Simplicity is sometimes more difficult to achieve than the ornate. I've ripped out dozens of complex designs that I'm super excited about in the sketching, math and chart drawing phase, yet when I cast on and begin knitting, I find myself dreading the next row. If I don't enjoy it and it's so complicated that it makes my brain hurt, I know that whomever is knitting it when the pattern is available will certainly not either. Back to the drawing board.
We see this in life constantly - yards overrun with lawn ornaments, clothes in stores (although I salute the tacky Christmas sweater phenomenon), poodles with out-of-control haircuts, the toothpaste aisle at Target (why so many choices?!!), or getting behind the guy at the coffee shop that orders a drink that takes longer to explain than the State of the Union. It can be hard to edit oneself.
I've had a blue hank of one of my favorite yarns on my desk for months. I've been waiting for it to tell me what it wants to be and while at first I thought, "lace, no - cables," it's one of those hanks that is so beautiful by itself that it finally hit me - keep it simple, stupid. With that in mind, I'd like to introduce the Square Peg, Round Hole Hat. Designed to be a fun, simple, quick knit, this has become my new favorite hat.
With a generous brim of twisted ribbing, the effortless textured square design is an easy combination of knits and purls in the round, finishing off with slouchy crown decreasing on US 5 and 7 needles. The stunning Shalimar Yarns Enzo Worsted ( I will never get tired of knitting with this cashmere/superwash merino/nylon yarn) has such a wonderful subtle sheen and drape to it that feels lovely on the head. This hat has gone everywhere with me and I plan on keeping it that way.
The phrase "square peg, round hole" is an idiomatic expression which describes the unusual individualist who could not fit into a niche of his or her society. Everyone feels that way at one time or another and the textured squares on this hat are placed in a way that there's an illusion of a circle between them.
I'll work on those complex designs again someday soon, but in the meantime, I'm having fun keeping it simple.
Download the Square Peg, Round Hole Hat here.