A Chulo for a Chum

One of my co-workers wanted a Chulo style hat, so, not having a pattern, I started to wing it. Starting at the top, I knit a square of 10x10 stitches x rows, then picked up ten stitches on each of the other three sides of the square and began knitting on two circular needles, increasing at the beginning and end of each row until I had the number of stitches I wanted to start the pattern rounds.
I used his initials, 'LC' as the main body pattern, then added a section of twisted cable underneath. Next came the ear patches, which I positioned
based on my own ears, then again just winged it.

The challenging part was the I-Cord border (I did have to cheat by referencing several patterns to learn how to do that part. After it was finished, and I was convinced that I could repeat it for the person involved, I showed the prototype to him at work. He instantly liked it, but when he realized that his own initials were the basis of the pattern around the headband, he got quite excited. I measured his head (he referred to it as his 'Mellon' and started out on the final project.
The original yarn was Lion brand Fishermen's Wool in Natural, and Berry Blue Kool-Aid dyed. I wanted contrast to show off the charting. For the final project, he preferred something more muted, in his color range. I used the same wool, dyed with Berry Blue, Black Cherry, and Lemonade for the main color and the secondary color was done with Orange and Grape for a nice rich golden brown.
The patterning was more subdued, yet pronounced all the same. Tomorrow I get to give it to him, will see what he says, and will ultimately see if he wears it. Hmmm, if it turns out as planned, I will have to call it "Chulo-Vista".

Happy Knitting Subs.