Baby Bonnets (a rant and a pattern)

I love knitting hats.  They are my favorite of favorite things to knit.  They don't use much yarn, they're fairly quick, you can try different stitch patterns or techniques, and they make great gifts.  Well, once you get the hang of it.  When I first learned to knit I didn't quite get stranding or increasing/decreasing and the bloody zombie brain hat I made my friend Kevin for Christmas ended up looking more like a floppy vagina.  He will never let me live it down.

Anyway.  Hats are awesome and I love making them.  Baby hats are even better.  Being (obviously) smaller than adult sized hats, they use even less yarn (great for stash-busting) and take no time at to make.  Provided I don't get too caught up in the storyline, I can make a basic baby hat during an episode of Doctor Who.  As compared to "I need to finish the front of this sweater and oops watched an entire season of Torchwood" like I did earlier this week.  Long projects do that to you.

For example, sometimes you have this really pretty mohair/silk blend that you got on sale and meant to make a shawl with but instead just got pissed off at, so there is not only 7 inches of shawl shoved in a bag and ignored for the last year, there is also half a dozen balls of that really pretty mohair/silk blend that you kind of hate.  But love.  Because despite its tendency to fall off my needles, despite the fact that if you mess up and try to frog it turns into an absolute mess, despite the little fuzzies that get everywhere and that the expensive yarn (that was totally on sale!) is the cat's favorite to get her claws stuck in, it is gorgeous.  It's soft and silky and light and airy and I love it.  But I seriously can't work with this stuff for more than an hour without wanting to throw something (usually the cat).

I have discovered the perfect thing to make with gorgeous obnoxious mohair/silk blends:  baby bonnets.  They take exactly the amount of time I can tolerate using this yarn (and looks great with other, easier to use ones as well), are pretty much non-functional, and babies really look kind of silly and just want to rip at them and totally don't appreciate the expensive (but on sale) yarn.  But they are SO CUTE.  You guys it's so silly and ridiculous but super super adorable.  Therefore: perfect for dressing up newborns and taking cute pictures.  Except that I don't have a baby, so wool is a good substitute, right?

THE PATTERN:

Yarn: Rowan KidSilk Haze (or similar)
Needles: 4mm straight, 3.5mm DPNS.

CO (loosely): 40 with larger, straight needles
K2, P2 for 3 inches

(variation: CO 50, and k/p2tog the first and last two stitches until 40 stitches remain, using garter stitch instead of ribbing)

After 3 inches, divide evenly onto smaller DPNS, and work stockinette stitch in the round.  After 1 inch, begin decreasing, working alternate rounds even.

K8, k2tog*
K7, k2tog*
etc until 8 stitches are left.  Break yarn, leaving a tail.  Thread excess into a tapestry needle and pull through remaining stitches.  I usually do this twice for reinforcement before weaving in the end.

You then measure and cut a dozen 6-8 inch pieces of yarn, and use half on each side of the CO edge as tassels.