As a lifelong Alaskan I am familiar with how unpredictable the weather is. We tend to hope for the best and plan for the worst, which is why I’ve decided to design a winter hat in the summertime.

Fourth of July in Alaska can be a bit of a downer. For one thing, the sun doesn’t really set so fireworks are pretty lame. Also, it’s sometimes cold, rainy and windy; but we Alaskans don’t let a little crappy weather get in the way of summer holiday fun.

So I’ve designed a Fourth of July hat. No one in the rest of the contiguous 48 states (or Hawaii, for that matter) would find this hat particularly useful in the middle of summer, but hey, you can be patriotic year round, right?

Old Glory Slouchy Hat — a free knitting pattern from Alaska Knit Nat

Materials:

• Lion’s Pride Woolspun yarn, one skein each in Royal Blue, Fisherman and Tomato
• Size US 10 circular needle
• Size US 10 double pointed needles
• Darning needle
• Large fork

Abbreviations:

K2tog – knit two stitches together

Star chart (written instructions below):

Directions:

With the red yarn, cast 72 stitches onto the circular needle. K2, P2 ribbing for 13 rounds (you know, one for each of the original colonies).

Cut red yarn leaving an 8-inch tail. Place marker. Bring in blue yarn and knit in stockinette stitch for 2 rounds.

Begin star pattern. Carry unused yarn in back of work.

R1: K4 blue, 1 white, *5 blue, 1 white,* repeat * till there’s one stitch left in the round, then knit 1 blue.

R2: *k3 blue, k3 white,* repeat * till end of round

R3: same as round 1

R4: K1 blue, K1 white, *K5 blue, K1 white* repeat * till there are four stitches left in the round, then K4 blue.

R5: *K3 White, K3 blue,* repeat * till end of round

R6: same as round 4

Rounds 7-9: same as rounds 1-3. Cut white yarn leaving an 8-inch tail.

Knit 2 rounds in blue. Cut blue yarn leaving an 8-inch tail.

Stripes section:

R1: K white

R2: K red

Repeat rows 1 and 2 six more times (you should have 14 rows of stripes total). Cut red yarn, leaving an 8-inch tail.

Continue knitting with the white for 5 rounds. Begin decreasing as follows:

*K2tog, k6*, repeat till end of round.
K 1 round
*K2tog, k5*, repeat till end of round.
K 1 round
*K2tog, k4*, repeat till end of round.
K 1 round. While doing this, transfer to the double points as you go so there are about 11 stitches on each needle (four in all).
*K2tog, k3*, repeat till end of round.
K 1 round
*K2tog, k2*, repeat till end of round.
K 1 round
*K2tog, k1*, repeat till end of round.
K 1 round
*K2tog*, repeat till end of round. Cut yarn leaving an 8-inch tail. Weave in all ends.

Pompom:

Wrap yarn around a large serving fork to create pompom. Run a long piece of yarn through the center tine and tie it around the wrapped yarn. Double knot it. Remove the yarn from the fork and with very sharp scissors cut the loops. Trim pompom to your liking, being sure not to cut the yarn you used to tie it with. Thread your darning needle with the long pieces of yarn on the pompom and secure it to the top of the hat.