“When I began to dream up this pattern, I started thinking about my nephew. He has quite a mountain to climb, and his favorite part of the path right now has to be trains. He’s such a huge fan of model trains and real trains. He goes trainspotting, which is where you stand and watch the train pass while you either take photos or a video to record your presence. As we took him back home from his visit this past summer, we stopped in North Platte, Nebraska to visit the Golden Spike Tower and view the Bailey Yard (the largest freight rail yard in the world!).

When I think of trains, I think of the whistle (not so easy to translate into yarn) and the headlamp (much easier). I started seeing a picture of his little head, covered with a hat with a big neon yellow spot on the top. The sides would be orange (his favorite color). Then I realized that he needed some letters. A big UP for Union Pacific, the owner of the Bailey Yard.

So, UP, UP, UP for him growing UP and following his path, whether it be on rails or not; UP for train lovers of all sorts; and UP for your headlamp as you find your own path UP your Mountain.“

This hat can be easily sized up for adults by simply adding stitches in multiples of four.

I originally created this hat for the My Mountain Hat contest back in August 2013.