A Hat for Aunt Susan

M’s Aunt Susan has been a cigarette smoker for most of her adult life. In late June she went to the doctor with abdominal pain and headaches. She was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer that had already metastasized to her liver and brain. Needless to say the chemo and radiation have been brutal; she is very weak, but fortunately not in much pain. She has also lost all her hair.

M asked me if I would knit her a hat, and I said I would. Then I found out that she doesn’t like tight fitting or snug hats. The search for patterns was on! I thought a felted hat would be best, but I have a front load washer that locks me out, making controlling size an issue (plus I was knitting without knowing the size of Aunt Susan’s head). Charlene Schurch in Hats On! came to my rescue. Her Brimmed Cap was knit at a super tight gauge (worsted weight on US 4 needles at nearly 6 spi) to mimic felting, and the fit wasn’t stocking cap tight or rigidly determined by being felted.

Aunt Susan likes the color red, and so I got out some Berroco Peruvia I had in stash and my long Addi Lace US 4 needle for magic loop, and set to work. The color looks best in this photo:

I took some pictures of myself in the hat in my mirror over my dresser to give you and idea of how this hat fits (my head is larger than most women’s heads, and I knit a small size), but the photo conditions were not the best.


Chemo is often delivered refrigerator cold through an IV, so I hope this hat can help keep Aunt Susan warm.