A blue hat is a new hat (Cowgirl's RAINN-y Day Hat)

I decided to use one of the many patterns I've collected over the years and decrease my yarn stash. As an aside, my yarn stash is a little out of hand, and I've been telling myself for years to start making little hats and scarfs to whittle it down.

Anywhoo, there was a pattern in Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker that intrigued me. It's called "Yeehaw Lady", and it's essentially a crocheted cowboy hat. It's done in red worsted cotton. Now, I'm not a cowgirl (despite living in D-town, a town which has extremely cow-y roots), and I really don't care for Western fashion, but I'd gotten bored with knit caps, cloches, buckets, and flapper hats. So it sounded like a decent hat to try.

A few problems around here. I had no cotton, I don't like working in spirals. I'd rather work in joined rounds - even if it means having a barely noticeable seam on the item; I just don't think that a spiral piece looks as balanced in the end. If you wear the joins in the back, no one is the wiser! But I digress. I didn't care for the crossed-stitch border in half-doubles.

So being me, I tweaked the pattern a bit. I used an elasticized tulle ribbon yard from Gedifra called "Velato". It's a yarn they don't even make anymore, but I've loved. I've made cardigans and camisoles from it and it is amazing. It gives a lycra-esque stretch while holding its form like a cotton-blend. It seemed the perfect yarn to play with for this project.

It took me two tries on this hat, and only because I forgot to take into account the stretch in this yarn. Cotton doesn't stretch much, whereas there's abouta a 50% stretch to Velato. My first attempt turned out bumpy because of this. Once I factored that in, this hat still scared me at times. It looked like a pointy top hat, which seemed hideous. But as I plopped it on my model and shaped the wire-line brimmed, it transformed into an adorable little 1-gallon bucket.

Lessons learned:
1) Remember the stretch of your yarn
2) Don't be afraid to try a pattern just because you disagree with the away the construction was done
3) Floral wire and tulle do not get along
4) Cowboy hats require wearing in order to be shaped right

So, other than the few little snafus at the beginning, I have to confess that I'm pleased with the end result. Look for it on Etsy in the next few weeks!