Autumn instant gratification: almond comfit

Autumn is definitely here, despite the random rays of sunshine we seem to be getting. And although its not yet warm woolly weather, I really felt like making a hat just to get myself back into knitting mode. I still intend to finish baby corn, I just needed a bit of an instant fix first to get me there.

I have had a skein of Manos de Uruguay wool classica in various shades of purple (surprise surprise) for almost 2 years now, and it was always going to be a hat. I just hadn't made up my mind about which hat. So in search of a pattern I went, browsing through Ravelry for probably hours until I came across Saturday Treat by Ysolda Teague. 

Now, I'm a big Ysolda fan, so I was quite surprised that there was a collection out there I had never noticed before. This was apparently published in January 2012 and must have gone a little under the radar because the knits have few projects on Ravelry. There are six patterns, in the style of Whimsical Little Knits (so hats, gloves etc), designed and published in collaboration with Fyberspates.

I was immediately drawn to Walnut Whip, but the sport-weight yarn is not exactly compatible with instant gratification. Instead, I opted for Almond Comfit, a beret-style hat with a lace flower shape at the front. 

The construction is weird and can be confusing: it is knitted more like a shawl than a hat, starting with the lace flower and gradually increasing in a sort of triangular shape, which is then decreased and finally joined through a kitchener stitch. I guess think of it a bit as a bandana wrapped and tied at the back of your head?

I was prepared, as everyone on Ravelry had already noted that its confusing, and mainly recommended to follow the instructions without thinking about it. And its true, you just need to follow the instructions. And remember that you are NOT knitting on the round and instead knitting back and forth (that's where I went wrong anyway). I didn't bother with the kitchener stitch, I did a three-needle bind-off instead, which I have decided is my favourite kind of bind off.

Once I understood what I was doing, it just flew by, and by the end of the weekend I had a hat. Yay! Of course the next day it was 22 degrees celcius, but no matter, I am sure it will be here soon.

I have to say, its a little slouchier than I expected. I picked the medium size (yes, it comes in three sizes!) and was a little worried it would be too small or beanie-like, but actually its very much a berret, made a tiny bit slouchier because I got confused in the decreases and knitted an additional two rows by mistake.

Here is the back, to admire the pretty colours!

I tried to take a photo of the flower but for some reason it is really out of focus and almost impossible to see the flower because of the colours. Perhaps this would work best with a solid colour instead to ensure that the lace is clearly visible.

Link to Ravelry here