Brr!

The lowest temperature I saw today was a brisk -14 Fahrenheit when I got up this morning. The weather tool in my Google Desktop sidebar displays -10 as I write this blog entry. To say the least, it's very, very cold. The furnace is doing its job, but I can still feel the chill seeping through the windows. This is a day for long johns, thick socks, and thick, woolly scarves...and those might not be bad to wear inside.

I ventured out to see a movie, swap some screeners, and pick up some groceries, but other than that, this was a day for staying indoors. I don't recall having a day quite this cold in some time. My trusty car started without any fuss. I'm glad my shaving laziness provided a little more protection from the elements. I dug out one of my old, stretched out garter stitch scarves to help cover up. I could stand the frigid air, but I was wise enough not to stay out in it for extended periods. After all, it was so cold that the hairs in your nose freeze when breathing, and the chill drapes you like a gauzy garment.

The cold made this a perfect day for knitting, although I must fess up to taking a lengthy afternoon nap that kept me from finishing my hat today. Well, there's that and the fact that I've been knitting others like it too short.

I've made the pattern a fair number of times, but either I ignored or misread the instruction regarding the length. Actually, now that I look at it to write this, I'm not sure what's "correct".

The pattern says to knit until the hat measures 7.5" from the beginning. Then the crown decreases begin. This instruction doesn't list the measurement for the largest size, but at the start of the pattern it's mentioned that the smallest finished hat is supposed to be 7.5" long with the folded cuff and the largest is to be 8.25". I interpreted the instruction to mean that I should knit until the hat measures 8.25" and then start decreasing. Since the last one I made for myself is a little shorter than I'd like, some extra length is desirable even if it's unintended in the knitting.

For the previous hats I was measuring from the cast on row, but it occurred to me that this makes no sense. After all, the cuff will be folded, so shouldn't I fold it and then measure for the 8.25"? So that's what I've been doing. I've tried it on every now and then, and I think this is the right approach. It should be long enough to cover my ears completely and fit snugly at the crown.

But as I reread the pattern, the finished length with folded cuff is supposed to be 8.25". Mine's already that long before decreasing. This WIP is already longer than the one I made myself about a year ago. Now I'm thinking that I misread the pattern, but it's a good kind of mistake as this hat should be a better fit. I'm curious, though, what you think the pattern writer intends for the knitter to do. As for mine, it should be done and ready for wearing tomorrow.