Can you guess who has a fondness for vintage clothing? Yeah, that would be me.

I knit this from a pattern, the Side Slip Cloche from Boutique Knits. (The hat is featured on the cover of the book if you click the link.)

I used some yarn I had in my stash (2 skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Painted Desert) and the flower embellishment was found in a sale bin at Michael’s on Friday night. All told, the supplies for this hat cost $6.

It was a rockin’ quick knit. I started the band on Friday night, getting as far as joining the two ruffles. While watching a couple movies Saturday morning (Netflix catch up day) I finished the band and started picking up stitches for the crown. Over the course of a couple hours on Saturday, over conversation with friends, I picked up all the stiches and got about an inch into the crown. Sunday, I finished it all off while watching tv, doing laundry and tidying up. (Why no, I did not block the band as the patter suggests. Does this make me a bad knitter?)

The pattern was fairly easy to follow. The only bit I had trouble with was understanding exactly where to start picking up stitches from the band. For some reason the way it was described in the pattern wasn’t exacly clear to me. The pattern notes say the hat is meant to be worn with the ruffles facing forward. I prefer it the other way (as you can see in the photo). I though it was funny that the cover of Boutique Knits also has the model wearing the hat ‘backward’.

Considering the cost and time spent, this would make a fantastic last minute holiday gift. But I’m keeping this baby for myself. :)

That $6 supply cost makes me rethink my stance on selling knits. Maybe I should knit up a box of accessories, rent a table at a craft fair or two next fall and see what happens. It could be a fun experiment. If I can coax some other crafters to join me, it may be worth it. But that’s a topic for another post. (Of course, I wouldn’t sell anything that wasn’t my own design. Just thought I’d mention that before I get comments about selling knits from other people’s patterns.)

There is only one problem with a hat like this. I now want a scarf, or some other type of neck warmer, to match. I like to match. For that to happen, I have to be just a little creative.

I have about half a skein of the yarn left. I also have about 30gm of a complimentary variegated yarn. Between the two yarns I should be able to come up with a pattern that will look nice with this hat as well as the hat I made in the variegated yarn. One neck warmer that works with both hats? That would be a wonderful thing.

My initial thoughts for a pattern: Make a short scarf using the band pattern of the hat. It should be at least two ribs wider. The bottom, larger, ruffle knit in the variagated yarn. I’ll keep you all posted on my progress. :)