Pattern from Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter by Alison Hansel
Knit from Plymouth Yarn’s Dreambaby DK in color # 0136. Knit on a US size 4 circular, in the round.
Mods: I cast on 48 stitches on my size 4 needle, although the pattern calls for 60 stitches on a size 8, so the final hat would be much smaller than the smallest size on the pattern. Otherwise, the newborn boy for whom it is intended would not be able to wear it while still a newborn. As I am naturally a “loose” knitter, I would have had to down to a size 6 just to make the author’s written gauge, so I went down another two to get the desired size. Also the pattern calls for worsted-weight yarn and I used DK.Oh, and I didn’t do the first 3 rows as reverse stockinette. Instead, I did 4 rows in stockinette, to encourage the hat brim to roll out, as stockinette is prone to do.
Of course, to make the hat fit in height also, I started the crown decreases after about 3 inches, instead of the 4 inches in the pattern. I also didn’t make the “stem” on top of the hat, instead continuing the decrease until I had 8 stitches on the needles and then pulling it tight with the tail of the yarn to end it smoothly on top. The little girl who’s modeling the hat in the book has it perched on the top of her head, with it barely reaching the tops of her ears, but I want it to fit the whole head, so I made it taller (proportionally) than in the pattern. (finished 11/7)
With Smut!
