This skein of the much-loved and sought after colourway from Sundara called Ruby Port landed on my lap in 2010 I think by way of a swap on Ravelry. This skein in particular is the original Sock Yarn base. It was actually a trade with Susan from Athens. She sent me this and I sent her a skein of Garnet over Ruby. Fair trade? I think I won that trade actually, so thanks, Susan!

Fast forward to 2013, and I finally managed to knit some of it up.

I answered a call for test knitters and received a pattern for a fingering weight hat sized from newborn to adult. I knitted the infant size first, hoping to send it to Adrianna before she grows too big. It’s not modelled yet so no photos for now.

I decided to knit the adult medium as well, just to be thorough with the testing. Here it is, unblocked.

It’s ribbed all the way to the crown, but it is not as tedious as you might think. It’s knitted on 3.25mm needles so fairly loose gauge as opposed to, say 2.25mm for socks. The shortest cable is perfect as well with the special Knit Pro tips, just enough slack to get the stitches around without any difficulty or extra tugging.

Ah but it’s the crown decreases that makes this pattern worth it. See how it creates that cool cross? I love it. It’s a slightly taller crown decrease, about 25 rows, so best to try the hat as you go before you start the decreases. The pattern is not published yet, I will post an update when it’s up so you can check it out.

In the meantime, my Ravelry project page can be found here: Hot Cross Top.