Beantown Beanie

When working with the owner of my LYS to create the Railroad Track Full Mittens, we discussed making a hat with the leftover contrast color yarn.

I was inspired by the technique in Ysolda Teague's Ripley where you knit a strip and join it in the round to create the brim.  Then you pick up the stitches and create the top of the hat.  After consulting some stitch dictionaries, I came up with a combination that really pleased me.  It complimented the mittens but wasn't all matchy-matchy.

The name was my daughter's idea - I asked what we should call it and told her I'd like something alliterative to go with Beanie...hence Beantown Beanie.

I took the finished hat to the LYS and we have one staff member who has an unusually large head.  She tried it on and it flew right off her head as it was too small.  Back to the drawing board and time to write up a larger size.  I knew this one worked when she put the hat in her Ravelry queue the next day!

If you are a local and visit Iron Horse in Natick, MA, you can get this pattern for free with purchase of 2 skeins of worsted weight yarn and the mittens pattern.  Stop by and check out the knit up samples.

I am having foot surgery a week from today - bunionectomy.  That means 3 weeks on crutches, 2 of those weeks I can't drive (it's my accelerator foot).  It also means a lot of knitting...I am hoping my next design will be born during this time.