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Anatomy of a hat project.

Materials: 1 skein Morehouse Merino Bulky (100% merino wool) in Soft White. Size 10.5 circular & DPNs.

Time: One weekend

Cost: $16

I'm really picky about the fit of my hats. I don't like the kind of cylindrical, tightly-knit variety that leaves a lot of poofy extra space above the head, but I need something warm that will cover my ears. Moreover, the last hat that I made for myself has mohair in it, which leads to me furiously scratching at my forehead after 5 minutes of wear. So, I cast about online looking for ideas that appealed to me. Enter the Filament Hat at Anthropologie.

I really like the roundy-ness of the edges afforded by the ribbing, and it's the prefect length to cover the tips of the ears. And $68? Even using high-quality yarn, I could do much, much better than that. The hat pictured looked like it was in a slightly thick-and-thin rustic bulky-weight with a strand of shiny stuff running through. I could do without the shiny stuff, and I'd need to go with some kind of very soft wool -- my normally beloved alpaca doesn't take to ribbing very well. So, I settled on some reasonably-priced and correctly-gauged Morehouse Farm Merino Bulky, which would be almost guaranteed not to itch my delicate forehead.

After a bit of experimentation and close observation of the original photo, I settled on a pattern that seemed to work for both the yarn and the size of my head: CO 66 sts, work for 16 rounds on size 10.5 circs in k1 p1 ribbing, then do one row of purl stitches. Place markers after every 6 stitches. Decrease after each marker, then work two rounds; repeat twice. Then repeat the decreases twice with one normal row in between, then decrease every round until you've no more stitches left.

The finished product fits really well: it's just snug enough, but doesn't completely smash down my hair (and if you've seen my hair after it's been smashed by a winter hat, you'd understand why this is important). It's also totally comfy. I'd call it a success. Step one in my plan for worldwide winter accessories domination has been completed.