As a chronic hat wearer, I am always on the lookout for something that has a hint of lace but is still warm enough to be a hat in Chicago–so I designed this to fit the bill. The tubular cast on lends a very finished look to the bottom ribbing, but tighter knitters may want to use a looser cast on method to make sure there’s enough stretch.

My test knitters and I worked this on a size 7, but it is a looser hat. You may need to go up or down depending on your own gauge, or if you’d like a more fitted final product. Because this is a smaller needle than most people would use for worsted weight, I did not go down a size on ribbing. Extra yarn may be needed if you’d like to make a pom-pom or add extra length. The hat is one size but can be knit for a beanie or for a slouchier look.

The one skein version using BT required about 90% of the skein and made the beanie, not the slouchy hat. The slouchy version using Binky from BunnyBadger used all of the skein to make a pompom.

Extra thanks to all my test knitters–this pattern would be so much less awesome without your input and thoughts!