Blue hat redux

So, I've been thinking. I think I want to frog back and partially re-knit a hat I made last year. This one:



That would be Coronet, from Knitty. See, here's the thing...the cabled brim is knit first, and then you pick up stitches around, and knit the rest of the hat. But what you do is pick up the stitches with the wrong side of the brim facing, so then when it's all done, you fold the brim up and it's right side out and double-layered. Get it?

Well, I made this hat last winter and didn't wear it much before the spring came, but this year I've worn it a couple of times and I've come to a decision based on a couple of observations. First, the "fold" where the brim folds up wants to roll, letting the brim move upwards, and that makes the hat a little too short. I find myself tugging it down when I wear it. Second, the double thickness of the brim makes the whole thing a weensy teensy bit tight, which is probably contributing to the need to tug it down now and then. And apparently my new motto is, if I'm not 100% happy with it, fix it!

So here's my plan...I think that I am going to undo and rip back the entire main part of the hat, pick up those stitches around the brim again, and knit it right-side-out...so the brim will be single thickness, and won't have to be turned up. I am thinking this will eliminate both issues. I'll just count how many rows of the plain stockinette are currently behind the folded up brim and knit that many fewer rows of the hat. I think this plan will work. Plus, since the brim is a separate piece to begin with, when I rip back I won't be in danger of undoing any of that part. And since I will be reducing the number of rows, it also won't matter that the yarn was cut at the end, since I'll be using less yarn. I'm thinking this is a win-win sort of deal! Cuz I love the hat, it's toasty and soft and comfy and I really love the pretty cabled brim.



My first thought in improving this hat was to attach the brim somehow to the hat to keep it from rolling, but I don't want to lose any of the hat's natural elasticity by doing that. So I think my new plan is a decent one. I also don't like how you can see the back of the stockinette rolling up at the bottom, which you can see in both photos above. Another thing that'll be fixed with this re-do.

So that's the plan. Not much other news from here. Oh--except, I went to my favorite LYS yesterday as my reward for going to the dentist (he said my teeth look good!) and, well, um...a ball of Noro just may have followed me home. ahem. (But it's pretty! And it'll make a fun stripey hat!)

Back soon with photos of my now-nearly completed pink hat, you know, the one I said wanted to savor? Well, I'm still savoring and enjoying it, but I'm also working on it. So it's almost done. :)