Merge Hat

Pattern/Technique: Merge Hat by Emily Greene from Making: Intricate, size 17” long brim version

Modifications: none

Materials: 2 skeins Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok in Loon Lake

US2 & US3 16” circular knitting needles, US3 DPNs

New skills: Tubular cast on & transitioning to 2x2 ribbing

Lessons/Notes: The pattern recommended 3-5” negative ease, but the person I knit this for tends to stretch ribbed hats out while wearing them, so I chose a size that would give 7” negative ease. The final product fits them* well and the stretch really gives the merged ribs a chance to shine.

*and my 23” head ;)

I have a really hard time counting stitches in a tubular cast on, so next time I'll place a marker every 10 stitches to make my life easier. I also had a hard time figuring out if the cast on stitches were twisted, so I joined in the round after knitting my first row.

I accidentally repeated the 2x2 ribbing section one extra time (until row 25 instead of row 24 as specified), so I knit one less repeat of the next 4x4 ribbing section such that I'd have the same total number of rows before starting my decreases.

What I'd do differently: Tubular cast on requires a ton of close attention, and in the

Care: Hand wash, dry flat

Red Habitat Hat

Pattern/Technique: Habitat Hat by Brooklyn Tweed + folded band from Skiff Hat (watchcap version) by Brooklyn Tweed

Modifications: Knit tubular cast on from Skiff Watchcap. Knit lower brim 2.75”. Knit remainder of brim until piece measured 5.5”.

Switched to Habitat pattern for cablework. Knit chart A (shorter beginning section) then chart C (main hat body)

Materials: Held 2 strands of Brooklyn Tweed Loft in Amaranth, used 2 skeins total. I lost yarn chicken on the last round (40) of the cablework but luckily had a scrap ball left over from the last Skipp hat, so I spit grafted it and used about a half yard to knit the last SSK round and weave in ends.

New skills: n/a

Lessons: Knitting cables while holding 2 strands together seems to be trickier than knitting cables with a single strand of yarn. I think it might be because there’s less tension and more bulk?

What I'd do differently: if I'm knitting this again for myself I can definitely get away with only knitting 5” (or even 4.75”) on the brim length. There's a little bit of room at the crown but it doesn't look/feel weird at all.

Care: Hand wash, dry flat