like a hat.
When I knit for someone else, I usually ask what color and style they’d like. I rarely knit surprises because my non-work knitting time is very precious to me, and if I take the time to knit someone a gift, I want it to be something they’ll really wear. We decided on a grey, slouchy beanie with the design details left up to me. I wanted to do a knit-purl textured pattern, and at first I thought I’d used chevrons. I was at the movies working on this, and I got halfway through the first set of chevrons when I decided I wasn’t really loving them. They seemed a bit dated or over-done, so I switched them out for triangles. Not exactly cutting edge but it was an easy swap. I’m glad I made that decision because the rhythm of the triangles made for a very enjoyable knit.
I used Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio worsted on 5 mm needles for the hat. I really wanted to use a superwash yarn so the hat would be easy to care for, and I happened to have this beautiful grey in my stash. I originally bought the yarn just to swatch with so I could plan other projects, but the skeins have a lot of yardage so I was able to knit this hat and have plenty of yarn for swatches.
The yarn has good drape so the hat looks great when it’s worn slouchy, and it’s just the right length so it can also be worn cuffed. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. I might have to knit one for myself!
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