Dr. Rockin's Patterns #4: Shamelessly Unoriginal Ear Hat

The Shamelessly Unoriginal Ear Hat
The basic concept of this hat (and, okay, most of the specs. Get off my back, dude, I just knit stuff okay) has been shamelessly pinched from Demon Knit Designs' Pencil Case Hat, but I've tweaked it to my preferred specifications. Like, y'know, hats that aren't MASSIVE AND UNWEILDY. This is my version! It is absurdly simple.


You'll Need:
1x pair 4mm straight needles (I like using my 10 inch needles for this one)
1 x 50g ball (or less- you're not going to need all of it) any 8ply yarn you fancy. I used Patons' Powder Puff in a pleasant pale blue(the Patons website lists the colour as '#25'), which feels nice. Make sure it's not too scratchy, because scratchy hats suck.
1x knitter's needle

Gauge: 22 sts x 30 rows = 4inch

A few notes on sizing: the pattern originally calls for the rectangle to be 13ins wide. What the fuck, y'all. That's MASSIVE. I tried it out, and it was freakin' huge, even on me. Clearly the original designer and I use very different tension. My test hat was for someone with a tiny little head(hi Leo), so the hat I ended up with is actually 36 sts wide. It'll give you around 19ins circumference. For a normal head, about 10, maybe 11ins across should be fine, so use the measurements below.

Also, if you're using a yarn like Powder Puff, do remember that different yarns knit up to different sizes, even if you're keeping your tension even. Unless you're willing to finish your hat, discover it's too big, unravel it and knit it again (like I did, argh), it wouldn't hurt to do the boring responsible thing and do a test square or two.

~*Pattern*~
CO 44 sts. Work 8 rows in single rib (*K1, P1*).
Switch to garter st (...seriously you should know this one.) and work 80 rows.
Work 8 rows in single rib.
Cast off.
Fold the rectangle in half, making sure you have the cast on and cast off rows on the bottom. Join sides with knitter's needle.
To make the ears, measure about 4 or 5 cms in from each corner, both along and down- basically, you're making little triangles. LIKE CAT'S EARS, NO? Using your knitter's needle and yarn, sew a gathering seam across the corner. Pull the seam in a little to make the ears stand out, and tie off. REMEMBER TO SEW YOUR SEAM WITH THE HAT RIGHT-SIDE OUT. I got that bit wrong because I am a silly, silly woman, and had to unpick and re-sew the ears- which, as you might imagine, was Not Fun in Powder Puff. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES.

And you're done! Photos to come.