In case of festive emergency

A week or so ago, we showed you the Rivendell cowl, just designed by Jacqui, and intimated that she was working on a matching hat. True to our word, here it is: this is the Rivendell hat. It's a lovely slouchy tam made with a simple lacy stitch, and it's a really fast knit - in fact, you could easily have one finished before Christmas, so it makes a perfect emergency present. Indeed, it's our present to you, with our very best wishes for Christmas and for the coming New Year. We do hope you like it - if you make one, we'd love to see a picture in our Ravelry group. Rivendell Hat Yarn: 2 x skeins of Mirasol Kutama (61m per 50g) (this is a bulky weight yarn, knitting up at 14-16 st to 10cm) Needles & Notions: 5mm 40cm circular needles 6mm 60cm circular needles 6mm DPNs or 6mm 100cm circular needles for magic loop (depending on your preference for small diameter circular knitting) 1 stitch marker Abbreviations: PM: Place marker Yrn: Yarn Around Needle: bring the working yarn back over the top of the right hand needle (to the back of the work) and then forward again between the needles to the front. This creates one stitch and leaves a decorative eyelet. K3tog: Knit 3 stitches together. P3tog: Purl 3 stitches together. Instructions: Brim: Cast on 90 sts with the 5mm 40cms circular needle. Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist. PM to indicate beginning of the round. Rnd 1: , rep to end of rnd. Repeat Rnd 1 for a further 9 rnds Main Pattern Repeat: Change to 6mm 60cms circular needle and begin Rib Lace Pattern as follows: Rnd 1 : , rep to end of rnd. Rnds 2, 3 & 4 : , rep to end of rnd. Repeat the last 4 rounds 5 more times. Work Rnd 1 – 3 once more. Crown Decreases: (Change to 6mm DPNs or the Magic Loop Method as soon as you no longer have enough stitches to comfortably fit around your 60cm circular needle) Dec Rnd 1: , rep to end of rnd (60 sts rem) Dec Rnd 2: , rep to end of rnd Dec Rnd 3: , rep to within 2sts of the end of rnd, then k1, p1. Dec Rnd 4: , rep to within 1 st of the end of the rnd. You will incorporate the last purl st of this rnd into the first instruction for the next rnd. Dec Rnd 5: P3tog (using last st of Dec Round 4), k1, p1, k1 then , rep to end of rnd. Dec Rnd 6: , rep to end of rnd. Cut a 6 inch tail of yarn and run this through the remaining stitches on the needle to close up the top of the hat. Weave in all yarn tails and wear with pride! A PDF file for this pattern will be shortly be available via Ravelry too :) And finally, some of us have been wondering how we're going to manage without frequent recourse to the Pepperpot Café right outside our front door. They're open on Christmas Eve and then reopening on January 3rd. During the break, you could still have a taste of their fantastic cooking at home, because they've just started selling jars of their handmade chutney and jam. What an excellent gift idea, too!