Followed Purl Soho’s One-Step Provisional Cast-on Method, which can be found here: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/04/03/provisional-ca...

Using US 7 (16”) circulars, I provisionally cast on 86 stitches according to the original pattern, then knit all the way around once before knitting the twisted ribbed band/brim. Once the brim was completed I did not weave in my tail right away but left it to be woven in after the hat was completed.

To me, the most difficult part about this pattern is the provisional cast on. But it’s honestly more awkward than hard. After that, knitting the band/brim in twisted 1x1 ribbing took the longest to do. Seriously that took me forever and was not my favorite. But once you get past that it’s smooth sailing and the rest of the hat should only take a day to complete, if that.

Side note: Because I was a little confused about how to “join” the live cast on stitches to my existing work, I wanted to try and explain that for anyone else who isn’t an abstract thinker (like me!). Basically all you do is fold the brim in and as much as possible match up the current row’s stitches with that of your provisionally cast on stitches. Then one by one I undid the crochet chain of waste yarn, releasing the live cast-on stitch and just knit the two stitches together like you would normally as though they were both already on your needle. (Even though this took me longer it felt “safer” than just ripping out the entire waste yarn all at once.)*

After folding in the brim and knitting the live stitches together, I switched to US size 8 circulars and knit one more round, then I followed the original pattern exactly for one whole repetition. On the second repetition, after knitting 6 rounds of purls, I followed user 60before60’s pattern modifications. So the second repetition looked like this:

1. 6 ends purl
2. K10, k2tog all the way around
3. 1 rnd St St
4. 4 rnds 1x1 rib, not twisted
5. 2 rnds St St

And again for my third and final repetition and the crown decrease I continued to follow a combination of 60before60’s pattern modifications and the original pattern:

1. 6 rnds purl
2. K9, k2tog all the way around
3. 1 rnd St St
4. 4 rnds 1x1 rib, not twisted
5. 2 rnds St St
6. K8, k2tog all the way around
7. Knit two additional rnds St St
8. K2tog all the way around
9. Knit 3 rnds St St
10. K2tog until there were only 6 stitches left on my needles, then cut yarn and threaded the remaining stitches.

Additional modifications I wish I would have made:

• I wish I would have knit the brim/band to about 4” instead of 3.5”
• I also wish I would have knit the entire hat using US size 8 needles. I knit very tight as it is anyhow, so starting out on the US 7s was unnecessary. I’d also only cast on 84 stitches rather than 86.
• Lastly I think if I knit this again I would prefer it to be a little more slouchy, like C.C.’s Boulder Over-sized Slouchy Beanie. As I knit this, with the modifications I made, it definitely turned out more cap-like. Still very flattering, and I still love it, but I just personally prefer the slouchier look. In order to do that I would either try just following the original pattern exactly as is with maybe one more repeat (so 4 pattern repeats total), or I would also consider repeating the original pattern three times, and then from there following the modifications to make one additional repeat.

I made the faux fur pom pom following this video and the written instructions. Very easy to do and was a fun new craft skill to pick up:
http://www.ebay.com/gds/DIY-No-Sew-Fur-Pompoms-/100000002...%