The Inga Hat

Oh my goodness, do I love this hat! It may have something to do with the strong resemblance to the wallpaper in my bedroom. Or it could have something to do with stranded colorwork. I don't know, but it was a joy to knit! The only negative is that it is a big hat. And by "big" I mean, long... nearly 10 inches from stem to stern. You could easily dismiss the first few rows of this pattern though and customize it to fit.

I was terrified to block it. I have never "correctly" blocked a knitted piece before so I called on my friends at kathrynivy.com to find out how to do it correctly. Their directions worked perfectly! I soaked the hat in lukewarm water and wool wash for 30 minutes and rolled it in a beach towel and squeezed out the excess water. After that, I let it hang out overnight on the glass head until dry. That's it! Perusing patterns last night I also discovered detailed instructions here.

I could easily knit several more of Inga. But there are so many more great Norwegian hats out there, I'm looking forward to a new challenge!