Spicule noun
– a small, sharp-pointed structure typically present in large numbers

You know when you get an idea and you’re having so much fun you just have to run with it? Yeah, that totally happened here.

This started as a set of ornaments. I wanted to play with lovely tiny twisted stitch cables, and I wanted to use a fingering weight yarn to emphasize just how delicate cables like that can be. Ornaments seemed like the perfect canvas for something so delightfully intricate.

But before the ornaments were even off the needles I was daydreaming about what the same patterns would look like as full sized hats. But instead of using a fingering weight yarn, I wanted to use a fluffy worsted weight. That would transform the stitches that were so delicate on the ornaments into something bold and dramatic on the hats.

The idea was too good to resist, and I couldn’t be happier with the result!

The collection includes the patterns for all three hats in both full size versions (the ones you’d wear) and miniature versions (the ones you’d hang on a tree or tie on a present).

The full size hats are written in three sizes each (castons of about 100, 110, or 120 stitches, though the exact number varies by pattern), and you should feel free to adjust your gauge a bit to fine tune the fit of the pieces. Just be sure that you’re working at a gauge that gives you a fabric you like with your chosen yarn!

I recommend working at something around 5, 5.5, or 6 stitches per inch, and I’ve included a table to help you figure out what gauge you’ll want to use for your size. With that range of sizes and gauges, the hats will fit a head between 19.75 and 25 inches (with lots of points in between). You can almost certainly make any size hat with less than 225 yards of yarn.

The miniature hats are written in one size. Gauge isn’t quite as important for these, but I recommend working at something like 7 stitches per inch to make a hat that’s about 3.5 inches across and 3.5 inches tall. You’ll need less than 50 yards of yarn to make one ornament (plus up to 25 yards of yarn for the tassel, if you decide to make one).

These are perfect for you if:

• You feel a hat phase coming on
• You now feel a burning need to give someone a new hat, wrapped up all pretty, with a mini version of the hat on top as a gift tag (or is that just me?)

They’re not for you if:

• You don’t like charts
• You’re not a fan of cables