Lacy Slouch Hat (Charity/WIP)

Thanks to the magical world of Pinterest, I came across a very-gorgeous-indeed lacy slouch hat.

Image courtesy of: Linda Permann via Ravelry

Smitten, enamored, gaga, call it what you will, this hat stuck with me for a month or two despite our summer of Hades. I'm talking 100+ degree days here with no AC. That's some hat. So when I narrowed the next charity project down to scarves, pins, earrings and hats I zoomed right back to Pinterest which took me to Ravelry and a few clicks later this pattern was m i n e!

Did I happy dance? Of course. Wouldn't you?

I jumped right into the gauge. I only had fingering weight yarn, so I gave it a whirl (and a yarn over or two) on my hook. After a tedious hour or so (yeah...) I realized that I needed to buy new yarn. 

Naturally, I didn't waste any time.

 

Lace Weight Yarn, fresh from KnitPicks

Since they were hanks (a hank is not a skein, by the by), I had to wind them into balls. By hand. Which, initially I didn't really consider, but then it dawned on me... 440 yards x 4 hanks = 1,760yards. 1 yard = 3 feet and so 1,760 yards = 5,280 feet. And I wound it all. In one day. With wobbly arms, I lay my yarn balls aside and went to bed. No crocheting. Just rest. Sweet rest.

The next day I was back at it! Once I got the gauge correct and mastered  wonky crocheted through the Foundation Double Crochet stitch (nope, never used it before, but I'm a believer now!) the pattern worked up like a breeze! I love how gorgeous and simple the repeat is.

The approach is fairly nontraditional (in my experience) for a hat, in that it's worked from the brim toward the top. You know... you work bottom up rather than top down. Uh, I don't know how else to explain this.... you decrease your stitches to shape the tube into a hat rather than increasing your stitches to shape your sphere into a dome. Wow, that sounded more complex the my original statement. How 'bout I just say this: it's great. You'll love it.

How about a sunshiney yellow hat? Yes? Sold! This pattern calls for 1 hank/skein per hat, which leaves me feeling a little queasy with recklessness. Seriously: what if I run out of yarn!?? I ordered this online, I can't, I just *can't* reorder it! And yet I must continue on, and constantly check my little purple ball of yarn to be sure it's not unraveling into a hat too quickly.

How about a gorgeous, grassy green? A neutral tan (officially called "Oregon Coast", which is such a delightfully nonsensical name for a color)? Yes to all? Perfect. :)

I've been eyeing real yarn bowls on Etsy, but then what would I do with my collection of Pyrex?

I am in lilac, lace weight, merino-and-silk blend, puff stitch LOVE!





To Summarize: I'm incredibly antsy to show you the finished hat, but that's a ways off. These things take time, you understand. At some point it'll be ready for display, and after that its 3 siblings (Sunshine, Grass and Oregon). You'll just have to follow along. :)

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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