A useful hat making process

Edith is sporting a hat marking my accessory season finale. I enjoy the practice of short knits. They are great opportunities to try out a yarn and enrich the gifting stash. However it is now fairisle jumper time for me. A change is as good as a rest, my Aunt Joan used to say.

We stocked King Cole Big Value Chunky this year. The price point encouraged us to stock the full colour range. It is cheerful yarn, easy to care for and suitable for childrens wear.

Cast on 72 stitches and knit 2 by 2 rib in the round for 24 cm.
Narrow for the crown; Knit 2, Purl 2 together, around.
Work 3 more rounds on the stitches as they appear (Knit 2, Purl 1).
Next narrowing; Knit 2 together, Purl for a round, work 3 more rounds on the stitches as they appear. Final narrow; Knit 2 together all around, knit one round.
Clip the yarn about 12 cm long and thread through the stitches, draw tightly together.
Tidy up the cast on edge and add a pompom.

So by using a different yarn (weight) and making an educated guess about the number of stitches to use, a ribbed hat is straighforward to accomplish. Next season I am going to work the knit ribs as a twisted stitch. That is, knit the second stitch first and the first stitch second, every 4th round, just for a change.

Speaking of pompom's, as I finished this hat, the loyal opposition suggested using a contrasting colour, hmmm. Great idea! Out comes my trusty Clover pompom maker.

He is absolutely right, the matching blue ones look nice.

These ones change the look completely. What do you think?

Pom pom festival!