I knit so very very slowly. When I buy wool, even Meg in No Frills Knitting says, “See you in six months time”! This means that I like to start my knitting projects in spring, because if all goes well I will finish in the summer, or if it goes pear-spaced I still have six months to sulk and then fully turn things around. This time though, all was well (ish – of more later) I made this without too much swearing (although Mister Steely might testify otherwise).
The yarn and the pom-pom
My yarn came from No Frills Knitting and is an alpaca / wool blend. I chose it for its delicious softness. It is officially black, but with a little teal fluff in it. The pom-pom came from Bath Christmas market, and is a TOFT alpaca wool pom-pom
The Pattern
I used the Madison pattern from the “Beanie Style” booklet from Rowan. I was taken with the easy-looking cables, and the very wide ribbed brim. I have a very small head and I thought the adjustable nature of the brim might work in my favour.
I seem to have a special ability to find patterns with problems and this was no exception. For working in the round the cast-on is wrong, it should be 108 stitches (a multiple of 3) and then this should be increased to 110 stitches (a multiple of the 22 stitch cable repeat) as suggested here. What is even worse is that there is an errata for this pattern is also wrong! There is also a mistake in the round 3 of the crown, which is easy to work out because the repeat should be symmetric (actually palindromic) and the instructions aren’t. Again, not corrected properly in the errata. Anyway, they weren’t catastrophic errors, irritating, but I was fully able to sort them out. It’s a shame because as a hat pattern it is good pattern for a novice like me, but if this had been my first attempt at a hat I would have thrown my toys out the pram. What I can’t understand is why these patterns can’t be checked properly. It doesn’t mean you have to knit the item either. Most errors in knitting patterns seem to be the maths errors, which can easily be checked e.g. are the number of stitches a multiple of the repeat? if I decrease by x stitches is this reflected in the total count for the row?
The outcome
Yes, I have made a few errors in my hat, but it has ribbing and it has cables! It is beautifully soft, as planned. I tried it on first without the pom-pom and I think it may have a bit of a “Lego figure villain” vibe. But with the pom-pom it looks much better.
The pom-pom has a popper attached to it. I think this is a great idea, because it means I can remove the pom-pom, which will come in handy when it rains. I don’t want this lovely fluff of furriness to get wet and hang limply, a sad shadow of its former plumpness!
It’s too warm to wear it now, but it’s rather wonderful to have a hat waiting for me when the cold weather arrives.
Steely Seamstress 
May 29, 2023 at 3:37 pm
Nice! Did you use cable needles or are you one of those brave souls who does it without?
May 30, 2023 at 3:31 pm
I use cable needles, not really brave when it comes to knitting. I’m still a novice. In fact, I’ll probably claim to be a novice forevermore – I just don’t seem to have an aptitude for it / too much swearing involved. Who said it was relaxing? Still, I’ll enjoy wearing the hat.
May 29, 2023 at 4:31 pm
I love the cable style and the pom pom is very cute. I’m surprised that there were that many errors with a Rowan pattern but as you say they are very common. I always find them in crochet patterns too š
May 30, 2023 at 3:34 pm
Strangely, the last Rowan pattern I knitted had errors, so many I essentially rewrote the pattern. I don’t understand why they are edited, by a knitter. Most of the mistakes don’t require you to actually knit it, but are simple maths fails. I adore the pom-pom too – like a little furry chinchilla, that doesn’t need to be fed!
May 31, 2023 at 2:19 am
Beautiful knitting hat. Nice design.
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