I designed this hat to be used as a chemo cap for outdoor use during the harsh Midwestern winter we have been having this year (2013). Since it was a chemo cap, I used worsted-weight acrylic yarn (Red Heart Eco Ways), but I recommend using worsted-weight wool such as Cascade 220, Brown Sheep Nature Spun, or something similar if you are making it for a different purpose.

As for gauge, you should expect to get a gauge of 18 - 20 sts per four inches if using worsted weight yarn, and you can adjust your total stitch count so that it works well with the eight-count stitch repeat in the charts to fit any size head. Choose your needle size in accordance with the gauge you get with the needle. I used a size 7 needle (U.S.) to get my gauge, but you might find that you will need to go up a size or down a size to get the same gauge.

As for the amount of yarn I used, I am not sure of the exact amount, but I didn’t use more than one-fourth of a skein of each of the colors used in the picture, and Red Heart Eco Ways was a yarn that had 186 yards per skein. This would be a great hat to use up small amounts of left-overs from your worsted weight sweater projects.

Please feel free to contact me via Ravelry (suzknittyspinner) if you have questions!