Cherry Pie: the pattern

So it's my last few days in the Netherlands and soon I will have to wave goodbye to Rotterdam.
Last night was my last visit to the SnB and I was proud to present Sas with a hat for Sprout...
The stalk is removable and the leaf side hides a little loop to attach a dummy. it is all chew and drool-proof...

And because it is my own design I decided to share it! So here goes:

Cherry Pie hat (Newborn to 3 months...probably!)
* If you have any concern about the safety of the stalk for a young baby, please ensure that you make the leaf detachable from the stalk and/or stuff the stalk or that you do not leave the baby to play unattended with the stalk *

Yarn: acrylic (here Special N1) in cherry red (more burgundy than red), dark brown and dark leaf green, that knits with needles 3.5/4mm, about 20g of each, maybe less (I will be making something else with the rest of the balls)
Needles: 4mm circ or DPNs
Hook: 4 mm (optional)

Hat: with red yarn, cast on 64 st, work in the round in 1x1 rib for 1cm then switch to stockinette until hat is tall enough (about 10cm), then begin decreases:
(k2tog, k6) to end.
K next row
(k2tog, k5) to end
K next row

Continue dec until 16st remain
(k2tog) to end
switch to brown (leaving a 5 inch tail), work even for 1 inch, thread yarn through st and pull tight. Use the yarn at the bottom of the stem to embed the stalk in the 'cherry' by stitching to the red st about 2 rows below beginning of stalk (to mimic the depressed top of a real fruit).

Stalk:
With brown, cast on 10st. Work flat in stockinette st until the piece measures 25 cm, ending with a WS row.
(KFB) to last st, K1.
Work even for 1 inches.
Bind off, leaving a long tail that is then used to seam the stalk in mattress stitch. (it should fit snugly over the 'tip' of the hat.
with a separate strand of brown yarn make either a crochet chain or knit a narrow band (cast on/bind off on return row) about 7 cm long and attach as a loop to the inside of the stalk -or to the leaf if worried about the stalk wrapping-, roughly where the increase for the top of the stalk were worked.
Alternatively, make a 4st-icord long enough to fit inside the thin part of the stalk. Secure: voila! non curling stalk! (why did I not think of that earlier?)

Leaf:
with green, cast on 4 st.
work even in stockinette for 1 cm ending with a WS row.
k1, place marker, k2, pm, k1
p
k to marker, M1, slip marker, k2, SM, M1, k to end
p (all even rows)

increase in that fashion until having 32 st total.

Work even for 2 inches, ending with a WS row.

decrease by working k to 2 st from marker, ssk, SM, k2, SM, k2tog, k to end (purl next row) until 4st remain. k2tog twice, purl the next row, then k2tog. Thread yarn through last st, leaving a very long tail if you wish to crochet an edge to the leaf.

Attach cast on edge of leaf to the top (wider) part of the stalk using velcro with the soft part on the leaf so the stalk can be removed for safe chewing of the leaf if necessary.

VOILA!!