Every once in a while you have a moment of pure serendipity. A few weeks ago I decided I wanted a new winter hat. I dug around in my small yarn stash and found I had a full skein of worsted weight wool yarn. Then I went to see which size needles I had that matched in a circular 16 inch and straight needles. I found a set of US size 7. (Though later I found a set of US 6 needles too).

Then I went to Ravelry.com to see if I could find a pattern I liked using US size 7 needles and worsted weight yarn.

After a bit of perusing, I came upon this “Look Out! Winter Hat” designed by Roberta Rich, from just this past year 2020. I liked that it covers the ears—the ear sections actually curve around and hug your ears! And I loved her introduction that states this hat is great for “kids on the playground to adults who wear hardhats”! This hat is awesome!

The hat’s border is knit a flat piece first and then you pick up stitches to knit the crown. The crown can be worked in the round or flat and sewn together at the end. So it’s a really versatile pattern.

The hats pictured on the pattern were either striped or a solid color. I had some yarn odds and ends so just did an improvisation design on the crown, without making myself a stitch pattern.

The pattern itself is great. I was initially baffled by the wrong side row instructions which tell you to slip the last 3 stitches in the row. I did that and found I had a loose chain forming. I knew that couldn’t be right. So I tried again and discovered the it works perfectly if you slip two stitches as if to purl and actually purl the the last stitch. It’s those slipped stitches which create the beautiful edging on the hat.

I don’t like have the loops of my face masks around my ears, so have sewn big buttons on my hats and slip the mask loops around the buttons. It works very nicely.

I sewed the buttons on with a square of fleece on the back to keep the knitting from getting pulled out of shape. I need to move the buttons up and back a bit now—as I’ve worn the hat, it has settled down on my head more. But that’s an easy fix.

The pattern on Raverly for this hat is free, but Roberta suggests that you knit a few of these hats for a local elementary school. This is a great idea. And it’s perfect for me. I volunteer at Rose’s Bounty Food Pantry and we have a food program for children at a school in one of the other neighborhoods in Boston. We provide food once a week, but we also knit them hats and mittens and we’ve sponsored a new coat drive for the past two years for the children’s in our food pantry program. I only have worsted wool yarn in my stash and as a kid I wouldn’t have worn a wool hat. So I’ve some acrylic yarn which should be here soon.

If you are looking for a hat pattern that will keep your ears warm, give this pattern a try! I think it is great!