An age-old problem I've always had with hats is that they usually completely flatten my bangs. Any regular beanie hat annoys me that way. Either that, or they don't keep me warm, such as a hood with flappy open sides. I want a hat that can be layered under a hood or bulky scarf, yet can stand alone when it isn't too cold outside.
I found some bandanna hat patterns and bonnet hat ideas. These seemed closer to what I was thinking of, so I decided I'd try building from a basic form and create just what I wanted.
This hat works pretty well. My bangs stay nice, it keeps my ears warm, and there is room in the back for my hair. I even found a nice acrylic yarn that is actually warm and not scratchy.
I do need to fix a few things. The flaps don't lay perfectly yet, and when putting it on there is a moment of confusion as to which side is the front and which is the back. These challenges are being worked out in my next attempt to knit the perfect dream hat !!
Someday when I've created a good model I'll list these hats in my etsy shop. Hopefully someone else out there is looking for a knitted aviator ear flap hat too !!