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A gauge tells you how many stitches in an inch. So you can knit an inch with your chubby yarn and recalculate how many stitches you need for the hat. I usually have to rewrite directions.

So if it says 16 stitches...and the original gauge is 4 stitches per inch, and your new yarn is 2 stitches per inch, then you need 8 stitches to make up the original distance

Hope that makes sense! It's been awhile since I knitted

@Vegmama: The best thing to do is knit a small swatch with the yarn you have. It is annoying to do, but in the end it will save time with pre-planning.

ETA: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter03/FEATwin03TBP.html

This is why gauge is important: (I ran out of yarn, lol!)