Easiest stocking hat

The finished hat has 56 grams of yarn in it, nearly a whole ball.

I loosely based the hat on this pattern https://web.archive.org/web/20100910120425/http://knitone.biz/pdf/chemocappattern.pdf , but I started with 80 stitches, because it made the ribbing easier. When I got to the decreases, I worked them over 8 stitches, with the k2tog coming first, like k2tog, k6 all around, knit a row, k2tog, k5 all around, knit a row. I worked it down to 5 stitches and cinched the top shut.

I had started out with 88 stitches and had completely knit the hat because I had recently made a couple of ladies' lace edged hats that began with 84 stitches. The difference between the two styles is, the lace hats are not meant to stretch to be held in place by the  brim. They just lie atop the head.

After I finished it and discovered how wrong it was, I was going to frog the hat and wind up the yarn in a ball, but it dawned on me that there was no reason to make a ball. So I looped the first hat over my forearm and unraveled it as I re-knit the smaller size. This will definitely be my go-to worsted weight hat, since the pattern is easily memorized. I'm hoping some of the uneven stitches will wash and dry out.

This will go to Sunflower Head Huggers for distribution to a chemo patient.

Best portable yarn management ever.

Next try used Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn in the color way "Woods". I like that it has some variation in masculine colors, but not being segmented, the colors don't pool.