Finally, the correct recipient is modeling, after the wrong kid, the squash and the Jamaican man-head

Mash-up between the 2 patterns, with some variations on both.

Cast on 66 on size 4 mm needles with Berroco Comfort white held together with some nameless eyelash yarn.

• knit in the round
• 1 inch, then switch to 5 mm needles and red yarn.
• 5.5 inches, then k4, k2tog around
• 5 rounds (instead of 8), then k3, k2tog around
• 5 rounds, then k2, k2tog, etc.- down to 3 stitches.

I chose to knit 5 rounds between decreases vs. 8 as I didn’t want a long tail, to drag the hat down, especially as I’m guessing at the size. The pattern I incorporated - Santa Hat for Babies, and which this Malabrigo Santa Hat is based on, has a much more rapid decrease. I chose something in the middle.

Pompoms - first attempt was both white yarns wound 75 times around 4 fingers - huge! Next was 50 times around 3 fingers - perfect.

Lesson Learned - I started with a partial skein of the red then ran out. I joined another full skein, which left me with a distinct colour change line, plus 2 ends to weave in, which in this yarn is a huge PITA, as the yarn is slippery and splitty. Moral of the story - start hats with a full skein!