Why Blue Run? Well, on the slopes, the blue runs are those that are deemed suitable for the intermediate skier. You may only think of yourself as a beginner—in fact, this might be your first ever attempt at following a pattern—but after getting this far through the book, I’m totally confident that you have enough skills to get yourself off the green slopes and onto the blue!

The hat itself is an oversized, slouchy hat, designed to be worn with style and aplomb. The body features designs adapted from the traditional stitch patterns used in the old fisherman’s gansey jumpers. They are simple to follow and execute, being created entirely from knits and purls. (I thought it would be nice to go with these fisherman’s patterns, to carry on the manly theme running through this book—oh yes: none of this happened by chance, it’s all been thought through very carefully!)

The rather unusual crown shaping on this hat is actually incredibly easy to do, just featuring judiciously spaced, right-leaning decreases (K2tog) every three rounds. They give a flat-ended look to the hat, which when worn with a suitable swagger can be really rather fetching!

Get your needles in your hands and cast on right away!

(I know you’re ready, I just need to convince you that you are as well!)