Behbeh Hats

I've knit a couple of hats for the Bailey kiddies-- only two months early! Better than late. I just wanted some fresh projects. I want to start a project a day. I certainly have enough yarn!!

Each hat has had its own saga, its own story.

 I did Leah's hat first, with super bulky cotton Dance yarn. I only had one 70-yard skein, which I figured should be enough to make a hat. This was my first attempt:

 It was a pattern I found on Ravelry. I liked it because of the cute earflaps. But knitting the earflaps without cutting the yarn-- I didn't want to because I had so little of it and because weaving ends on such a bulky, sturdy yarn will not be fun-- was annoying, and the hat turned out long and skinny. Not a great size. So I tried again.

 

This was an improvised design. I impulsively decided to do some cables. It looked okay, but the top was strange and again it was long and thin. Take three.

I continued with the cables theme, but shortened the cables and added a repeat, which resulted in a nice looking hat. But now I don't know if I really like it, because the yarn is, like, not that soft and cuddly. It's super bulky and it has that, you know "cotton"-y feel-- kind of sturdy and rough. I have a skein of old Caron's Simply Soft Quick, a super bulky, super soft sheeny light pink acrylic. That would make a very cozy and warm hat. But I don't know if I want to make another one. I mean, the hat I did make was fairly cute... I just don't know if I love the texture and feel of it.

Saulie's hat. Take one.

My main issue with this hat was the two different yarns. The light turquoise is Muench Family and I love it. It's butter-soft. Feels fantastic against the skin, and totally fun to knit with. But I felt it might be a little too babyish, and I only had 83 yards of that, so I thought it might be a good idea to add another color. So I added a darker teal from the Red Heart Soft Yarn line, which I've used for tons of stuff in the past, and it is pretty soft. Thing is, compared to the Muench, it's downright coarse. Doesn't feel any bit as nice. And I used it for the ribbing, which is the part that will come into direct contact with his skin. :-(. But I do like the stripey look, and the gauge was so perfect that the knitting is super neat and tidy. Which mine usually never is. And it is probably because I never, ever check gauge.

Finally I just decided to continue with it anyway, but when I finished it, it was too long. It fit ME. So I knew it was going to be too big for a four-year-old. So I ripped back, removed a repeat, and finished up again. I am very happy with the result:

Now I'm just wavering on whether or not I want to send Leah the hat. I guess I have a while to decide.