My husband and I own a bookstore and coffee shop that has a statue in the window of a man carrying a stack of books. We decorate the statue with seasonal headgear and I wanted to design an unusual winter hat for him. When it’s not busy, people can see me sitting at a table near the window knitting socks, so I decided he needed a stocking hat.

This is a very flexible pattern. Go ahead and change it. Extra long ribbing gives double coverage for cold ears. If you don’t want that much ribbing, then don’t knit it so long. If you have a favorite heel or toe, scale it down and use it. Use your favorite colors. Use leftover yarns, mix and match.