I cast on 60 stitches with the alternating cable cast-on. That matched the yarn, needles and size of a previous hat that fit Drew. I knit the ribbing to 3-1/2 inches, to make sure it covered his ears.

Strategic Increases. I increased four stitches on the last row of the ribbing section, to get to a multiple of eight. I realized I needed to be strategic about the increases, since the pattern flows so beautifully from the ribbing. I did a (p1, k1, p1) in the last purl stitch of the second to last round, and another in the last purl stitch before the second half of the stitches (using magic loop).

Height. I realized that my decision to add more ribbing also impacted the total height of the hat. I did one iteration of the pattern, then knit rounds 1 to 6, in preparation for a smooth transition to the decreases. The hat was 7” tall at the end of that round 6, and 9” tall after the decrease rows. Perfect, I think.

Decreases. The Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn was very stiff, so I used an alternate method for the k3tog (k2tog, move stitch to left-hand needle, place next stitch over the k2tog, then move back to right-hand needle.