Spring Hat

Found this pattern on Ravelry.

Pattern:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hinagiku-hat
Needles:
Body- Size 8 (5mm)
Brim- Size 4 (3.5mm)

I had to special order yarn to finish my sister's Colts Cowl. I ordered two balls because I really wanted to make sure I had enough this time. So, for this hat I am using Cascade Yarns Longwood Superwash Merino wool in color # 01.

Leftover yarn from my sister's cowl.

I went off pattern a little and only cast on 100 stitches. The yarn is thicker and the needles are bigger than suggested in the pattern. Plus, I wanted a snug fit for the brim. I have made a couple slouchy hats that tend to slip down my forehead. Doing Magic Loop method on Clover circular needles.

The twisted rib is easy and is worth the little bit of extra time it takes to knit up. It has a much more defined edge than regular 1x1 rib.

Feels a wee bit snug. Hope I don't have to frog.

The daisy stitch is a tiny bit wonky to do. I'm finding that having a little bit of finger nail helps me keep the stitches from slipping off the needle as I do the [k3tog, yo, k3tog]. The bamboo needles might be making the second K3tog harder with extra friction. Also, the type of yarn could be making things challenging. The individual ply tend to seperate into different strings with this Longwood yarn.

UPDATE: I've been debating whether the hat is too tight. I don't swatch. So I just guessed at the gauge and made pattern adjustments based on the fact that other hats I have made seem to always slip down. This yarn is superwash, which I have read stretches when washed. I also don't block but since this hat is feeling small, I might try to stretch this hat with blocking. I could frog it and make it bigger and not block but it's a hat and I live in Seattle and snowboard. This hat will get wet a lot. I think this is why my hats end up feeling loose and slide down over my eyes. Or it could be that I don't swatch and block.