Hiding within the busy classical Fair Isle motifs you will find the ever hilarious “fornicating reindeer” motif that made my boyfriend go, “Yeah I see it, it looks really-- OH!” and my friend Gia, “I say this with all respect but, are they supposed to look like they’re humping?!” This is actually the first version of the hat I made for my boyfriend’s teenage son featuring this now modern classic.

You should be at a gauge of 36 stitches to 45 rounds in a 4 by 4 inch square. The finished hat is 9.5 inches from top to bottom and 21 inches in diameter with a wonderfully dense quality to the finished fabric that will keep heads warm on windy winter days. The pattern is suited (I think) to a wide range of skill levels; the most difficult part is just the counting and catching of floats. I find it helpful to “bricklayer” them so that no two floats from a given pair of rounds sit directly on top of one another which can create a “valley” pucker that runs up the front of your work if you catch the float in the same spot for 3+ rounds. You may however choose to send a secret Morse Code in your floats in which case you can disregard this suggestion.

I used Nature Spun Sport by Brown Sheep Company and wound up using 2 balls for my Main Color and only 1 ball for my Contrast Color. That measures out to about 210-230 yards of MC and approximately 140-160 yards of CC.

The fit of the hat is quite elastic and can fit a head measuring around 24 inches.