The Total Betty: Tropical headgear

Well hello, Virginia summer. Nice to see you again. Might I say that while you are hot and steamy, you have nothing on a Florida spring? Mm-hmm. It's true.

Last month, I spent a week in Florida (and fell in love with Miami), a trip which included a stop in Jacksonville to visit with a friend, Jaye, who lives there. Jaye's mom is going through cancer treatment, so I made her a couple of hats. They're easy-care hats, made of acrylic. However, I realized that acrylic might not be the most comfortable material to wear in the Florida summer. I had some nice, high-end cotton yarn -- just enough for a hat, I thought -- in my stash at home. Any worsted-weight cotton yarn will do, of course, but I wanted to use something special for Jaye's mom.

What you'll need: 1 skein (really, about 90 yards) of your favorite cotton yarn, 12" or 16" circular needles in US sizes 6 and 8, a set of US size 8 double-pointed needles, one stitch marker, and a tapestry needle. Using the smaller circular needle, cast on 90 stitches. Place marker, don't twist the stitches, and knit 8 rounds. Switch to larger circular, and knit 22-25 more rounds, depending on how big you want the hat to be. Now begin your decreases. Once there are too few stitches to work on the circular needle, switch to double-pointed needles, distributing the stitches however you like.

First decrease row: *K8, K2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (You'll have 81 sts left.)
Next row: knit
Second dec row: *K7, K2tog, rep from *. (72 sts)
Next row: knit
Third dec row: *K6, K2tog, rep from *. (63 sts)
Next row: knit
Fourth dec row: *K5, K2tog, rep from *. (54 sts)
Next row: knit
Fifth dec row: *K4, K2tog, rep from *. (45 sts)
Next row: knit
Sixth dec row: *K3, K2tog, rep from *. (36 sts) -- This is usually when I switch to dpns.
Next row: knit
Seventh dec row: *K2, K2tog, rep from *. (27 sts)
Next row: knit
Eighth dec row: *K1, K2tog, rep from *. (18 sts)
Next row: knit
Last dec row: K2tog, rep to end of round. (9 sts)

Cut yarn and use the tapestry needle to thread the yarn tail through remaining 9 stitches. Weave in ends, and there you have it -- a lovely little cap!