Quick Hat Review

It's pretty dang cold round these parts as of late. The bitter frosty weather makes it essential to bundle up and then add 2-3 more layers on top of that. I've been loving my hats, scarves, gloves, and the approximately dozen coats I've purchased this year alone. Oh and SOCKS! Man, I love socks. So before Christmas I told my husband I'd be happy to make him a hat in his school colors, but not until after Christmas. Imagine my delight when I went to Joanns and saw this:my hats, scarves, gloves, and the approximately dozen coats I've purchased this year alone. Oh and SOCKS! Man, I love socks. So before Christmas I told my husband I'd be happy to make him a hat in his school colors, but not until after Christmas. Imagine my delight when I went to Joanns and saw this:

Red Heart Team Spirit in Navy & Grey

And it was on SALE! I also found some in Navy and White that I plan on using to make something fun for me. Hooray! I love the new blue and grey colors Utah State is rockin this season so I new it was fate I got some. (Consequently this is how most of my yarn purchases go. "It's so cute!! It's fate I own this.")

For once in my lifetime of crocheting I actually did a project in the same year I promised I would. I went on the hunt for a good men's beanie pattern. See, I wanted something visually interesting but not in a girly kind of way. Most men's patterns are snoozeville boring. I found this fun one on Ravelry and decided to give it a go. I mean look how happy this dude is!



Brain Waves Beanie by Liz McQueen

Of course I was thrilled my yarn changed colors on its own so I didn't do any color changes. No none at all. I think mine turned out quite nicely letting it do its own thang. This puppy worked up quick; just a couple hours on a Sunday morning. Once I did the first few rows of the wave pattern, it was the same thing over and over again. I love those patterns because I can watch TV and truck along like I'm really good at crocheting or something.

The only critique I have is with sizing. The hat seemed a titch too big around which I couldn't judge before I got about halfway through. So it's a little looser on his head than I'd like. And my husband has a larger head than some. So it's not like this is a normal issue when finding beanies for him. The other thing was the length. The pattern says to stop at row 10 or row 13 when you have your desired length. Neither of those rows was my desired length. Those three rows in the middle make a big difference between it looking geeky short or verging on covering his eyes. I went the long route hoping if I wash it, it'll tighten up a tad. I am sure doing more of these I could tweak the pattern to fit my needs, but it would have been awesome to have some more guidance for sizing on the pattern itself...says the girl who doesn't write patterns herself for fear she won't get in enough detail to make it work perfect for everyone and their dog.

Overall this was a great pattern. Really easy, really quick, and fun to look at! Our guys need a little visual interest too ya know? So here is the picture of the one I worked up. You'll see some of the waves are split in half with different colors because that's just where the yarn happened to change color. Personally I don't mind, I still think it looks cool. We're on the lookout for a USU patch or something to sew on so I'll update the pic when we get one. Hook one up and tell us what you think!

Go Aggies!!