Goal gauge:
19 sts = 4 in
31 rows = 4 in

Pre-blocking with US6:
17 sts/3 in = (5.67 sts/in) = 22.7 sts/4 in
19.5 rows/2.5 in = (7.8 rows/in) = 31.2 rows/4 in

Post-blocking:
17 sts/3 in = (5.67 sts/in) = 22.7 sts/4 in
19 rows/2.5 in = (7.6 rows/in) = 30.4 rows/in

YES! I thought my gauge swatch had shrunk and I just wasn’t going to be able to get gauge… turns out I counted wrong! YAY! It’s no wonder - this yarn is so fuzzy and has almost zero stitch definition. It’s easy to lose track.

While a US6 doesn’t give me perfect gauge, it’s close enough, especially since the US7s give me a fabric that’s off on both the stitch and row count. At least the US6 gives me the right(ish) row count.

19 Apr
Even though my gauge is off, things seem to be working up just right. It’s good that this yarn gets drapey after blocking because I think that will really help this hat lay properly.

Also, it is very difficult to take an interesting picture of this hat in process. It’s a disc. Fascinating.

I just have the back shaping to do and I think I’m going to pick up 2 sts at the gap between the back and peak and then follow the L pattern to make it easier for the hat to sit lower.

20 Apr
Okay, all done with the knitting. Just have the blocking and finishing to do! I’m a bit worried cause the hat fits the husband just fine (and looks cute) but is a bit small for me. I hope this will be fixed during blocking! I’m really hoping that it all works out! I’m kinda nervous!

22 Apr
Blocking done. Finishing finished! OMG, this hat is absurd and I love it! I think it might look cuter on the husband than on me, but he’s totally not stealing it so it doesn’t matter. I love it!

Notes:
I used 14 mesh needlepoint canvas for the peak and it is perfect. The kind I got was more a plastic sheet with little holes poked in it (instead of a square grid) so it cut very nicely - no little posts poking out.

The snaps I used could probably be a bit smaller. Though, honestly, as I don’t think folks wear these unsnapped, tacking it down would have worked just as well.

I don’t think my gauge difference caused any problems. I followed the pattern for the M as written until the back shaping, where I picked up two extra stitches to give me the L size count, then I followed the L pattern. I don’t think four stitches would make that big of a difference, but I’m still glad I went with the L. The fit, after blocking and hemming the back, is perfect.

I have some grosgrain ribbon that I might use to line the very front. It’s possible the yarn (which is a little coarse) might cause my forehead to prickle. If it does, I think I’ll just put some of the ribbon across the section where it touches my forehead. Keeps me from having to follow the contour of the back, too.

Pattern-wise, I think this is ingenious. I love the inventiveness of how this is put together. Shaping in knitting can still kind of blow my mind. There is a lot of counting, but I tend to count as I knit anyway, so it didn’t bother me too much except for the day I was doing short-rows after splitting a (rather strong) beer with the husband. Yeah, that was a bit challenging.

Yarn-wise, this is not next-to-skin soft for me (though I admittedly have rather sensitive skin). There is very little stitch definition with this yarn, which works perfectly for this pattern. It has a nice drape due to the alpaca, but seems to keep the shape well. Yes, it does break easily but I only had an issue with that when trying to frog a cast on. I had no issues while knitting, seaming or weaving in ends.

I used one ball of yarn almost exactly for the hat. I had maybe a yard of extra after binding off. Of course, I did the gauge swatch on my other ball of yarn, so if I hadn’t done that, I would have had to unravel my swatch (possibly difficult due to potential breaking). Since my gauge was a little smaller than recommended, I would totally suggest two balls of this yarn for this pattern.

Ultimately, I’d totally do this pattern again. In fact, I’m contemplating a more summer version of this. Perhaps linen? Hemp?