Cat designed this hat for her dear friend, Deb. Many of you know her as the talented caterer at Cat’s retreats. Deb brought me the hats and claims it is easily her favorite and she wears it all Fall and Winter. Of course, Cat made three different variations, but the first one has a fun little story and I reached out to her knitters to see if we could capture it and thanks to Maureen Carter, now we know!

I’m pretty sure every one of Cat’s San Juan Island retreats was magic. April 2013 was the first retreat of the year at Lakedale. It dared to rain as the “the kindness of knitters” (as Cat called us) gathered from all over the country. We came to de-stress, learn, share and experiment while working on felfs, phone pouches, and tea cozies. There was also a visit from the local fox, an Island Fibers popup shop, quiet times, lots of laughter and stories from Cat and Jim P, wine, and even some sunshine. But everyone was always happy to drop everything when Deb Nolan served her fabulous meals. The Catering Queen needed a crown! Cat started the hat and the attendees were invited to add a couple of rows. Deb was so tickled when she was presented with her much-deserved crown.

Now, who do you know that deserves a crown?

Deb’s Crown is made in two pieces: The band is worked flat and joined to form the circlet, then stitches are picked up for joining to the cap, which is worked separately in the round from the center out. Both pieces use Judy’s Magic Cast-On . The cap and band are joined using a third needle, and then finished with Jeny’s Suprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off to assure a comfortable fit.

It can be worked with any yarn and needle that give you a springy garter stitch fabric that you like.

A few discoveries from our test knitters:

• Some chose a smaller needle for the band because garter stitch tends to knit looser. (For example, a US 5 for the band and a US 7 for the cap.)
• Some chose a heavier yarn to give the band more structure.

To see our test knitters’ hats and tips and tricks, visit: https://catbordhi.com/patterns/hats/debs-crown

Would you like to meet other knitters who are working on this pattern, join Cat Bordhi’s Cradle for Knitters, Weavers, and Spinners

Don’t forget to share your WIPs and FOs here on Ravelry and if you mention them on Facebook or Instagram use the #DebsCrown hashtag. Enjoy!