I went down a needle size for the body of the hat as other people have said (and their pictures show) the hat comes out very big. I really love this Charlemont yarn. It feels a little bit stiff until you rinse it out.

Dec 23 - And the Sister loves it! She said it came out the perfect size. After all my griping I think I will make a second hat for myself someday. I didn’t even use the whole skein for this hat, so the extras are being turned into a Greyscale Norby for myself.

Dec 6 - Finished knitting. I think I will give the hat to my sister, but only after I’ve taken a ton of pictures of it.

Dec 3 - I’m considering keeping this and quickly knitting up something simpler for my sister. I don’t need another slouchy, lacy grey hat but I want this thing to be properly appreciated. Does this make me a bad person??

Dec 2 - I wish I had chosen an easier pattern to give away as a gift. This hat has been a real labor of love, it’s fiddly and hasn’t been the most enjoyable knit.

I bought a second skein of yarn to make one for myself but I don’t think I’ll repeat the experience again for a while. The hat is pretty though.