Christmas FO: The Humping Deer Hat

Months ago, I was traipsing around Ravelry just seeing what I could see. I randomly came across the most ridiculous color work chart. People had incorporated it into all kinds of projects - hats, gloves, sweaters, ornaments. I showed my sisters a picture just to get a laugh, but my sister Marisa became fixated on it and that was all she wanted for Christmas. Great ... lol.

Thus, the humping deer hat was born. I used my tried and true Basic Hat pattern (free) by Ooo Baby Knits combined with the (also free) Fornicating Deer chart. My sister requested black and white with short ribbing. I set to work, and this is what I came up with, lol.

I couldn't make the stitch pattern work for more than one deer, so I just continued the pattern that would fit all the way around. This was my first attempt at stranded color work and it came out alright if a little tight. At least Marisa has a small head, lol. I used Lion Brand Wool Ease from my stash in black and white hoping it would be a smidge warmer from the wool but still washable. I'm not a big fan of how hairy the white is though - oddly enough I've never encountered that with any other color of Wool Ease. Weird.

As expected, Marisa is thrilled with her hat. She moved to West Virginia recently and she's already worn it quite a bit. The funniest part of this project is that most people just think it's a cute hat with deer. They don't realize what the deer are up to. This hat has another funny story with it too. Back in December I was posting all my gifts onto Kollabora for their gift making giveaway contest. They would pick random projects they liked and you could win a prize. I figured, 'Why not give it a try?" And wouldn't you know that this is the project that won?! Check the winners post here. lol I am now internet famous as the girl who made the humping deer hat. Great. I love the prize though - I received 2 fat quarter bundles from Dear Stella's new lines. They're so cute! Life is a bit too crazy to figure out what I want to make with them yet, but the planning is awfully fun. So not only did Marisa get the hat she wanted - she also received a bonafide prize winner :)