See train hats – the plan for the background to what I’m on about here.

See stuff about train hat #2 here.

The eagle eyed among those of you who are following this project will spot straight away that we’ve skipped a number. Train hat #3 does exist, but it played hard-ball (honestly I’m not even sure I know what “played hard ball” means but it feels appropriate here) so it got queue-jumped. Plus train hat #4 was SHOUTING AT ME from under my desk, so I simply went with the flow. Plus Ysolda, who was the designer for train hat #1, declared Monday “Knit Whatever You Want Night”. Admittedly by then I’d finished train hat #4 and was back onto #3, but never let facts get in the way of a good story and a serendipitous link opportunity with one of your favourite designers…

So. Train hat #4.

This is the hat I’ve had in my head for _months_ ever since Angie first asked, and before I’d even decided to make hats for the rest of them. It’s possible that it’s this hat’s insistence on existing that is driving me to do this whole silly damn project at all.

Diane, the intended recipient of train hat #4, is lovely. In the overall-explanation of who the train peeps are I used the word brash to describe her. I now feel this is overly harsh. She is clearly a lovely, gregarious person who is unfailingly considerate. A blind chap gets off at our station most days and she walks up the ramp with him, chatting and making sure he gets to his cab safely, every day since she spotted him miss the bottom of the ramp and be at risk of pottering off in the wrong direction.

Lovely. And I feel ashamed that I used the word brash at her.

Also, she is a Known Hat Wearer. Last winter she wore a crocheted urchin-style hat and was gently ribbed for it. Why there was ribbing I can’t say: she was the one with the warm head, after all.

So, as mentioned, I have given some considerable thought to what hat would be ideal for Diane. I apologise to her now if I’ve got this wrong, please forgive the whim of a busy-body. If nothing else, it will be warm.

The hatI thought would suit Diane, after much deliberation,  was something akin to a Russian fur hat – as seen in Dr Zhivago, which given the last winter we had seems utterly appropriate – and I’m heartened by the discovery that Our Kate, Duchess of Cambridge appears to favour the look (scroll down to the 3rd hat).

I considered the novelty yarn known as eyelash for a while, but it never seemed quite right. Something was holding me back and it was my subconscious telling me to hold out for better.

Sure enough, I came across a yarn called “Sirdar Shaggy Scarf” which looked just like a stack of guinea pigs sitting on the shelf and thought “that’s my baby”. Yarn and contrasting yarn duly acquired, I brought it home and put it under my desk from whence IT SHOUTED AT ME for the rest of the day while I tried to work.

I cast on and it was everything I hoped for. Chunky, shaggy, fur-like. Clearly not like *actual* animal fur, but still pretty damn good. I was in love. And those near & dear know that these days I’m very much not one for the novelty yarns but oh my. This was properly The Thing.

Here are the first few rows. The rows are 8 stitches wide (actually this might be from attempt #1 where they were 10 stitches wide, but you get the gist. Not many). Those are 10mm needles – the biggest I could lay my hands on quickly.

There’s another post that needs to be written at some point about how the TV that’s on while something is being made gets woven into it a bit. This one has a documentary about how 3D imaging helped us to counter the threat of doodlebugs and V2 rockets during the war. Just as an aside.

The contrast yarn which Mark at Knit-wise picked out (he’s a very good salesman, you know) was parchment-coloured and so having knit enough for a standing up brim, I knit a lid. I increased 8 times per every other round which seemed to do the trick. Lid was then stitched into circular edge and hey presto, imitation romantic Russian hat.

Modelled here by the toy with the most appropriately sized head, and smile.

I really hope she loves it. I will have trouble parting with it. Although it looks as though I have enough yarn to squeeze another one out, at a push.

Enjoy, Diane. Think “From Russia With Love”. Except in Bolton.