I hope to be able to make this hat a bit looser than it would be if I follow the pattern closely. I started with size 8 needles and so far have done two pattern repeats. I am going to switch up to size 9 or 10 needles for the body of the hat to give it a slightly tighter “brim” and a little bit looser body, and I’ll also probably do an extra pattern repeat so the hat’s a bit longer too. I’ll switch back to size 8 needles when I get to the top so it comes in a bit more quickly, which I hope will also add to the overall slouchiness. My one concern is that it’ll take more than one skein to finish the hat if I make the changes; I’m going to try to buy a second skein in the same colorway/dye lot just in case. And if I can’t get the same dye lot, I’ll just start using the new skein for the decrease rows whether I need to or not. That way any color variations will look intentional.

Edit: I did three pattern repeats using size 8 needles then switched to size 10 needles. Did a total of ten pattern repeats and then switched back to size 8s. It took exactly one skein of yarn (there was less than one yard left when I finished!) -- it’s not at all slouchy but I really like how it looks. I’m glad I switched to the larger needles; it would have been much too tight if I’d used 8s for the whole thing.