Droplet Hat

On of my knitting communities had a challenge this month to knit something with bobbles. Well, I have never done them before, but I can't say that I ever desperately had the urge to do so either. Doing a Ravelry pattern search through my library, though I found a few ideas. (Seriously, what did we do before Ravelry. Look through our own books and magazines? Crazy talk!)

Ultimately I settled on a pattern from Knitting Nature. Holy crow, that means I have now knit two patterns from this book, I thought would only be for inspiration.

Pattern: Droplet Hat by Norah Gaughan
Pattern Source: Knitting Nature
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted in color 157
Supplier: Webs
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm

My major modification was to take out the seam stitches and knit it in the round. Not only did that make it a little easier, but even in the pictures in the book, the seam is quite visible and in my opinion slightly unsightly.

I know many people complained that this hat is a little shallow (including on the model in the book, though they hide it by having her hair over her ears), but I have a small head, and found it to be an okay depth. If I did want to add more depth though, it would be important to do it before the decreases, which are so elegantly hidden in the patterning at the top.

I love the concept behind this hat, which is based on droplets running down ann inclined surface. As far as a verdict on the bobbles themselves, though, I am still not crazy about the look of them. They were moderately entertaining to knit, though, at least with Norah Gaughan's no-turn version.