This pattern is retired and not usually available. However, I make many of my retired patterns available for a few days twice a year, and this is one of those times! It will be available from now through some time on Monday, December 2. Then it will go away again.

In the summer of 2022, I realized that I found maintaining a back catalog of hundreds of patterns overwhelming. I couldn’t do it and still release new things. So I took my old patterns down so I could keep doing new work.

A few favorites have come back, and lots of new things have come out! But the vast majority of the old patterns are retired and are no longer generally available.

However, enough folks have asked about old favorites that I make many of the retired patterns available for a few days twice a year (usually in early summer and around Thanksgiving).

• If you see the buy buttons on this page, you’ve caught it on one of the days it’s available!
• If you don’t see the buy buttons on this page, then it’s not currently available.
• If you want to hear when the retired patterns are available, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, or keep an eye on my instagram.

Smashing adjective extraordinarily impressive or effective

This is one of those projects that’s just the right combination of cute and clever! Plus it’s the perfect way to show off your favorite brooch or pin (or possibly an excuse to get a new one, I’ll never tell)!

The body of the hat is knit on the bias. You stack up increases one one side and decreases on the other (with ribbing in between), and it makes the whole thing slant off to the side. It’s unreasonably fun to knit (and very, very mellow).

When you’re ready to finish up, you do a few quick rounds of carefully placed decreases, and the top comes together like magic. Then you fold up the point, pin it in place and revel in your new creation.

If you want a little extra fun, the pattern includes adorable matching cuffs to round out the set.

The hat is written in four sizes (castons of 90, 100, 110, and 120 stitches), the cuff is written in three sizes (castons of 35, 40, and 45 stitches), and you should feel free to adjust your gauge a bit to fine tune the fit of the pieces. Just be sure that you’re working at a gauge that gives you a fabric you like with your chosen yarn!

I recommend working at something around 4, 4.5, 5, or 5.5 stitches per inch for the hat and 5, 5.5, 6, or 6.5 stitches per inch for the cuffs, and I’ve included a table to help you figure out what gauge you’ll want to use for your size. With that range of sizes and gauges, the hat will fit a head between 18.25 and 25.5 inches (with lots of points in between), and the cuffs will fit wrists between 6 and 10 inches (with lots of points in between).

The hat shown took about 175 yards, the cuffs about 125, and I got both out of one skein of yarn. If you are making a larger size or a longer cuff, 225 yards for the hat or 150 for the cuffs is a safer bet.

Blocking matters more than usual for these (and I’m a firm believer that it generally matters a lot), so you’ll want to use a yarn you can block (that usually means a yarn with a high wool content).

This is perfect for you if:

• You’re now hatching all sorts of plans to bob your hair, roll your knee socks, don a string of pearls, and head out on an adventure
• You have a beautiful vintage pin you never wear but are desperate to show off

It’s not for you if:

• You don’t like charts (the pattern uses charts)
• You hate swatching (you need to swatch to check your needle size)

Just as a heads up, an earlier version of the pattern was originally included in the book What (Else) Would Madame Defarge Knit? The new one is tweaked and streamlined with a good bit more supporting material and handholding and photos. But if you have that book in your library, you do already have the original version!