Minimal - Ish
The story of how I made a Hatdana
By Zairi Malcolm
I made a hatdana – it’s a hat, headwrap and bandana/cowl all in one. It’s awesome and unique.
Denise from Bayron Handmade designed it – it’s perfect for people like me who want to be minimalist. You don’t need to have three different garments to keep you warm when you’re always cold.
That’s why I made two!
In different colors, though… I had to. One is a warm color that matches my moccasins. The other is a cool color that makes my cheeks look rosy.
For the warm mustard color I used O-wash Worsted in Feldspar. This was the closest I could get the pattern color, which I so loved. I don’t wear much color so I didn’t want to shock myself with a bright hat, but I needed some color to brighten up my hair. This is my first time working with this yarn and I loved it! It’s an organic merino which is washable and machine dryable. It’s not superwash though, O-Wool uses an organic compound to prevent the wool from felting. That being said – I don’t machine dry my knits unless the garment needs to tighten up.
But, let’s get back to the wool – The stitch definition was crisp – the stockinette and the cables both popped beautifully. It drapes well, even though I knit it with a size 5 (7.00 mm) needle recommended by the pattern. I’d say this yarn is more of a light worsted, though – which makes it good for wearing knits in the warmer months. The pattern was so easy to knit so I decided to do some knit-walking on my way to my day job. It was a success! I had to stop and look to do the cable but the rest is super easy to memorize. The yarn wasn’t too sticky to knit in the sun, which can happen when it gets hot, and the yarn didn’t want to fly off the needles.
For the purplish color, I used O-Wool Balance in a color that doesn’t exist anymore. The closest color we have to it is Juneberry and Tourmaline. It’s a merino/cotton blend. I immediately loved it when I swatched with it. It feels soft and has a fluffy texture. The yarn was stickier than the o-wash. It wants to knit loose, so it has less stitch definition – it feels kinda woolly. My stitches weren’t as well defined. This made it a bit harder for my knit-walking experiment. I was in Utah for the month of June and had a 15 min walk down the mountain everyday and I was going to use it wisely. The yarn was a bit slippery to knit with while walking and it was harder to quickly see my stitches while walking, but I still got at least 2 rows done every morning.
After I blocked this hatdana in Balance, it actually turned out a bit too big. I think the cotton stretched more than I thought. I also didn’t block my swatch… I just wanted to start! So I had to rip back and make it smaller, and now it’s perfect. Just a friendly reminder if you haven’t worked with a yarn before, you should definitely do a blocked swatch!
Pattern tips
Like I said the pattern was super easy to follow, and there were video tutorials for the new techniques I was learning – elastic sewn bind off, duplicate stitch and attaching tassels. I can’t tell you how much I love tassels and fringe – it’s out of proportion for what feeling they should evoke. The elastic sewn bind off makes the finishing look so professional. You just have to trust what you are doing. My tip is to do it tightly, because it is already a loose bind off. I had to do it twice on both hats, because the first time it came out too loose and wouldn’t stay on my head. It’s a long process though – you need patience and concentration.
Like I said the pattern was super easy to follow, and there were video tutorials for the new techniques I was learning
Styling the hatdana challenge
Let’s count the ways.
Hat – It’s more of a head wrap, that preserves your hairstyle. That’s why I love this pattern, because my hair gets smushed when I use a traditional cloth headwrap for hair emergencies. I love how the back of your neck can breathe, so you don’t overheat so I can literally wear this year round.
Headband – Wearing it backwards is so cute. It lifts up your face and smoothes out your edges – a must for refreshing your hairstyle after sleeping on it. I love how it opens up my face, and keeps the back of my neck warm – which is a necessity with my short hairstyle.
Cowl – My favorite way so far. It’s a quick way to keep warm and brightens up my black minimalish wardrobe.
Hope you enjoy making your hatdana. There is also a fingering weight version but since the Autumn is officially here, I’d suggest using worsted weight yarn for your first hatdana.
