Getting the Sizing Just Right

One of my current knitting goals is to make things that fit... It sounds easy - but it isn't!

So far, I've been working on hats. One problem is that "one-size-fits-all" hats are usually too small for my head - and for Terry's, too. The second problem is that yarn thicknesses vary.

Take this hat I just made of wool I bought in Pennsylvania a few summers ago...

The yarn, in Amish colors, came in a kit.Trying to make the hat big enough, I've made it too big. It fits around the head well, but the top is too tall!

The two pins mark where I'd like the top of the hat to be - and where I'll have to start decreasing stitches in order to get it that size. I'm not looking forward to taking it apart, but, to fit well, some of it will have to be redone.

This is the no-fun part!

I think I'll start keeping a detailed knitting notebook of what works and what doesn't. Otherwise I'll always end up doing and re-doing, again and again!

There - it's done. Terry says it could have an inch smaller... But I'm not going to redo it again.