Classic Man's Hat

Ready for a break from purses and felting, I looked up a simple hat pattern and picked up a beautiful ball of navy yarn to match (I thought) Jason's coat. With a couple weeks until Christmas, I had planned on surprising him with a handmade hat. But the bummer about Columbia jackets is they last FOREVER. So after 10 years of wearing his navy coat, I had completely forgotten that we'd bought him a new bright orange one at the end of last winter.

Well, it would sort of match, I thought. Then I remembered that the man loses at least three hats every winter so my present could reach its dear end in just a few weeks.

I decided to transfer the gift to little Gavin who happens to have a navy coat, a birthday coming up, and is much less likely to lose a hat!

The hat pattern comes from "The Weekend Crafter Knitting: 20 Simple & Stylish Wearables for Beginners". Unfortunately for the book, it features the most awful sweater/shirt/vest/uniform in green with racing checkers on the front. Far, far from what most people would consider "stylish." See for yourself here.

But thankfully, I don't always judge a book by its cover.

Buried inside is the Classic Man's Hat, which has an easy checkered pattern and a beautiful (yet manly) swirl of decreases at the top of the hat. It flew off my needles in just a few days and as far as I can tell, is mistake free. Hopefully Gavin will like it.

And who knows, maybe I can find another classic hat pattern in such a "stylish" book.