11/28/09 - I’m going to use the stitch count and decrease instructions from the Seaman’s Cap, but I’m going to knit this as a roll brim hat rather than with a ribbed bottom to fold up. I’m just not up to more ribbing right now!

12/04/09 - So, I kinda changed my mind. I was knitting along, having inserted the gold stripe, and was now knitting rows of blue. While trying it on to make sure I hadn’t knit too far before starting the decreases (since I’m not knitting the ribbing, and am unsure how much of the bottom is going to roll), I suddenly thought, “Hey…how about a slouchy hat?”

I like the look, and I think this will look good with my plan. I’m not doing the striping all the way up (just one stripe in gold) because I intend to duplicate stitch “Navy” on the sides in the blue area right above the stripe. And I’ve already knit the roll brim instead of the ribbing, which was my preference, but I’ll go the length called for in the pattern and use that set of decreases instead of from Seaman’s Cap.

12/5/09 - Knitting done, and I like the look of the hat. It slouches just enough but not too much; I did knit it a bit longer than the pattern called for before finishing the decreases (about 6 1/4” instead of 6”). Now I’m trying my hand at duplicate stitch for the first time; I created a KnitPro grid of “Navy” that I’m adding to either side of the hat. So far, so good.

12/6/09 - Duplicate stitch is done, and I’m happy with it. It’s light yarn over dark yarn, so every gap shows pretty starkly. I definitely need some practice to figure out the proper tension, but for a first try, it’s not bad at all. I really like how the look of the font transferred to duplicate stitch--it was exactly the look I wanted (although I stuck to something much simpler on Steve’s hat). I think it’ll be plenty clear who we’re rooting for at the Army/Navy game, so that’s all that matters!