She's No Slouch!

I am more than a little bit obsessed with poking around ravelry and looking for new patterns to add to my queue. I have several friends with babies due this winter, so a lot of my time has been spent looking for a special blanket or sweater that would be something different. It'll be awhile before I make another Serenity or Tree of Life, especially since I have four babies to create for in as many months. I needed a little break from tiny knits, so I busted out a stashed skein of Lion Brand Hometown USA to make this fun hat , designed by Midnight Knitter, that I've been eyeing for some time. I pretty much never knit with acrylic anymore, but this one isn't bad at all, and the fun color makes up for a lot.

Every once in awhile I stumble upon a pattern and it just screams someone's name. I have a friend from high school who I've reconnected with via Facebook, and she's still just as sassy and stylish as she was in high school. I remember this grey beret she had that I borrowed once, for what is now reflected upon as an embarrassingly long time, but that's just one of many things in high school I look back on with a cringe, so we'll move on.

Photo from pattern page c. Missa Hills/Midnight Knitter. I have to admit that part of my love for this pattern is the delicious yellow coffee mug she's holding, and her meticulously painted nails. Pretty soon I'll start taking the time to stage photos for my creations...allegedly.

Now that I know I love the pattern, I'll try it in a chunky wool or cashmere to see if I can get it to drape a little more softly, but for now, it's made in acrylic so it's ease of care will hopefully increase it's number of wears. In reading through other people's comments on their project pages there were a lot of complaints about this hat design, in that the band was incredibly tight and there was not enough slouch. It's not a rasta hat, and it's meant to be worn back on your head instead of down around your ears, so that may be where the problems were. I think the biggest thing is that some people weren't using a super bulky yarn; I made it according to pattern and it fit my noggin with ease, and will also be able to be worn beanie style if you want to pull it down further. I did one more repeat of the 2 round pattern so it has a touch more flop, but that's the only change I made.

With a simple k2, yo, ssk on one round followed by a round of yo, ssk, k2, this chunky slouch cap is a fun look. It's also something that now that I have the basic recipe (number of stitches for the band, height of the body, I can change the stitch pattern in the body to make it my own. For now, look for this cap on SallyHP Knits' etsy shop!