This is a fairly straightforward hat, with a drop stitch motif laid onto 2x2 ribbing. The crown of the hat forms a star pattern, rather than the simple swirl that many ribbed hats use. The drop stitches remind me of dry riverbeds that still show how the water once flowed around rocks, pebbles, and plants that may be long lost to time. Some knitters are leery of lace patterns in the round; this one, however, should pass muster with all but the most picky. It may be worn pulled down over your ears as a warm beanie, or pushed back on the head as a slouch hat.

Note that the hat is longer than is normally worked for a true beanie; knitters wanting a shorter hat should either start decreases sooner or work them with fewer rounds in between.

(Description from designer’s copy; may not match book copy)