My brother and his wife are avid skiiers, so I’ve made a LOT of hats, and this pattern is my all-time favorite! The best thing about it is the “lining” created by floating the very soft and bulky Cortina behind the intarsia stitches in the body of the hat. VERY warm and comfy. (The third picture is of the hats inside-out.)

The pattern (which is free with purchase of the yarn) calls for size 8 needles, but I knit loosely so I used size 5. With the bulky Noro Iro, it knits up into a heavy dense fabric which will be good against the snow and wind. The medium size fits me perfectly and the large is better suited for a man.

I put a ponytail hole in back of the medium size for my sister-in-law. It was very easily achieved by knitting back and forth on the first 6 rows after the body. Can you see it in the bottom picture?

This hat is well worth the price of the yarn!