Slouchy Pom Hat Prototype

This past weekend I spotted the cutest hat at Urban Outfitters. Of course, there were many things I'd change about it if I were knitting it myself. I knew that this simple hat was something I could recreate on my own terms with little to no fuss, so I added to my list of "things I must design" for the near future.

Here's the hat I saw at Urban. It just so happens that I was in need of a simple project for my book club meeting tonight, so I made my first trip to Loopy Yarns, which was quite pleasant. It's funny that I've lived in Chicago for 3.5 years now and I somehow had never made it to Loopy. They have a great selection everyone was super nice to me.

I purchased some lovely Cascade Eco Duo - a 70% undyed baby alpaca, 30% undyed merino wool blend that knits up to 18 sts per 4" on a US8 (6mm). Gorgeous. Just gorgeous.

Yes, I know. The picture leaves much to the imagination. It's 11:30pm and I'm tired, OK? This is the best that my little ole iPhone 3G has to offer at this time :)

Anyway, it's fuzzy and lovely. You'll just have to take my word for it.

I chose a US 10 needle to knit up the hat because I intended for it to be slouchy. My test swatch revealed that I got 5 sts per inch in a k3,p2 rib. So I cast on and began this beauty.

Starting at 7pm, and it's now 11:30pm and I almost have an entire hat! I began decreasing for the crown, and I'm ready to switch to dpns, but I think it's bedtime! The rest will have to be unveiled at a later date...

Until then, here's a peek: