Another Stranded Hat

I had sooo much fun with my first stranded knitting project I began another right away.  It was as much fun, but I ran into issues.

The good news?  My tension improved.  Yes, the stitches were larger than straight knitting, but they were consistently big.

The not so good news?  I cast on way too many stitches.  This bad boy could have fit Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

See what I mean?  Humongous!  Pattern is cute, but good grief it was big!

I used my 'go to' cure for all my wonky knitting issues.... felt it!  It shrunk considerably but was still very, very large.   While it was still damp, my sister-in-law popped it in the dryer.  That helped a little more.  Still big, for me anyway, but no longer unwearable.

And the end result?

What?  You thought it was going to look like every other hat walking down the street?  Nooo.   My sister-in-law asked for tassels, and there you go.  Tassels.  Adds a certain whimsy, don't you think?

Pretty darn cute, if I do say so.  And found a new home with my sister-in law in Alaska.  She was a huge help in salvaging this project. 

Learned a BIG lesson on double checking one's math before casting on.