Capreoli

 chevron: noun, a line or stripe in the shape of a V or an inverted V, especially one on the sleeve of a uniform indicating rank or length of service.

origin: ...from Old French, based on Latin caper ('goat'); compare with Latin capreoli (diminutive of caper) used to mean 'pair of rafters'.

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I've had this skein of Lion Brand Sock-Ease prints languishing in my stash *for years*, in the Lemon Drop color way. I love its sunny color; you definitely can't miss it. However, this skein refused to become whatever I wanted it to be; socks, scarves, shawls, all frogged. So one good thing about this yarn is that it survives frogging well, in my opinion.

Anyway, I always thought that this semi self-striping yarn would work well with a chevron pattern. However, socks were out of the question because it has become clear to me that I don't particularly like knitting socks. So I settled on knitting a hat. While there are a couple of chevron hat patterns available, they wouldn't quite work with this yarn because:

• This yarn is a *very* light fingering. I would have needed to do some serious math to convert preexisting patterns to match gauge using this yarn.
• I wanted a hat with a slight bit of slouch. Available patterns I encountered yielded beanies or berets, not exactly what I was looking for.

So to meet these specifications... I drafted my own pattern!

Capreoli by Luz Ospina

Needles: US2, circular and double-pointed

Yarn: Lion Brand Sock-Ease prints, Lemon Drop

Skeins: less than 1

Size: 22" circumference

Here are some notes that will hopefully help you knit something to your preference:

YARN/GAUGE:

• I recommend using any light fingering striping yarn, or anything that will help you get gauge. I believe Lion Brand Sock-Ease prints is discontinued, so you'll likely be using a substitute yarn.
• My pre-blocking gauge is 9 stitches per 1 inch in K2P2 ribbing. Also, if I remember correctly, my pre-blocking gauge in the chevron pattern was approximately 2.25" per one pattern repeat. 
• After blocking, the chevron pattern grew slightly to approximately 2.5" per one pattern repeat.
• I used less than one skein of the Lion Brand Sock-Ease. I'm not entirely sure how much yarn I ended up using, so the 250-300 yards is an estimate!

PATTERN:

• My ribbed brim is 1.5". You can modify this by knitting more or less rounds.
• Similarly, I knit about 6.5" of the chevron pattern. The total length of the hat before crown shaping was about 8". 
• My crown shaping resulted in a star-shaped crown. I think that if you want a smoother crown, you can include 2 knit rows after each decrease round. Keep in mind that if you do this, your crown/hat will be longer.

FINISHING/BLOCKING:

• Blocking will slightly increase the hat width and length-wise. Given that, I think the hat can accommodate head circumferences between 21-23". However, the chevron pattern doesn't have a lot of give, so I cannot guarantee that it will fit heads larger than that.
• Hats should generally be blocked with something round, like a balloon. I didn't have anything round on hand, so I blocked it flat. That's why the picture with my hat laying on the table is still slightly wrinkly.

And that's it! If you have additional questions, please contact me here or on Ravelry.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2022!