The boy wanted a hat to reflect his Choctaw heritage. He wanted a black hat, with a bright/hot red diamond motif along the brim. I wanted it to be warm, too, for that bald head of his. I was hoping for a wool, but he was very specific and picky about his color choice, and I could only find a hot enough red in the Plymouth Encore worsted. A doubled brim may do the trick of keeping him warm. (Double knit would have worked, too, but I think I want to try the doubled brim first.) Hemmed edges are sooo satisfying!

Instructions:
CO 80 sts with US 5s
Knit st st for 16 rows.
Purled 1 row.
Changed to US 7s.
Knit 3 rows.
Pattern for 7 rows (2 rows of lines; 5x5 diamonds.)
Knit 4 rows.
Knit next row together with the CO edge.
Knit st st until hat measured 4.5 inches from bottom.
(Knit 38 sts, K2 tog) twice.
Knit 1 row.
Decreases:
Row 1: (Knit 11 sts, K2 tog, pm) 6 times.
Row 2: Knit.
Row 3: (K until 2 sts before marker, k2tog) 6 times.
Row 4: Knit.
Repeated Rows 3 & 4 until 30 sts were left.
(Knit 3, K2tog) 6 times.
(Knit 2, K2tog) 6 times.
(Knit 1, K2tog) 6 times.
K2tog 6 times.
Slipped yarn through loops and wove in the ends.
Take pictures and admire.