This hat is knit flat then a buttonhole band is picked up along one side of the opening, and knit in a sturdy stitch similar to linen stitch to withstand a lot of buttoning and unbuttoning. The hat band section is sewn together afterward. The full length button band will accommodate any ponytail or bun--just unbutton it where you need an opening.

Note for clarification:
I see that there is some potential for possible confusion about the edge from which stitches are picked up for the button band (page three). As the the pattern says, they are picked up from “the right edge of the right side”. The hat is a flat piece of knitting at this point, so if you hold it up in front of you with the RIGHT side (as opposed to the WRONG side) facing you, the edge to the right is where you will pick up stitches. You can see that from the picture also if you look closely. Hope this helps explain it a little more clearly. Happy knitting and thank you very much for purchasing my pattern.