Rainy Days and Mondays (and Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays...)

We seem to have come to some sort of a weather impasse here in New England. It has rained, or been significantly overcast, or in some way not been sunny and bright for so long I have forgotten the last shiny day.
(I love the Carpenters. Wanna make something of it? Also Barry Mannilow, in that kitschy, cozy, reminiscent sort of way...)

Anyway, I recently finished up a kind of last minute deadline project and needed a little something to ease me back into my regular work flow. I reached into my basket of single-skeins and pulled out color. Sunny, bright color. Noro color.Noro is so my guilty pleasure. It's the one thing that can send me to the registers with 6 or more bags of discontinued colors just because, like Everest to Mallory, "...it's there".

I present the end product of my "wishing-away-the-rain" knitting project, complete with free pattern to create the same should you so choose, providing you adhere to the rather lengthy but really important copyright information you'll find under the pattern. It was fun, fast, and simple. Enjoy!

Melissa’s Cloud-Chasing Rainy Month Hat
copyright 2009 Melissa Morgan-Oakes - see below for more information on copyright

Materials-
1 ball Noro Silk Garden Lite color 2047
US 6 and 7, 16” circular needles or size needed to obtain gauge.
US 7 dpn, or one size larger than that needed to obtain gauge.
Pompom maker, 1 5/8” or pompom method of choice.
Seaming needle
Gauge- 19 sts/4 inches in K3, P1 rib with smaller needle
Abbreviations -
Sl2KP: Slip two stitches together knitwise, knit one, pass 2 slipped stitches over the just-knit stitch. This creates a centered double decrease – you’re eliminating 2 stitches each time you work this decrease, and the center stitch ‘pops’ to the front of your work.
K: knit
P: purl
K2tog: knit two stitches together

With smaller needle cast on 88 stitches. Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist. Work in K3, P1 rib for 8 rounds. Change to larger size needle and begin working in stitch pattern as follows:

Round 1-3: *knit 3, purl 1. Repeat from * to end of the round.
Round 4: *K1, K into the stitch 3 rows below, K1, P1. Repeat from * to end of the round.

Work in stitch pattern until hat measures 6” (or desired length - usually the measurement of your hand from the heel to the tip of your middle finger - or to put it another way, from the base of your carpals to the tip of your longest distal phalanges) from cast on edge. Now you will work the following rounds, decreasing for the top of your hat. Change to double pointed needles when you can no longer comfortably work the stitches on the 16" circular.

Round 1: *K3, P1, Sl2KP, P1. Repeat from * to end of round [66 stitches remain.]
Rounds 2&3: *Knit 3, P1, K1, P1. Repeat from * to end of round.
Round 4: *Sl2KP, P1, K1, P1. Repeat from * to end of round. [44 sts]
Rounds 5&6: *K1,P1. Repeat from * to end of round.
Round 7: *K1, P1, K2tog. Repeat from * to end of round. [33 sts]
Round 8: *K1, P1, K1. Repeat from * to end of round.
Round 9:*K2tog, K1. Repeat from * to end of round. [22 sts]
Round 10: *K2tog. Repeat from * to end of round. [11 sts]

Cut yarn leaving a 6” tail. Thread yarn onto a seaming needle and run through all stitches. Pull snugly, take yarn to inside and run yarn ends in.

Make pompom if desired, and if there’s enough yarn left. I used a Clover Pompom Maker, 1 5/8”. Tie pompom using alternate yarn or strong thread. (I used a 6” scrap of a strong, plied sock yarn that was handy – the Silk Garden Lite is not strong enough as a single ply to tie it’s own pompom securely). Use pompom tie to attach pompom to top of hat with a strong knot. Run in all yarn ends.

Apply hat to head regardless of current temperatures, and stand in front of mirror often. The colors of the hat will inspire hope that someday, yes, the sun will return to New England. If nothing else, I am now prepared for fall and winter. Maybe that's when the sun is coming back?

Boring but really important part:
Copyright 2009 Melissa Morgan-Oakes. All rights reserved. This pattern may not be sold or used for any purpose other than personal use by the individual knitter without written permission of the author (that'd be me). In other words, please don't steal this and tell the world it's yours, or make 500 hats to sell at your local winter craft fair thereby becoming independently wealthy. You may print it for your own use. You may even give a copy of it to friends as long as this long and conversational little copyright explanation is included. You can even use it to knit for charity, like Warm Woolies.
This pattern is also available for download as a pdf from Ravelry
download now