This hat is going to be Christmas gift. It is from handspun alpaca/angora blend yarn that I spun myself a few weeks ago. I like the blend because the angora doesn’t halo as much as it normally does and it also doesn’t sacrifice the softness that angora is so well known for. The pattern is just a basic half double crochet. Hook size is F.

9 Dec Update*

I am loving this hat! I took a different turn with it. I added a second color and some texture to it. The second color is some shetland/angora blend that is in a half herringbone stitch. I’m so glad I decided to do this. It gives the hat a pop of color (still manly), and some texture. I don’t have much left till it’s done.

So amazingly enough I actually finished this hat in time for Christmas. The reason why this is so amazing is because I had to rip it back to pretty much the beginning. Here’s the story:

I usually use my husband to measure men’s hats, especially with this hat since it was for his twin brother. So here I am almost done, about ready to start ribbing it and he tries it on and it’s too big (if it’s too big on him that’s saying a lot), my husband isn’t one of those men who say things are okay when they aren’t. I knew deep down he was right and I couldn’t give someone a hat that is too big. So I ripped it back and started over. Well I got it done for Christmas, and my brother-in-law loves it.

So overall this hat was a challenge, but it taught me a lot, especially about sizing. I’ve made a ton of hats through the years and have never had the issues I had with this one. But I grew in knowledge with this hat.