New Knitter Project 2: The Most On Point Hat Ever (Maybe)

This. This post I've been excited to write. Why? Because this knitting project was one of my favorites to work on for oodles of reasons. Granted, yes, I've literally only done two projects (and one that I'm still working on — one day I'll post on that big adventure I jumped in to) but this one had some love behind it. 

My first project, which I wrote about here and here, was a pretty easy hat that my friend picked out for me when she gave me my "knitting starter kit" for my birthday. It was the perfect project to start with. I was able to build self confidence in my knitting abilities, while also creating something that I like. I don't know about you, but when I think of knitting I think of pink doilies and baby blankets. Basically things that maybe my grandmother had made all of my aunts when they got married or had kids. Wherever that stereotype came from, knitting this hat crushed that. 

The Super Chunky Hat With Pom Pom 

So how did I end up making the Super Chunky Hat (with a pom pom)? Basically a dear friend of mine texted me one day after she saw my first hat and decided to come up with a business name that I could have for my future Etsy shop. That shop I hadn't even thought about or considered. It was super cute (I won't share just in case I actually decide to do this... and none of you can have this oh-so-clever name!) and we laughed about it a bit, but then she said, "Will this hat be discounted since I just came up with your business name?" And instead I told her that since she's now basically my business partner, she gets a hat on the house! She's graduating this month (You can do it! Get those A's!) and I thought it'd be a nice present to possibly encourage her through this week. And yes, I realize the ridiculousness of giving someone a WINTER HAT in MAY. But here we are. 

I scoured Ravelry for the best hats to make and trust me, it was not an easy feat. Did you all know that in order to pick out a pattern, you have to check the needle sizes (do you even own those size needles??) plus the yarn weight (is your yarn bulky or is it worsted? Or could it possibly be aran?) and then actually check out the difficulty of the project? 

Needless to say, when I first picked out some hats, I realized one pattern was in Danish, one was pretty pricey and one required sets of needles that I didn't even own! This, my friends, is how knitting gets to be more money than you'd ever think. So I ended up settling on the Super Chunky Hat because I at least owned one of the two sets of needles, plus it was cheap, plus it was very low on the difficulty scale. 

So soft. And the perfect color for the perfect person

I sent my friend a few pictures of yarn and we settled on this beautiful skein up above. This is the other reason I've wanted this hat from day one, the color is to die for! 

Here We Go Again...

When I finally picked the yarn and the pattern, I was ready to go — or at least I thought I was. But what I've also learned in this knitting process is that everyone writes their patterns a little differently. I had no idea. I thought it was just one language. No no, it's got it's own slang and everything. Once I cracked the code on the language, I was able to sit down and work on the hat. 

Then I hit my first wall. I mean, the wall besides trying to read the pattern. The real first wall was knowing how much extra yarn you want before you cast on. You want a certain amount of extra yarn so when you finish your project, you can weave it in throughout the pattern and keep it from unraveling. But I can never seem to get it right the first time. Every time I cast on the right amount of stitches, I'd end up with about an inch left and that was never going to be enough. So after 4 or 5 (or 6 or 7) attempts, I succeeded! 

Then, of course, I read the first few lines wrong and had to start over. This hat was giving me a headache, and it wasn't even anything that resembled a hat yet! 

These first rows were a pain in the butt, but it all becomes worth it when you see the pattern forming

When it was time to start a new round with a new stitch terminology... I froze. I had no idea what M1B meant! *Just so you know, it means you are adding a stitch, but in a weird way* Well, easy enough, I can just YouTube that! Now, my rant on knitters: They are oh so good about slooowwwllly showing you what to do, and then right when they get towards the end, or the part you really need to know, they become speedy Gonzales and I have to watch it a dozen times to understand what's happening. It's seriously every. single. knitter. It's maddening! 

If at First You Don't Succeed, Wait For a Friend 

I tried to mimic the YouTuber, but failed. I failed so bad I had to pull out all of my stitches and start over. What a nightmare! Defeated, I gave it up for a while until my friend, the knitting guru, could help me out. 

Ideally I wanted to finish this hat long before the coldness of winter dissipated into warm and rainy spring days. But that was just not a reality. When you only meet once a week to learn a new section of your pattern, and pair that with busy life schedules, it feels like a project will take you the rest of your life. But, I persisted. And it paid off! After countless teachings and one night of pom pom making, it was all set. I remember thinking that knitting was not for the faint of heart, but that only lasts for a moment. Even though it's not my hat, I'm absolutely in love with the pattern and the yarn. I need to make myself a matching hat just to have one for myself. Heck, my Etsy business should be just these hats! 

The completed hat in all it's glory! 

My friend keeps telling me that I'm brave when it comes to picking out patterns. I say I'm ignorant and don't realize that I'm biting off more than I can chew. But apparently with a lot of help, I can get through anything! I actually almost feel that I have to have an asterisk on my "creations" since I have so much help — it's like I have a top editor for hat making! 

Anyway, my friend ended up loving it and sent me a few pictures of her wearing her hat and eating pizza in her hat. So I'd call it a win. She didn't seem to mind the hat in springtime. Maybe she'll wear it to her graduation, ha! 

I'm not sure if anyone else has made a project that was a ton of toil but completely worth it in the end, but this was mine. Except you all should see the next project I want to work on... I'm basically signing myself up for panic and failure. Just you wait.

Always, 

A