One important hack I used was interchangeable needles on a short cord. I put a much smaller needle on the left side in order to get some slack for doing the K3tog. Also shove them all close to the tip to give yourself more room. This was nearly impossible for me with the same size needles on both sides.

I started decreases at 7 inches to preserve yarn. Should have knitted a medium as the brim gets big after wearing. I think I either lost a length in my stash, or something else weird happened because I had plenty of mohair left over, but no base yarn. And the yardages were fairly equal.

I reknit this hat. The first time, I switched to a larger needle before the lateral braid, thinking it wouldn’t have enough stretch. Nope, it buckled. So I went back and used the smaller needles.

I like the large for its roominess, and it looks great for the slouchy length. But with the stretchy yarn I used, the brim stretches out, and I would probably cast on far fewer stitches. (I made large for the test knit because that’s what size was needed for testing.)

My head is 23” circumference around the hairline, not including over the ears. For me, I would subtract 35 from the cast on and ribbing (105), then increase 35 AFTER the lateral braid to make 140. (Make one after every 3rd stitch.) That would be good for a 24” or even larger head after it’s worn a bit, and would retain the nice roomy slouch.

I like this hat best when it’s knit past 7.5 inches. The hat shown in the photos represents two of the lengths I made. 7.5 and 7”. The ones without glasses are the shorter hat. The one where I have glasses on, and the one by the window, is the (slightly) longer length. I could tell the difference, so go for that extra length.