Stripy Toque

-adapted from "Hip to Knit"
About 3 oz of bulky yarn (I used Red Heart Misty varigated)

I love using varigated yarn. Two reasons...it makes me look way more experienced than I am, and it makes it easier to see where my mistakes are. "Ah, it's in the red section...oh wait...the whole piece is red. Crap."

US size 8 needles

Make sure you use long ones...you'll need them. I started out with short ones and I kept dropping stitches off the end when the needles were in my knitting bag...very frustrating... If you're not used to long needles (I wasn't when I started, but I sure am now...) it'll just take a bit of practice to keep the yarn from tangling around the end of the right hand needle.

This is adapted because the original pattern called for worsted weight yarn, and I REALLY wanted to use this stuff...it's bulky, but it's so soft. And it's a pretty colour.

Cast on 77 stitches.

Knit one row

Purl one row

(this is also called the stockinette stitch...if it's the first time you've done it...it is supposed to curl. And yes, it's really freaking annoying for the first little while. *grumble* But it makes the lovely roll at the bottom of the hat.)

Repeat until you get about 6" or so of fabric, unrolled. For me that happened to be about sixty rows (30 of each. Or maybe it's 30 rows...15 of each, but that seems awfully short. Anyway...about 6")

End on a "wrong side row"...which means stop after you've just done a purl row.

Knit six, then knit two together. Do that until the end of the row. You'll end up with 66 stitches.
Knit five, then knit two together. Do that until the end of the row. You'll end up with 55 stitches.
Knit four, then knit two together. Do that until the end of the row. You'll end up with 44 stitches.
Knit three, then knit two together. Do that until the end of the row. You'll end up with 33 stitches.
Knit two, then knit two together. Do that until the end of the row. You'll end up with 22 stitches.
Knit two together across the row. You'll end up with 11 stitches.

Leave the stitches on the needle and cut a tail of about 18". Bring the tail through the stitches from the other side of them so that you form a circle. Sew up the back seam, and you've got yourself a hat.

Final dimensions: not sure. It fit me like you see...as well as my dad and mom. My mom's got a fairly small head, I've got a medium one and my dad has a large one. The curled brim makes it pretty easy to fit anyone and the yarn stretches like crazy.