Stages

There are several common stages in the creation of a hat.  The tricky bit is that they don’t come in any particular order, so you are likely to be surprised by them, no matter how many hats you’ve knit.

For me, there’s almost always a ‘this is way way too big’ stage.  It’s often followed by a ‘this is too small for any living human’ stage.  Popular variants on those two include ‘it’s too short’ and ‘it’s too tall.’ You may also encounter ‘I bought way too much yarn’ or ‘I’m so totally going to run out of yarn’ somewhere along the way (often both).

There’s also a tradition of sneaking a ‘this is clearly a hideous mistake, I’ve wasted my time and should rip now before anyone sees it’ stage in there somewhere.  I’m in that one right now.  If I wasn’t awfully sure this will be cute in the end, I’d think something had gone seriously off the rails.

It looks a bit better with the cuff turned up, but it’s still definitely in its awkward adolescent phase.

But never fear, this is going to be awfully spiffy when it’s done, promise!  We just need to give it a bit more time to grow up.