Hubby Hat

Hubby's hat is made! And I did it in one night! Of course, it is 12:30 a.m. but thanks to the love of knitting and Little Guy deciding sleep just isn't his thing at the moment Hubby's hat was made. It's out of Paton's Shetland Chunky (75% acrylic, 25% wool), two different skeins knitted together to make it even thicker than normal (only caused a little problem at the end because it was so thick and the double points weren't wanting to cooperate when there were only 10 stitches left), and on Addi Turbo #10 16" circulars.

It's a good, basic, masculine hat. The yarn is simple, soft, yet holds it's own. No frills, apart from the 1.5" ribbing. Everything else is stockinette and the decrease-star doesn't whirl out at every passer-by. Hubby put it on and wasn't sure about the way it looked but that was because of the shape of his head, not my knitting. :) It covers his ears nicely and he's looking forward to running in it, due to it actually being cold here in Louisiana!

The pattern is as follows:

(Keep in mind, Hubby has a big head: 23.5". My gauge was 3 stitches = 1" on #10 needles. Adjust where needed, smaller heads will only be around 20-22 in. around thus needing about 60-63 stitches cast on. Then, of course, there's the issue of being divisible by 4 for the ribbing, so I suggest 60 or 64 stitches cast on for S and M sizes. Markers are placed around every 11-12 stitches when it's time to decrease so hopefully you've had a little experience knitting hats and can finagle your way. If not, comment and I'll write clearer instructions.)

Hunky Hubby Hat

1. CO (cast-on using the double-strand/left-handed cast on) 68 stitches. Place marker to indicate beginning of round. Join in round by CO 1 extra stitch, slip to left needle, knit it and the original 1st stitch together, leading into #2 which is...
   
2. Knit 2-purl 2 in 2x2 ribbing all the way around (the knit 2 together is the 1st knit in the knit 2-purl 2 sequence). Do this for 1.5".
   
3. Knit 4" stockinette.
4. Place markers every 11-12 stitches (mine went 12, 11, 11, 12, 11, 11 in order to fit in the extra 2 stitches and keep the decrease balanced).
5. Round #1- Knit 2 stitches together before every marker; Round #2- Knit all stitches. Repeat these 2 rounds for 8 rounds (or 4 times each).
6. Do Round #1 for every round until 5-6 stitches remain (or you just can't stand working with so few stitches on the double points).
7. Tie off by cutting yarn, leaving enough to thread through remaining stitches. Pull as tight as you want (big hole or little hole at the top), pull remaining thread on inside of hat, knot or secure it however you like.
8. Weave in ends.

One more project down! How many more to go???