A hat person?

Last weekend, I finished knitting my first hat.

It's supposed to be modeled after the hat Hermione wears at Godric's Hollow in DH: Part 1. I used this pattern, which was thankfully very simple. There's a bit of ribbing at the bottom, and then the body of the hat is a sort-of basketweave stitch. That part of the pattern was easy enough to memorize. The decreases stressed me out a bit, but mostly because I had to switch from my beloved bamboo needles to metal DPNs, and my stitches kept trying to slide off. :) You can read more project details here.

I cast on 12 extra stitches (120 in all) because I was afraid if I didn't, the hat would be too small. But apparently I didn't have to do that, because my yarn was pretty stretchy. The hat ended up being a little too big, which was the last thing I expected. The ribbing at the bottom isn't snug like I think it's supposed to be. But that's okay...now the hat can be worn slouchy (as shown below) or as it should be.

The Hermione way of wearing it:

I'm not quite sure if I'm a hat person or not. I went through a phase several years ago where I wore one, but haven't since. I've always been a bit envious of girls who have the confidence to wear a hat. :) I love the idea of wearing hats during the winter, so I think when the weather gets cooler I'll try to become a hat person.

You can see here how it's too big...that poof in the back?

{I spy one of my (several) white hairs in this picture. I'm twenty-one and have white hairs. But that's a topic for another post.}

I love the swirly shape on the very top. The top, the end of the hat, was something I was worried about, because you don't bind off. You just sort of end, and then thread the yarn through the stitches and knot it. Much easier than I expected.

Thanks to my mom for taking the outside photos again. Photo shoots with me are always awkward...a little something like this. As I'm heading outside in sticky, 95 degree Virginia heat wearing a wool hat: "I'm a lunatic. This is crazy." After she shows me the third or fourth picture in a row where I look as if I'm about to fall asleep: "Ew. Could you take another one, but not zoom in so close? Maybe it would be better if I don't even look at the camera." And after it's all over: "Thanks, Mar." {Now that I've managed to get my parents addicted to Lark Rise to Candleford, I've taken to calling them Mar and Par.}

I'll likely knit this hat again, but in a solid color. Probably purple, like Hermione's. But for now I've started my next knitting project. Here's a sneak peak at my progress so far. Ten points if you can name the movie it's inspired by {it's one of my favorites}. :)

Until next time,