Knitting: Latticed Cable Hat--my own creation, sort of...

Recently we had some young women in our home.  One of them had a nice winter hat.  The other had ear muffs.  This was not enough protection for Vermont winters so I suggested knitting her a hat.  We had the Barbara Walker Learn to Knit Afghan blanket on our couch.  I asked if there was a pattern she liked.  She liked the yellow latticed cable block. I like that one, too.  She wanted it in blue.

When I was out the next day I did not find a good blue 100 percent wool yarn so I purchased some Lion Brand Wool-Ease yarn in a nice blue worsted weight.  I already had some US size 7 circular needles and I was certain I had double pointed needles, too.  (Well, I did, but one was gray plastic, and three were blue metal.  Since I am accustomed to knitting with five dpns I used the circular needle for the fifth needle. It worked, but was a little awkward...Pretty soon I am going to get some nice Brittany birch dpns in US size 7...before I knit another hat. I LOVE their needles!)

To turn a flat pattern into a knit-in-the-round was not something I had ever done so I had to do some hunting around the internet...at Ravelry for some sizing help and other places for the change-flat-to-round help.

Putting it all together I came up with this plan:

Cast on 88 stitches and knit 2, purl 2 for one inch. 3

Next round knit and increase 12 stitches to 100 stitches.

At that point work 2 pattern repeats (16 rounds plus 16 rounds) then begin the crown decreases.

Round 1: Knit round 1 of the Barbara Walker pattern again.
Round 2:  (P2together, K4, P2tog, P2), repeat around...80 stitches.
Round 3: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 4: P1, (FPC, BPS, P2tog), repeat around...70 stitches.  (this is an effort to continue the main hat pattern in the decreases...not as successful as I had hoped.)
Round 5: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 6: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 7. (K2tog, P2, K2tog, P1), repeat around
Round 8: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 9: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 10: (K1, P2tog, K1, P1), repeat around
Round 11: (K1, P1), around...40 stitches
Round 12: (K2tog, K1, P1), around...30 stitches
Round 13: (K2, P1), around
Round 14: (K2tog, P1), around...20 stitches
Round 15: K2tog around...10 stitches
Round 16: K2tog around...5 stitches

Fasten off and weave in ends.

FPC is a front purl cross
BPC is a back purl cross

If I make this again I will fiddle around with the decreases by working eight more rounds of the main hat to give a little more length to the hat....which will almost certainly change at lest the first few rounds of these decreases....