Finished! - The Andean Chullo

Shortly after finishing Patrick's Black Diamonds Hat, I became interested in making a hat for myself. I looked at hats made from sock yarn for a while, but then I stumbled across a picture of a chullo and rapidly became obsessed.


(silly facial expression due to a mouthful of bread and simultaneous hysterical laughter)
There are a lot of different chullo patterns out there, but many were too Americanized for my taste. I wanted something colorful and with a Peruvian flair. Eventually I found Kerin Dimeler-Laurence's pattern on KnitPicks, where they also let you build your own kit! It was just right for me, and I cast on as soon as I got the yarn.


This pattern is written so you make the earflaps first, then cast on the brim of the hat and knit them in. As such, I had two little llama earflaps before I had any of the rest of the hat, and the three of us bonded. I named them Eddie (left flap) and Freddy (right flap). Then the whole project jumped the shark and I wrote a song about them. The lyrics are below, and if you're very good (and I'm very drunk), maybe someday I will sing them for you.


Eddie was a lonely llama
Far from home, he missed his mama
Roaming in a field of heather
That's when he found Freddy - they were birds of a feather

Llama, llama, llama, llama
Llama, llama, llama, llama

Now Eddie's got Freddy to watch his back
One keeps watch while the other has a snack
Even when the farmer steals his hair
Eddie never feels alone, because he finally found his perfect pair.

Llama, llama, llama, llama
Llama, llama, llama, llama

In closing - TASSELS!