Head in a cloud

Seaman's Cap

Yarn: Shibui Baby Alpaca DK (100% baby alpaca; DK weight)
Colorway: Midnight (BA2955)--Deep Royal Blue
Needles: US 5 and 6 circulars
Stitches: 102

Nothing quite turned out as expected with this hat. While I should know by now that hand dyed=variegated (to some degree), I was expecting a more consistent color throughout. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. The stripes are consistently spaced, subtle, and probably keep the hat from being too boring. I just wasn't anticipating them.

I thought this hat was going to be a perfect fit. Maybe it would have been without the additional couple rows of stockinette I decided to knit, but it has some extra space at the top even when pulled all the way over my ears. Again, I don't know that this earns the hat any demerits. If anything, it means it provides more cover of the nape and won't slip and uncover my ears. (Note to English majors/amateur grammarians: based on the online dictionary definition, I'm using "nape" rather than "nape of the neck" as the latter seems redundant.)

Initially I was afraid that the hat might be a little tight around the cast on row, what with my uncertainty about making needle and yarn conversions to achieve gauge. As it turned out, the hat is very stretchy and fits quite nicely where the folded cuff is.

All of these unexpected results might sound like I'm unhappy with the hat, but that isn't the case. It's the softest thing ever. The softness of the Shibui yarn makes donning the hat feel like wearing a cloud. This is lightweight, luxurious stuff. The hat is knit well, if I do say so myself. There's no ladder, not even a suggestion of one, where I joined in the round. (Using only one magic loop, which I could get away with until the last few decrease rounds, may be responsible for this. Either that or my looser knitting.)

Sure, the hat's a little too big, but I'd rather have it slightly too long than too short. The color should go well with my overcoat and the scarf I've typically been wearing. While the hat feels as though it has zero weight, I expect it will keep my head warm, and that's the main thing that matters.