bluebird on my head

I wanted another hat. This desire fell well outside my recent hat obsession (no really, it did!), because this was a specific hat-want. I wanted a lightweight-but-not-too-light hat, for springtime birding and dog-walking.

I have several much-loved hats in my collection, but all of them are designed for cold weather. This hat would be for chilly weather, transitional weather, the kind of weather where you can go without a coat if you wear the right sort of hat.

I wanted it to sit lightly on my head--no squeezing--to minimize sweating and to avoid smooshing my hair, because this hat is likely to be taken off as the day warms up. An earflap hat seemed the perfect solution. Earflaps warm the ears without having to pull the hat way way down on the forehead, and the hat can fit loosely because the flaps and strings act as counterweight, employing gravity (rather than squeezing) to hold it on the head.  Yes! Light but not too light--probably sport weight. (Fingering weight would be too light.) And cute! It had to be cute as well as functional.  Cables seemed the obvious choice, since colorwork with its double layers would be too warm, and lace has holes, which I've always thought a poor choice for a hat.

So:
Sport weight (which I achieved by holding heavy lace weight double).
Earflaps (with nice long strings ending in pompoms, for even more counterweight).
Cables (really cool organic-looking cables, with even more mini-cables worked into the ribbing).
Turquoise (this wasn't an official criterion, but I only ever seem to wear the turquoise hats).

And this is the hat!---------------->

The pattern is Into Trees by Hanna Maciejewska. I had to make some modifications, of course, because I can't leave a pattern alone loved the look of the hat but not the intended tight fit. The pattern is written with 3 1/2 inches of negative ease, and I just didn't want a hat that squeezy (but I must call down many, many blessings on this designer for including that information in her pattern description!). I simply knitted one size larger than I needed, opened up the gauge just slightly, and I had the perfect hat! I also made it shorter than the pattern, because I didn't want a slouchy top to pull it backwards off my head.


The yarn is Posh Yarn Lucia Heavy Lace, held double to approximate sport weight. Posh Yarn is fabulous luxury yarn from indie dyers Dee and Tony Bamford. Every color is one of a kind, the bases are superb, and it's hard not to buy them all. This color is called Bluebird.
If you would like to know more about the pompoms (c'mon, you know you do!), you may read about them in their very own post.

I love this hat!!!  I've already worn it three times.