Flat Top Swirly Hats

The swirls were coming along. Next challenge is to figure out a hat that is flat on top. Many many circles were started and torn out before finding a configuration of stitches and increases that works for me. At the same time I wondered if I could do away with beginning the hat with one color and introducing the other color(s) a few rows down. After several tries, I got it.

Please click on the photos to see them more clearly.

It fits pretty well. The nice thing about this hat is that it can be worn high and loose, or if things get chillier it can be pulled down over the ears without looking all that stoopid.

That takes care of the two colors beginning at the start of the hat. Now, can it be done with four colors? This looked like a total rat's nest before some passing fairy godmother took pity on me, waved a magic wand, and suddenly it all came together.

A Swirly Hat

So I'd been making hats using the pattern by Carol Ventura as a starting place. Then came variations. The first variation was the Registered Architect hat. Then came this one, with the swirls. It took some doing before finding a way to make the swirls come out looking ok. The hat is a little lop-sided, since I was making it up as I went along. The lop-sided quality gives this hat a front and a back. It actually fits better on the head this way. Serendipity!

You can see that the hat begins at the top with white, then the swirls begin a few rows in. This frustrated me, and I began to wonder whether I could do it any differently.



The hat came out so well I decided to make a scarf to match. It is not as stiff as I thought it might be, and is very warm. Next time I might make it a bit longer.