This was my second project ever. Well, second project following a pattern (I'm not counting the doll blankets I made when I learned at age 10). And believe it or not, I did swatch. In fact, I'd already made the matching scarf the same pattern (ribbing) and same yarn. And yet...
Looking at it later on, I think the biggest problem was that I really had no idea about sizing. The gauge wasn't bad, but having never made a hat before, I didn't realize how you want sizing to run. With hats, you want a certain amount of negative ease, right? Well, I do. I don't really make berets or slouchy hats. I like the closer fitting ski or skull sort of caps. This was supposed to be along those lines. Except, being a new knitter (like I said, my second project), I was worried about making it too small. Heads in my family run on the larger side, and mine is no exception. So, I tried to err on the side of caution. I ended up being VERY on the side of caution! It was a very long, very large hat. A friend in college with a head even larger than mine laughed that he didn't think it was possible to make a hat too big for even his head, so this project was noteworthy for that reason alone!
Looking at it later on, I think the biggest problem was that I really had no idea about sizing. The gauge wasn't bad, but having never made a hat before, I didn't realize how you want sizing to run. With hats, you want a certain amount of negative ease, right? Well, I do. I don't really make berets or slouchy hats. I like the closer fitting ski or skull sort of caps. This was supposed to be along those lines. Except, being a new knitter (like I said, my second project), I was worried about making it too small. Heads in my family run on the larger side, and mine is no exception. So, I tried to err on the side of caution. I ended up being VERY on the side of caution! It was a very long, very large hat. A friend in college with a head even larger than mine laughed that he didn't think it was possible to make a hat too big for even his head, so this project was noteworthy for that reason alone!
This project has since been frogged. I've already reused part of the yarn in my Traveling Woman shawl, and the rest is waiting to be reused as a cowl. Still, a good learning experience about how much ribbing stretches, and about the importance of proper ease in a project :)
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