Top Down

While I contemplate diving in on a sweater project, I've been working on a couple smaller things.  Hats are my number one choice at the moment.   These days I find myself wearing them around the house, so it's nice to have some variety.

Ackert Hook Hat.

A friend made this hat quite some time ago, and I liked it enough to tuck it away in my queue.  When I was browsing for a new hat pattern, this one jumped out at me.  Sorry I don't have a live model.  I couldn't bribe convince anyone to brave the cold with me.

This hat was a nice break from the traditional bottom up style.  It starts at the top with an invisible cast on. 

The lovely flower motif is followed by several inches of seed stitch.  I know some knitters complain about seed stitch, but it's never been a bother for me.  After all, this is just a hat - not a whole sweater's worth. After a quick ribbing and bind off, I had a new hat to add to my collection.  I read the comments on Ravelry and decided to drop down two needle sizes for the ribbing.  I finished it off with Jeny's surprisingly stretchy bind off.

The yarn is Marie, colorway Blue Jeans.  This DK weight blend has a bit of cashmere making this hat my current favorite.