Pixie Hood Hats - Country Loom and Charisma

One of my favourite hats - the wool is just gorgeous

Happy November everyone!  Yikes, can you believe it?  Despite my almost-year-round Christmas obsession, I always start to panic 'round about now.  While it may be still a good bit of time away, it is already a week after the time to send your overseas parcels without paying higher prices, so I know it won't be long now.  The Christmas wrap has come out.   Gulp.

'Tis the season now, though ... of hat weather, and I am re-enjoying making hats.  I can say, however ... for those who have some sense of just how many hats I've made ... this is a NEW hat! lol  The pixie hood kind of hat.  And I likes it!

I had a variety of colours of pixie hats when I was a little girl, and they were always my favourite.  Most of the ones I can remember had a tassle, or tassles, and I especially liked those as it was something to dangle when my Mum kept my hair so short I looked like a boy.  I was always a little bummed that I "grew out of those", but then a though struck me ... "says who?"

I had purchased a pattern - just to have sizing and measurements - which didn't work out for me, so I ended up sketching out a few shapes and playing and experimenting with variations.  All of them use my two favourite yarns - Charisma and Country Loom - so they are great fun to work up.  Adding in the faux fur yarns and etc. ... well, you just had to know I'd do that.

You're basically just working either a rectangle, or a rectangle working to a triangle (which you can alter the angle of) for varying results of pixie to elf.  On some I've created a pixie peak, others have a longer elf point.  For the longer points, you can tack it down - or not - for completely different looks.  Tassles at the back, tassles on the ends, no tassles ... whatever you choose.  I suppose you could do pom-pomps, but I have "a thing" about them.

For the 'edge' that will be around your neck area you want a little snugness and good shaping, so you can use an edging if knitting or a shorter stitch for crochet.  I've made some that are knit, some that are crocheted, and some that are a bit of both.  There's stocking stitch, ribbing, moss stitch, gartar stitch, popcorn stitch ... it's like a meatloaf 'recipe' ... throw in whatever you want.

You can do the edge of your hat as the starting size of your rectangle (or a little wider) and then add the ties afterwords, or work the front band as one long piece and then start the body of your hat however many stitches in, to sit in the center.  I think if you're intending wide 'ties' - which you could take to scarf width and length if you liked (ooh, that would be nice), works best done as one. Cold weather .. bring it on.

And, oh my stars ... I thought it was Thursday.  I've actually got a finished object for Finished Object Friday over on Tami's Amis.  Time to check out what other folks are up to.