November 2011 hat #1 - Softly Swedish

How is everyone coming along on their happiest hats? I'm looking forward to seeing what my needle friends come up with (really I'm just looking for some new design ideas to borrow). That's my favorite thing about being on Ravelry, seeing how everyone adapts a pattern with their choice of color and/or yarn. I have so many hats in my favorites that I'm set for several years with new patterns.

Speaking of which, my favorite hat designer, Susan B. Anderson, came out with a new pattern that I just had to try. Beluga and Firefly is available as a free pdf download on the Spud and Chloe website. For my version I used Berroco Comfort in Chambray with the stripes in Lidfors, (This is how I came up with the name for the hat, since Lidfors is a Swedish name). I used 16" size 7 circular needle and 1 set of size 7 dpn. Stitches used are knit, purl, and K2tog (although you also need to know how to make a stitch and how to slip a stitch). The bumpy stripe is created over a couple of rows and is written out in the pattern in easy to follow steps.