DIY: The Perfect Hat by Tanja Osswald

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The Perfect Hat, designed by Tanja Osswald, uses a variety of slip stitches to create an almost-knitted texture.

I followed pattern directions and made a hat that was slightly too small for me. However, since this hat is for our Etsy shop, it doesn’t need to fit me! Overall, the Perfect Hat is a watchcap-style hat that is plain enough for everyday use, but the luxurious yarn makes it seem super special.

I bought two skeins of sumptuous yarn at the Woodstock Fleece Festival in October, which was enough yarn to make two hats! First of all, I followed the pattern directly, which made the slightly smaller hat. For the second hat, I added 10 st to the beginning ch. I then followed the directions while keeping the length 10 sts longer. This consequently created the Perfect Hat for larger heads! I used a 4.0 mm hook for both hats, each of which used one skein (329 metres) of The Black Lamb Country Cashmere Silk yarn.

Overall, the Perfect Hat looks lovely in a tonal yarn.  I used a green yarn that has a lovely mix of greens that don’t overpower the pattern yet provide interest. The pattern even includes directions for the ribs and the spaces to have contrasting colours.

The pattern introduced me to two new stitches, the iF and the iB slip stitches. Importantly, Tanja Osswald’s pattern includes photos and directions for these inverse front loop only (iF) and inverse back loop only (iB) slip stitches. Once you get the hang of them, they are a breeze to do! The pattern flips where the brim is supposed to turn up. Importantly, I found that keeping a stitch marker here helped me keep track of when to switch stitches.

Short rows provide shaping at the crown for a neat finish. Consequently, I quite like this technique and want to incorporate it into future hat patterns of my own.

You can buy the Perfect Hat pattern on Ravelry here.

Or you can purchase both sizes of this finished hat from our Etsy store!