A Crown Fit For a DunKing

Like most makers, I find myself expressing my love for those around me through customized projects, and I recently completed a very special one.

My Dad rocks, I know many people will say this but, mines the winner, sorry!

He’s a joyous New England-er, the kind of guy that goes to get his car fixed and brings all the mechanics their favorite coffee order. He loves the simple things in life: family, dogs, Boston sports, car repair shows… and Dunkin’ Coffee. Earlier this year, our family was hit with the unfortunate surprise of his Lymphoma diagnosis. Soon, the tumors on his neck grew so large that his iPhone wouldn’t recognize his face anymore, and my family found ourselves afraid of the seemingly uncontrollable future.

We are fortunate to live near great medical care here in the North East. The doctors and nurses at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA have been an absolute godsend. My father’s treatment started quickly, and began working immediately, which was a huge relief. His tumors all but disappeared after his second chemo treatment, and so did his hair.

With 4 more rounds of Chemo to go and a bit of a brighter outlook on the situation, I got to thinking we could use something fun to bring a bit of levity. I decided that he obviously needed a killer hat that would make heads turn at the infusion center.

If you watched the Super Bowl this year, or well, the Super Bowl COMMERCIALS this year, you had to have seen the iconic DunKings Commercial featuring Ben Affleck and two of Boston’s favorites, Matt Damon and Tom Brady. The 3 men dawned fashionable, albeit flashy, bright orange sweatsuits with the new DunKing logo plastered all over it. I had to have them. Unfortunately, I did not have a spare $300 dollars to drop and even if I did, the suits sold out in minutes. So, I turned to my needles, and created this custom colorwork version of Emily Russell’s “My Baker’s Hat” pattern, which was originally made in Berroco Ultra Alpaca.

I took the total amount of stitches in the hat and divided it in half. I then decided how tall I wanted the motif, about 2.5″, which equates to about 16 rounds. I then sketched my DunKing inspired design over the grid. After converting the sketch into a colorwork chart, I moved to yarn choice.

What is fabulous about finding a pattern using one of our “workhorse” yarns, is that Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Berroco Vintage, and Berroco Ultra Wool are all interchangeable in gauge. I know my Dad… and I know he will be throwing it into the washing machine at some point or another, so, Alpaca is off the table. I also knew I wanted a vibrant pink and orange. I turned to my ol’ faithful for bright colors: Vintage!

Berroco Vintage is a 52% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 8% Nylon blend that is perfect for gift-making. The knitted fabric feel is so soft, which is perfect for those in your life who aren’t into the “scratchy” or “wooly” feel of wool. Perfect for a bald head, in my opinion. The 8% nylon really adds a level of durability, as well. I used the colors #5164 Tang, #5123 Blush, and #5101 Mochi for the ultimate Dunkin’ trio.

With my colors chosen, my chart charted, and needles ready, I cast on hoping to finish this puppy in time for my Easter Sunday visit home.

And -voila! A hat fit for my DunKing! He was happy to report that everyone at his treatment center adored his hat, and now they’ll all know where to get his mid-treatment treats. While watching a loved one go through the Chemo treatment process is not easy, the small things, like making a personalized hat or watching my niece try to make play-dough hair for my dad, are the small, joyous glimmers that are getting my family through. Making this project allowed me to take time and process the reality of the situation, whilst pouring as much love as I could into each stitch. I can’t beat cancer for him, but I’m happy I could give him something personal to our family to take along on his journey.

Today, my father is in good spirits and just finished his second to last round of Chemo. Chemo is accumulative in side effects, so it doesn’t get easier along the way, but I am so impressed and proud of how well he is handling this terrifying situation, choosing to walk into the care center with a smile and a bright orange hat every time. We are looking forward to this enjoying this summer all together, and I think I’ll have to make him a summer bucket-hat in Modern Cotton next!