Well, my top hat, Marlene, was really cooking along when I realized I was going to run out of yarn. I checked the projects on Ravelry, and saw that the other Size Large Marlene used 135 yards of yarn. One hank of Cascade Magnum is 123 yards. Both sizes were listed as taking one hank. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. For some reason it affected me on a deeper level. Before the yarn crisis, this was the first Cooperative Press pattern I was enjoying wholeheartedly, without tedious stitches or numerous errors. Besides this, the only yarn store that had my Cobalt Heather Magnum in stock had offered free shipping two weeks ago and 20% off any one item last week. I had been religiously checking my gauge, hoping it wouldn't expand. It usually narrows, which wouldn't have been a problem in this project. I stayed consistent at 11 stitches to 4". (Theressa doesn't give row gauges, which may be part of the problem.) I had used two different needle sizes in my gauge swatch to see what they would turn out like after washing. I chose the bigger needle size because the gauge was exact, but the hat was looking big even on my fat head, so I ripped back to the flat top and reknit using the smaller needle (12 stitches to 4"). I guess I should have ripped it all out and reknit, because I ended mere inches short of having enough yarn, even after using a tighter bind-off than usual. So I ripped down to the last increase, then used the larger needles again. I knit only one round instead of two before binding off. I bound off in rib so the stitches would sit atop the last round instead of behind it and thus lengthen my knitting. I had less than a yard of yarn left, but I managed to avoid buying more yarn! To block, I set an empty 32-oz yogurt container upside down on top of a shallow bowl (also turned upside down). I placed an 8 1/2" diameter plate inside the top of the hat and set the hat on the tower to dry. I stretched out the brim to make the most of the last two rows. Doesn't it look fantastic?
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