18-6-2020

Finally achieved a photo of the finished object - which looks almost exactly the same as the eight-inch version photographed on the needles! It really is bigger, though. Still only about 4½“ across in the flat, but I managed to stretch it around a 12” circumference roll of Sellotape, though the colourwork didn’t look pretty under that sort of strain.
I suspect I could, and probably should, have done this in double knitting rather than the lightweight wool, and still got a smaller hat. It’s a lovely pattern, though.

16 grams of main colour and 3g of contrast white used.

16-6-2020

Restarting from row 11. All my size 10 needles seem to be very short (not normally a problem on a project this small, but I want to be able to estimate gauge overall) so I’m using a pair of 3.25mm needles; not sure if they’re slightly bigger or slightly smaller, but they do fit my Beehive gauge pretty much exactly.

Edit: still too small - going up one needle size increased the width by about ½“ overall, which isn’t really enough. I’m now back to using size 9 needles (with size 11 for the ribbing) - evidently I should have done my tension tests while alternating multiple colours!

Even after completing the pattern once, I’m still a bit puzzled as to why you knit the last stitch of a purl row on rows 12 and 28 only (and why you slip the first stitch on rows 11, 12 and 27 only).

15-06-2020

Fun to knit, but I’m afraid the finished hat is more like eight or nine inches than ten, even though my colour work lies nice and flat.
I wonder if I ought to redo it on needles a size larger (I’ve already cut the white wool, but I do have various further scraps of that), attempt to block it wider (could possibly be done, but would distort the proportions of the pattern) or leave it for the doll to wear perched on the top of her head…. Unfortunately from the photos the doll’s head looks pretty cylindrical. I’m afraid I’d probably better re-do the whole thing.

(Looking at other people’s pattern notes, it might be worth retaining the ribbing on the smaller needles and changing up for the main body - the ribbing is amply stretchy enough as it is.)

12-06-2020

I ended up going all the way down to size 11 needles (pattern recommends size 8) in order to get a tension of 6½ sts/inch so that I could reduce the size to fit a ten-inch circumference instead of eleven inches - even using this rather light DK and white 4ply for the contrast colour.
I hope I haven’t ended up reducing it too far; the ribbing stretches out to 10” all right, but the colourwork may need aggressive blocking to fit over the doll’s head.