I'm fond of furry stuff. It was a great day when the furry accessory craze spawned a host of furry, wispy, softly nubbed, and otherwise embellished yarns which knitted into luxurious fur fabrics. I've been indulging in hat and scarf sets lately. I decided to preserve a particularly nice basic pattern that can be embellished as desired. The pattern was inspired by a free pattern from the Lion Brand Company website (http://www.lionbrand.com/) called Cheery Chemo Cap (http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/kfancyf-chemoCap.html?noImages=0). It had the basic shape I wanted except for being a bit too peaked at the top. I played with the pattern a bit until I got a similar version that suited me better.

The major change is that I switched from stockinette stitch to garter stitch, which produces a thicker fabric which is equally furry on both sides. It does take more yarn, but stockinette stitch tends to have more pile on the back since the fibers don't always pull through to the front of the knitting. This is especially noticeable with the wispy eyelash yarns, and their long fibers can be delicate enough to be damaged if you try to pull or otherwise work them through to the front. It is possible to use the reverse stockinette stitch side as the "right" side, but not always desirable such as in a scarf where both sides are going to be seen.

I also dropped to size 9 needles to make the fabric thicker and more plush. That meant that I had to cast on more stitches. I also knitted it in a larger size, as my Mom is a frequent beneficiary of my efforts and she doesn't want her carefully arranged curls crushed by her hat. This hat will have a circumference of about 17" worked over 72 stitches. If you want a smaller hat, decrease the number of stitches in a multiple of 8 stitches (about 1.9 inches per 8 stitches). Please note that I tend to knit more loosely than average, so you may want to try size 10 needles if you knit tightly. It is pretty stretchy, so it will fit most adults.

The hats and scarves shown are knitted in Lion Brand Fun Fur in colors Rainbow (a shaded yarn in maroon, aqua, gold, and violet) and Raspberry. The basic set took five skeins of Rainbow, almost two skeins for the basic hat and the rest for a scarf about 5 1/2" wide by 56" long. The two-toned hat with a brim and its skinny scarf took one skein of Rainbow and two skeins of Raspberry.

This hat can be knitted in the round on double pointed needles to eliminate the seam, but the version knitted on straight needles is a bit easier when shaping the crown. It will need to have a side seam sewn together, but the thick fur hides it very well.

For the basic hat, cast on 72 stitches on straight needles and work in garter stitch (knit every row) for 7". Shape the crown as follows:

Round 1: *Knit 6, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 2: Knit.
Round 3: *Knit 5, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 4: Knit.
Round 5: *Knit 4, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 6: Knit.
Round 7: *Knit 3, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 8: Knit.
Round 9: *Knit 2, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 10: Knit.
Round 11: *Knit 1, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 12: Knit.
Round 13: *knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 14: Knit.
Round 15: *knit 2 together,* repeat across row, knit 1.

Cut yarn leaving about two feet to sew the seam. Pull through the last stitches to secure them and sew down the side to the bottom. Gently pull the pile free as you go so the seam is hidden in the pile. Weave in the loose ends and trim.

If you want to try knitting this in the round, remember that garter stitch in the round is knit a row, purl a row, keep alternating knit and purl rows. The shaping will be the same on the odd rows and purl a row on the even rows.

The matching scarf is done by casting on 24 stitches and working in garter stitch until you have about three feet of yarn left, then bind off and weave in the ends and trim them.

For the hat with a brim, cast on 144 stitches and knit a row. Shape the brim as follows:

Round 1: *Knit 14, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 2: Knit.
Round 3: *Knit 13, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 4: Knit.
Round 5: *Knit 12, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 6: Knit.
Round 7: *Knit 11, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 8: Knit.
Round 9: *Knit 10, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 10: Knit.
Round 11: *Knit 9, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 12: Knit.
Round 13: *Knit 8, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 14: Knit.
Round 15: *Knit 7, knit 2 together,* repeat across row.
Round 16: Knit.

You should be back to 72 stitches at this point. Continue with the basic hat instructions by knitting in garter stitch for 7", then shape the crown as before. For this two-toned hat, I used Raspberry for the brim, switched to Rainbow to work even in garter stitch until the Rainbow was nearly used up, then back to Raspberry until the end.

The skinny scarf was done by casting on 10 stitches and working in garter stitch until the remaining Raspberry was nearly used up (about a two foot end left), then bind off and weave in the ends and trim them. The hat only used a little of the second Raspberry skein, so the scarf used nearly a full skein for a scarf about 2" wide by 42" long. It is long enough to loosely tie around your neck, perhaps secured with a big, sparkly pin. It can also be tied or pinned around a hat, perhaps a straw or felt hat.