Custom Knit Hat Request

Recently, one of my friends contacted me with a fun and unique custom knit hat request.  Some jerk broke into her BF's car and stole, not just 1 but 2 of his favorite knit hats from childhood.  She provided me with this photo of 1 of the hats to refer to make a replacement.

She wanted a combination of this color palette.

So I swung by Firebird Yarns in the Lower Haight and selected these funky jams to play with.

But after knitting a little swatch, we agreed that the blue yarn was too overwhelming.

So I ended up using Cat Sandwich Trustie 75% SWM/25% nylon Peonies in Season sock yarn held with Houndstooth Fiber Arts Painted Ladies 75% SWM/25% nylon Applejack to knit the final product.

The results of these two yarns held together is pure bliss.

It's like they were just meant to be together.

The hat is knit in 1 x 1 ribbing while the ear flaps are in stockinette and the straps are crocheted.

I used Purl Soho's free Classic Ribbed Hat pattern and added ear flaps and straps to it.  My friend assures me that her BF absolutely loves the hat and it fits perfectly.

Of course, Xena had to try it on herself first.

This was the first time I've ever added straps or ear flaps to a hat.  I didn't follow any specific pattern.  I just made my own measurements for size and placement and worked the decreases similar to decreasing for the toe of a sock.  It was very satisfying to finally feel confident enough in my own knitting prowess to work things out on my own.  Having decades of experience designing crochet garments definitely helped.  The biggest challenge for me was conceptualizing a hat that looked like the hat in the picture that would also fit an adult.

I really love this hat pattern with or without ear flaps and straps and am already well on my way to knitting a few more for X-Mas gifts.