I decided to knit another hat for one of Kirston's friends, and I wanted to use brown yarn since I had plenty of it. At first I was going to make another hat for Greg since I felt a tad guilty about the fag hat, but then I decided that maybe brown wasn't his color. Brown would, however, suit Kirston's friend Charlie. Also, right when I'd decided to knit Greg a nice hat, Kirston revealed that Greg had eaten the cupcake I made for Kirston, which canceled out my guilt and indeed inspired me to make another hat a la the fag hat.
I Googled "brown knit hat" and saw this hat with the pattern for sale. I didn't feel like paying for it, so I decided to make it based off the picture but modified a bit to suit my knitting style. I had some problems in the beginning: I made a small swatch, and then I cast on 128 stitches in the round and began working in the checked pattern. Then, after a few rounds, I decided the gauge was too tight for a hat. I decided I wanted a brim, and then I decided I wanted to make it in double knitting so it would be reversible.
I haven't worked in double knitting before, so this was quite a learning experience. I've experimented with trying to make two socks at once (which I abandoned when I discovered I was making them too big) and two sleeves at once in the round (which I abandoned when I messed up an increase). I decided that my first double knit project should be something that, unlike socks or sleeves, was supposed to be a single fabric so it wouldn't matter if I accidentally crossed a stitch; no one would ever notice. Thusly I cast on 128 stitches, worked an inch and a half of K1P1 rib, picked up and knitted 128 stitches, worked another inch and a half of K1P1 rib, and then I decided I was making the hat too big. It is possible that it would have fit a man, but it was far too big for me, which I didn't consider a good sign. I debated and reflected that since I had also believed the fag hat to be too big, I should make at least one hat that was the right size. I figured that surely a hat that's a bit snug is better than a hat that keeps slipping down. So I frogged it again, cast on 96 stitches, worked the ribbing again, picked up and knitted and worked more ribbing, transferred all the stitches to one circular needle, and then struggled to learn how double knit properly. It took a few tries, but with the aid of a couple of illustrated tutorials and my own common sense, I figured it out. Of course, the hat was still too big, but at that point I no longer cared. It was only too big on me, after all; not the intended recipient.
Of course, the snag with knitting this in the round was that, as with knitting stripes in the round, there is a jog at the beginning of the round. There are ways around that, but I was already a bit overwhelmed with the constant color changes and double knitting, so I didn't bother.
Double knitting proved not to be as terrible as I'd feared. I'd had a bit of practice already, after all. I rather doubt I'll be making many more double knitted projects, but it's nice to pick up a new technique. Indeed, it proved quite simple once I'd got the hang of it. Frankly, there isn't a lot left for me to learn about knitting. I mean, I've done intarsia, Fair Isle, cables, lace, socks, knitting in the round, a Moebius scarf and Klein bottle hat . . . I've tried just about everything except entrelac and mosaic knitting, one of which I will probably attempt in the next few months. Anyway, double knitting is time consuming, but it produces a terrifically warm, thick garment. I wasn't really satisfied with the results, at least the decreases, though I couldn't do anything about it. It apparently didn't matter; a friend told me that the hat looked really pro and that he would buy it if he saw it in a store. I ended up giving the hat to my dad.
