Just finished knitting my first hat!!
I made the two braids different to see which one I like better. Gonna wear it for a while before I decide. Probably also going to make the tassel shorter.
I was hoping the weight of the braids would keep the earflaps from curling up, but they're still curling. Maybe after it's washed they'll relax a bit.
Yarn is Bernat Forever Fleece in Coal, Rose Hip and Patchouli. Pattern is Hecla by Brenda York, with an altered stitch count and decrease rate because I'm using chubbier yarn and I wanted a pointier hat. I also used YO increases in the first row of the earflaps to give myself holes to put the braids through. Not sure that was necessary. Instead of M1s, I used lifted purl increases because I find them prettier in this context.
Right now because I have just finished making it, I'm hyper-aware of everything that's wrong with it, but it's VERY soft, and very warm, and I love the colours, and it's pretty damn good for a first hat.
I'm going to make another one (in different colours) for my daughter for Christmas, and I'm thinking of going up a needle size. This is pretty snug and the fabric is a bit stiffer than I'd like. I'll see after it's washed. I might also make the earflaps a bit bigger.
The decreases are k2togs. I find that to keep them from creating a big oversized stitch, I have to work them on the very tips of my needles. Which was very difficult with the very slippery, fairly blunt Knitter's Pride Nova Platinas I was using, which were otherwise perfect for this project because the yarn (100% polyester, almost a roving) is quite grippy and splitty. Would it be ridiculous to switch to my Knit Picks Sunstruck tips (wood, extremely pointy, long tapers) just for the decrease rounds?
