Dankers hats

Sometimes you have a small amount of some precious yarn—handspun, hand dyed, a gift, or a luxury item that you could afford just one skein of. You think it’s enough for a hat, but adding in the swatch could just put you over.

Sometimes you just want to jump into a project and not worry about working that swatch, particularly for something as simple as a hat or other small accessory.

This pair of matching hats are written to be “gaugeless”. They use two different techniques to achieve a good fit. In the first hat (shown in Adult L on James), you will start by working a brim sideways to length, then will pick up and knit stitches for the crown. In the second hat (shown in Adult M on Katherine), you start at the top of the crown and increase to certain diameter points, then end by working the brim down to length.

This pair of hats was designed as a wedding present for some cousins. They use the same stitch on the brim, stockinette on the crown, and an I-cord edge.