This is my first attempt at writing out a knitting pattern. Any comments about the design, or the pattern, are very welcome.

I've made this sort of hat a couple of times, and will try to fiddle with the pattern so it works for different head sizes.

Butterfly Hat

This hat consists of a roll brim, then a hat body with 6 rows of butterflies on it. You start reducing the circumference of the hat during the last butterfly row. Then you reduce sharply just after the last butterfly, so the hat doesn't bulge out when the butterflies stop. You keep reducing, using k2tog, ending with a short i-cord.

Equipment:
- 3mm 40cm circular needle
- 4 3mm DPNs
- 1 50g ball Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4-ply or similar. This hat takes about half a ball of yarn. If you want to use another yarn, make sure it has some resiliance/elasticity - wool, not cotton.

Skills:
- cast on (loop ideally)
- knitting in the round, with circular needles and DPN
- knit
- slip stitch
- make butterflies (see below)
- i-cord
- cast off

Butterflies:
The butterfly consists of five strands, made on alternate rows by slipping five stitches, each time, with yarn in front. These five strands are then collected up, in the MB instruction detailed below. This is a slightly modified version of a texture detailed in Barbara G. Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

Special Instructions:
MB - Make butterfly: With right needle, collect the five strands of yarn on the RS of the hat. Pick up strands and place on left needle. Knit the strands with a single knit stitch, through the front leg of the multi-strand "stitch". Do not knit any normal stitches with the multi-strand stitch.

Tension: 9.5st x 22 rows in a 4cm x 4cm garter stitch square

Hat to fit head circumference of 38-45 cm (3-6 months approx).

CO 100 stitches, preferably using a loose CO method, like loop.

Roll Brim:
Join, being careful not to twist the stitches. Pull the first stitch tight. Knit 15 rows.

Body:
1, 3, 5, 7, 9: (slip 5 stitches with yarn in front (wyif), k5) *
2, 4, 6, 8: k*
10: K2, (MB, k2tog, k8) * (K6 on last repeat)
11, 13, 15, 17, 19: (k5, sl5 wyif) *
12, 14, 16, 18: k*
20: K7, (MB, k2tog, k8) * (K1 on last repeat)

Repeat rows 1-20 once. Then repeat rows 1-12. (Total: 52 rows of body)

Crown:
53: (k2, k2tog, k1, sl5 wyif) * (90 stitches)
54, 56, 58: k*
55, 57: (k4, sl5 wyif) *
59: (k2, k2tog, sl5 wyif) * (80 stitches)
Move the stitches to DPNs, distributing them evenly across 3 DPNs, and using the fourth to knit.
60: k3, (MB, k2tog, k4)* (k1 on last repeat)
61: k2, (k2tog, k6)* (k4 on last repeat) (70 stitches)
62: k2, (k2tog, k5)* (k3 on last repeat) (60 stitches)
63, 64, 66, 67: k*
65: k2, (k2tog, k4)* (k2 on last repeat) (50 stitches)
68: k2, (k2tog, k3)* (k1 on last repeat) (40 stitches)
69, 70, 72: k*
71: (k2, k2tog)* (30 stitches)
73: k2, (k2tog, k1)* (end with k2tog, including first stitch of row 74)
74: k2tog until only 3 stitches left Knit i-cord with last three stitches, for three rows.
CO, then sew in ends.

¶ 8:15 PM