- Here is my handsome brother-in-law Adam in his October hat. A comfortable winter hat is essential for him because he has no hair on his head, and he lives in New Hampshire. It is also a bit of a balancing act, however, because wool is itchy for him. I have been on the lookout for a black, warm, soft worsted weight that would suit for a while and I came on this particular hank at the Cumberland Fair. It is a 70%/30% Huacaya Alpaca/Merino blend ... the alpaca for warmth and softness, and the merino for elasticity and because merino is the softest of the sheep wools.
- Here in New England we call this style of hat a Toque. It is something I only make for men I love a great deal because it is VERY simple to make (hence a bit tedious) and they always want black. So you have miles and miles of knitting black stockinette which can only be survived by watching Masterpiece Theatre on your I-Pad, which is exactly what I did. I am going to give you some instructions on how to make your own, but I am assuming some "thinking woman" knitting skills on your part. If you have questions feel free to drop me a line in the comments and I'll get back to you.
- Adam's head is 24 inches around and 17 inches from earlobe to earlobe. I did a gauge swatch and came up with 6/inch. Pick a needle size that will give you this gauge or tighter. I hat needs to be thick and fairly wind tight. Doing the math I came up with 144 stitches. I like to do my hats with a multiple of 8 because it makes the decreasing smoother and simpler and I also like to reduce my stitch count a bit on a hat so there is some negative ease which helps to hold it on your head. If the yarn was pure wool I would reduce this number by 8, but since it was mostly alpaca, which is soft and non elastic, I reduced the number by 16 and cast on 136 stitches
- I knit straight stockinette on a long circular needle (Magic Loop Method) for two inches. Then I completed one round of purl to leave a nice fold line for the bottom edge of the hat, and then completed another five inches of straight stockinette for the body of the toque.
- Reducing is done in 8 equal sections so you need to get out your stitch markers and place one every 17 stitches. For the first decrease round K2tog after each marker and then do 3 rounds without decreasing. Repeat this another 5 times until you have 12 stitches between markers. Now decrease every other row until you have 5 stitches between markers. Then decrease after each marker every row until you have 2 stitches between markers. Get rid of the markers and K2tog until you only have 2 stitches left. Break off your yarn and use a darning needle to thread through the 2 remaining stitches and work your end in.
- Turn the hat inside out and fold the 2 inch band at the beginning of the hat up. Use another end of yarn to sew the bottom edge down to the hat itself, creating a double band at the bottom. This will give the toque structure and firmness and also provides a double thickness of fabric which is warm around the ears.
Adam is also showing the hat with the bottom edge folded up. My husband Joe is always moving the band up and down to adjust the temperature on his head. Rolled up like this your ears are warmer but your forehead is cooler. I have seen him roll it up like a yarmulke when he is working outside...which looks rather silly but is evidently cooler for him. He and Adam have the same "haircut" and Joe's hat is very similar to Adam's, although it is 10 years older. When it is warn out I will replace it, but evidently these things last forever.
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