Baristafarian Hat

Sometimes, I get an idea in my head. Often, these don't work out.

This time, the idea was a hat of alternating knit and purl ridges, giving a three-dimensional, bee-hiveish effect.

I checked several patterns on Ravelry, but decided I'd just wing it.

Yeah, not so great actually.

You know that whole gauge thing?

Even when the hat came out ludicrously large, I thought it'd be fine. It was 'afarian, supposed to look that way. undaunted, I finished the hat. I even put it on.

It sank down over my ears, and no level of adjusting could fix it.

I strung some hat elastic through the brim, but the fact remained, the hat was too big.

All right then. Let's try that again.

I didn't bother with calculations, just ripped out and cast on a random, smaller number of stitches.

Better.

I tried on the brim, and it seemed to fit okay this time around.

The finished hat is... meh. It's a fine hat, but it lost a lot of the cute floppiness I had originally envisioned.

I put an applique on it, and the kitten totally makes the hat.

It's still cute in its own right.
It's just not the hat in my head.