Mike wanted an Opie hat. “What’s an Opie hat?” - Then I was educated about the TV series Sons of Anarchy and the “Opie” character who wears a slouchy black hat. Mike has a reddish beard similar to the character in the series.

There are two Opie hat improvisations on Ravelry - both using very thin yarn. I wanted to use stash yarn and was curious to see what Invernal would look like. I brought the hat into work today and was delighted to see Mike turn into Opie. Such fun!

Mike went to a friend’s house after work and did this photo shoot in the friend’s “man cave” for the Opie Hat. The pics are of Mike - not the actor - I need to point that out because Mike looks so similar to the actual Opie. This is the simplest hat - and yet very effective to achieve the badass look.

My husband wanted this hat, however hubby’s photo prop would have to be his Lazy Boy chair.

Sarah’s Version of the “Opie” Hat
The pattern is based loosely on the “Simple Pleasures” pattern. If you’re going to increase or decrease the size, do it by 4’s, 88, 92, 96, 100, etc. Size will vary depending on the yarn you use. I used Aslan Trends Invernal, which is a light worsted and a 96 st cast-on worked perfectly with US6. Perhaps if you used Cascade 220, which is a robust worsted, you’d be better off with a 92 cast-on.

• Using Invernal, cast on 96 sts using US6.
• Work K2P2 ribbing for 1-1/4”.
• Change to US8 and repeat these two rows (Knit one row, K1P1 next row) until desired length before decreases, ending with a K1P1 row. 9” from the beginning will give a slight slouch. On the last row before decreases, place marker every 19 stitches. This gives you six decrease sections. Use a different color marker for the first marker to mark your beginning.
• All decrease rows are done on the KNIT row – do not decrease on the K1P1 row.
Decrease row 1: Knit to 3 sts before marker, K3TOG, slip marker. Repeat till end of round.
Decrease row 2: K1P1 the next row as usual.
Repeat Decrease rows 1 and 2 until 12 stitches remain.
• Cut the yarn leaving a fairly long tail, about 12”, then thread the tail on to a needle and pass it through the remaining stitches on your needle. Do this twice around. Pull the stitches tight and secure to the inside of the hat. Weave in the ends and ENJOY!