FO - Mystery Hat

This is a hat I designed and knitted for a geocache.

I based the general hat design on a similar hat made by someone else, with thinner yarn and a Fair Isle pattern. I made the intarsia pattern myself, based on an icon from geocaching.com.

Here are my notes on the pattern:
Yarn: cascade 220, 8555 black, 9401 gray, 9457 blue, light blue highlight from jo-anne fabric
question mark design 6.25 in high, 7 row/in, 44 rows
22 inches around, 120 st
knit flat on size 6 circular needle, 5.5 st/in 7 row/in
knit 3 inches plus 1 or 2 rows, start question mark design in center on a knit row, intarsia
fold hem inside and knit into a knit row
keep knitting flat until done with the colored design. Then join in round for the rest.
Knit until hat measures 9 3/4 inch from bottom of hem
knit 2 together all the way around - 60 stitches
knit 2 together around again - 30 stiches
pull end through all 30 stitches twice, pull tight
sew end back and forth, crossing, to make a thick center gathering area.
sew the seam from top to bottom, following instructions in "knitting in plain english"
the hat is a bit big, but nut unwearably so. Next time, try 114 stitches instead of 120. And maybe 9 to 9.25 inches before the decrease.

That’s so cute!! I love your intarsia work!!! it’s so detailed!!

Really really nice work there! I love it! Thanks for sharing the photo!!!

Nice work! :thumbsup:

Great job! Fantastic detail. I think you should be very proud of this hat!!!

Thanks for the kind words. I’m going to make another one just the same, probably a tiny bit smaller, and with serial number “2” on the side. I’ll probably never get up to double digit serial numbers :slight_smile:

The hat is cool (or warm, come winter) but the concept of going to find one is fascinating. Never heard of it before.

Great hat. nice colour work.

Great job - on the knitting AND designing!

That’s a great looking hat! I’d love to find something like that in a cache.

Great design the ? looks so crisp.

:thumbsup: Great job!