So, I’m going a little crazy with the animal print this winter.

I had so much left over after making my cave-woman costume. Counting the costume, handbag, and now this, I have done three projects with the same “fur.”

I wanted a hat that would feature this animal print, and would feature a knit using cream-colored yarn. When I started imagining the hat, I pictured it with a slight point on top, probably owing to all that time I had spent on Pinterest looking at pictures of traditional Mongolian, Tibetan, and Scythian costumes.

For this hat, I started with a basic ribbed beanie pattern, casting on 72 stitches. I worked 4 inches of 1×1 rib, then switched to a cable pattern for a few more inches. Then I started doing regular decreases, adapted from a pointy elf hat pattern. When finished, I sewed the fake fur to the underside of the four inches of ribbing. You turn up the brim to reveal the fur.

And here I am, standing in a chilly, windy, high-altitude place that is not so different environmentally from Mongolia. To look really authentic, I’d need long black braids coming out from the under the hat to complete the picture.

My whole life is about crushing on different ancient cultures, making costumes inspired by them, and then writing novels so you, too, can visit. You’re welcome.