ivorie

I was never a Brownie. Not sure why; it was just one of those things that other people did. And I didn't like the outfits which were at the time, unh, brown.

The Vital Statistics
Pattern: Brownie by Woolly Wormhead from the Twisted Woolly Toppers ebook.
Yarn: 100 per cent wool, recycled from a Country Road cardigan that I bought at an op shop in Australia and lugged across the Pacific (an all too familiar tale). And this wool is beautiful - it is so soft and silky, perfect for a baby's head.
Needle: 4.5mm
Size: smallest size.
Stash/recycle content: recycled yarn - hooray!
Start to finish: 27 October to 7 November 2010.

Comments: This is a great hat pattern, probably intermediate in its construction complexity. I was casting around on Ravelry and as soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to make it. I love the structure - a band of braid grafted together to form a loop, then pick up stitches for the crown and pick up stitches for the ear flaps. Oh yes, I grafted. Not my favourite knitting skill but much easier with this yarn than with sock yarn.

I didn't swatch and it's always a bit difficult with recycled yarn to know whether you are knitting it at an appropriate gauge, but I think that this came out a little smaller than intended. It fits baby b perfectly snugly right now, and I hope for the rest of the winter. That cable is really dense and before I blocked it (vigorously) it stood up by itself. The blocking gave it some drape but still not a lot. Again, not sure if this is a feature of the cabled fabric or a gauge issue. You could also substitute a different cable pattern as long as it fit the stitch and row count.

One issue is that there are lots of ends to weave in, perhaps too many. Should I knit it again (and I would like to), I'd try to be a bit more judicious about breaking the yarn and then attaching it again at the centre back. I think that when you finish the second ear flap that you could just cast off from there.

Verdict: Great pattern and also a great finished piece. This hat is very cute. I'd like to try it again in Cascade 220 (the yarn called for) to see how it turns out. And bonus, then there would be another hat.