Botanic Hat

Some time ago P lost the hat I knit for him. We have looked for it everywhere, and it has not reappeared.  And so it needed to be replaced.  Last year he started law school (while still working part-time as a medical doctor) and so he rides his bike to school a few times a week throughout the fall, winter, and spring.  He needed something warm, especially for his ears. Michigan's cold weather is not kind to ears.

Pattern: Botanic Hat, by Stephen West. Version with large brim.

Yarn: 1 ball Ella Rae Classic Solids, brown. 1 ball Stonesthrow Farm Vintage VI (from Rhinebeck 2010) in an autumn variegated.

Needles: US 6 & 7

Mods: none.

I really should have used a softer yarn for the band.  Ella Rae is a great hard wearing yarn for outwear, and it felts like a dream (hello, spit-splicing!), but it is perhaps a bit too scratchy for skin-contact.  And I may have built up my immunity against scratchy yarn. Ah, well, it was a stash buster.  I will try soaking the hat in some Eucalan, and maybe some hair conditioner and see what happens. I wouldn't mind knitting this hat again if I can get through the 6 inch brim.