My new favorite hat!

Great hat for the holidays: a cute and quirky little design (not my own, see earlier post) that knits up in literally one afternoon. Very versatile, depending on the type of yarn you want to use.

Pictured above, I used Cascade Soft Spun in Charcoal on 10-1/2 needles. I made some modifications to the pattern, so here's my suggestion:

Cast on 75 stitches (again, I'm a pretty tight knitter).
Knit 15 rows in seed stitch.
Bind off first 12 stitches, continue to knit the rest of the row.
Connect to the first stitch using either 16" circulars or DPNs (I used the circulars, so much easier on the hands). Knit until the piece measures 5-1/2 inches total. Start to decrease:

Place stitch marker to indicate beginning of row
Knit 7, knit 2 together, repeat to end of row
knit
Knit 6, knit 2 together, repeat to end of row
knit
Knit 5, knit 2 together, repeat to end of row
knit
Knit 4, knit 2 together, repeat to end of row
Knit 3, knit 2 together, repeat to end of row
Knit 1, knit 2 together, repeat to end of row
Knit 2 together, repeat
Cut 6" tail, wind through remaining stitches and pull taut.

It is a beautiful, compact little hat with a lot of options with regards to texture, style and size. Add a button of your choice and wrap for Christmas!