Mardi Gras

Given the day, I thought it would be appropriate to show off the Short One's favorite hat. This is one of those patterns I wish I'd written myself. It's by far the easiest jester's hat pattern I've seen, and I own several commercial patterns for such hats. I took this one from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Kid Knits: Patterns for Babies and Toddlers.

I altered it slightly in size, knit it on circular needles (at least the base) and changed out the original pompoms (I don't care for pompoms all that much) for little stuffed balls on the tips - the extra weight of the balls makes the hat flop quite nicely. It is really cute when worn, especially by a short person. The SO himself has finally outgrown this one (I don't know if you can see how worn looking it is from the photo, but it's been well-loved - trust me), and he's already picked out the colors for a larger sized version (purple, blue and green). Oh, and I knit this with Debbie Bliss Pure Cashmere that I purchased on sale somewhere, so it's also really warm.

Incidentally, the Yarn Girls are the owners of the The Yarn Co. on the Upper West Side of Manhattan - it used to be my LYS (although it was under different ownership at the time I lived there, I still make a point of stopping in whenever I visit New York City). Anyway, I love this hat - I imagine I'll continue to knit this pattern for the SO for the next couple years at least, until he's too old for something so cutesy.

I hope everyone enjoys their Mardi Gras. (The SO is a fiend for Mardi Gras beads...)