and that's (t)hat

So sorry for the tortured title. The last thing I should be doing is blogging but is there, I ask, any better tool for avoiding what one really should be doing?
The last little hat had to be made when I was heading (ooh bad pun, so sorry again) over to my friend Susan's for a potluck lunch & head shaving with only a bowl of garlicky pasta & veggies. That's no way for a knitter to show up, a hat it had to be.
I knew that she'd need something snug and smallish, as well as soft and very warm.
It being the 11th hour, I made do with what was here. I improvised. It worked, I'm especially pleased with the smooth round shape, and it isn't too long on the sides. So, the pattern follows.

little rolled brim hat
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fits women small/medium
yarn: 2 strands held together of Hopyard Spinnery Merino in hand dyed rust/brown/orangey shades and Brown Sheep Lambs Pride orange
needles: size 8 dpn
gauge: approx 3 stitches/inch
I knit a little on the loose side, so if you're a tight knitter, go to a size 9 needle.

Cast on 60 stitches, spreading stitches across needles and join, placing marker to keep track of round ending . If you want a larger hat, this is the time to cast on additional circumference. Just muliply the number of inches desired by 3 and that's your number of stitches.

Knit even for 6". If you want the hat to cover your ears, add length here, to 7-8 inches.

Next row: *K3,K2together* around.
Then work 2 rows even.
Next row: *K2,K2together*around.
Then work 2 rows even.
Next row: *K2K2together*around
Then work 1 row even.
Next row: *K1K2together*around
Then work 1 row even.
Next row: *K2together*
I purled my last decrease row just to have a tiny stitch circle on top. Truthfully, I did by accident but liked how it looked. Its an option.
Continue this until you have 4-6 stitches left. Cut leaving a long tail, thread the tail through a darning needle and pull it through the stitches left on the knitting needle, pulling them firmly together. Weave in ends, and you're good to go. If I'd time I would have soaked and dried it to make it even softer but the merino was so soft, it was fine as is.

Model is my resident 12 yo who managed to recover from the disappointment of not being able to keep this hat, in time for a photo op.

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Need a couple of other hat ideas, just click your way over to Susan's serialized top down hat this week, or to Amy Boogie's Trifecta.