a punch of color {in a fun hat}

This was my car craft on our return trip from Kentucky this past weekend.  I knitted this for about 5 of the 6 hours it took to drive back home and then another 2-3 hours to finish.  The problem is . . . I'm not sure I'm finished.

The pattern for this Capucine Hat as the creator calls it is available for free on Ravelry.  This is a fun and funky pattern that breaks out of the traditional circular shape of other hats.  The pattern calls for tassels to hang from the ear flaps as well as the top cap, but my 6-year-old boy insists that anything hanging from a hat screams girl.  Pom-poms on the top of a hat are acceptable but braids, tassels, or pom-poms hanging from the sides not gender-neutral.

But now I'm thinking why even make this pattern if you're going to skip such exciting embellishments?  It's just an oddly shaped hat without all the fun stuff, so now I just have to decide if I want to add some braids and a pom-pom and gift it to someone special or modify it in some other way to make it work for the intended child.

I also have to say how much I love these colors together!  The black really makes the red and blue pop.  I was aiming for boy colors but I'm not sure I hit the mark; my 3-year-old tells me he likes it, but "it's kinda girl."

Pattern Modifications:

• worsted weight yarn
• size US 8 circular & double-pointed needles
• slip first stitch of each row for a neater finish
• cast on in contrasting color then switch to main color
• knit 2x2 rib for 2.25 inches
• knit garter for 3 inches, decrease 1 stitch every other row until 72 stitches are left
• join in the round before last row
• switch to main color, knit stockinette for 1.75 inches
• decrease by 8's every other row until 8 stitches remain

I took these modifications from some other knitters on Ravelry.  Since I used worsted weight yarn, my hat fits a child but the pattern calls calls for bulky and larger needles for an adult size.

 



If you are really observant, you will notice that the hat is inside out in most of these photos.  I couldn't tell with the black yarn when I put it on him, and that probably means that most other people won't be able to tell either.  That makes this hat extra special because now I can call it REVERSIBLE!