Love it or Leaf it

A finished project...and pictures to boot!

Pulling myself together is a little tough these days, but it should get easier now that I have a matching set to wear. Ok, I do have to wait for some cooler weather, but I am ready!

With all the knitting I got done at the game last week, the hat was ready to be Kitchenered together. I sat down to do that on Monday and then got the hat blocking on a large dinner plate.

It struck me that it sat a little looser than I imagined it would on the plate. Although I measured (roughly) and thought I was (pretty) close to what the pattern called for, I think my hat came out a little long. Not so long that I'm going to undo it though!

I think the "cap" that I knit top down came out nicely:

As I said, I like a little Icord tab on a beret/tam. (Btw, you can still have an Icord if you're knitting up from the brim but I just think they're such an elegant way to start--perfect for knitting top down.)

I've experimented in front of a mirror with several ways of wearing such a slouchy hat--to the side, to the back, pulled down low--and I'm not sure it's the best suited hat for me, but I'm not worried about it.

I still like it and I really like that it makes a set with my gloves.

One more detail...I started the brim with a tubular (or Turkish) cast on around a scrap piece of yarn. When I was ready to pull it out, I tied a stretchy cord that I have for beading to the end and pulled it though. As the scrap yarn came out, the elastic cord was pulled through.

If you look closely, you can see the "clear" stretchy band showing.

Project Stats
Started: 25 Aug '11
Finished: 5 Sep '11
Pattern: (Love It,) Leaf It Beret by Melissa LaBarre ($2.99)
Materials: James C Brett Pure Merino in PM16 Green, 1.5 skeins (gift)
When the hat was finished and I had a good sense of the size it needed to be, I tied the two ends together and now have a nice firm but stretchy edge to my ribbing. The tubular cast on makes the perfect casing. The elastic really makes a difference with how well the hat stays on.

Love it or leaf it? I'll take both, please.

And that's the end of a very long saga. I started a hat to match these gloves last January, got stuck when I ran out of yarn, considered redoing the pattern until I saw this new one. Had another adventure with this pattern as I ended up ripping out the first go and casting on 20 fewer stitches. But then smooth sailing. Phew! Let's hope for a "happily ever after ending" now.