I used an Estonian Double-Start Cast On for this, and started with the US 4 needle.

I really enjoyed the project; I used Stranded Ladderback Jacquard so I wasn’t having to worry about managing floats or having blips show through.

The Estelle yarn was as it always is, buttery soft and pleasant to touch.

This was my first time working with Melilla, and I’ll be honest, I was skeptical because I usually avoid singles like the plague.

There were two or three spots where I had to cut/splice the yarn because it was so thin, but I also think that is partially down to my knitting style and the way I twist.

The yarn felt great to work with, and the colours were stunning.

For the decrease rounds, I just knit 8, k2tog around (although a couple of places I k3tog for a bit to even out stitch count).
Knit one row plain.
Knit 7, k2tog.
Knit one row plain.
Etc, etc - a more traditional hat decrease since I planned to leave off the pom-pom.

A note about the stranded knitting: on the row of solid black before I started the colourwork, I knit 3, kfb all the way around. The 5th stitch became my spare stitch for stranding.