Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Basic toddler hat

A reader asked the particulars on the boys hats I finished the other day, so I thought I'd write down what I did. I'm sure there are a million patterns like this out there (it's pretty basic) but I know sometimes it's nice not to have to sort through them all!

(This pattern is the property of Lauren Estes and may not be reproduced except for personal use. Please do not otherwise print or distribute this pattern without Lauren Estes’ express written permission. Thanks!)


Yarn: Lion brand Wool Ease, or other worsted weight yarn (Patons would be fabulous). Can use one color or as many as you'd like!
Needles: US7 dpns or a long circular needle for magic loop.
Sizing: 12 months to 2 years, depending on head size. This fits my 11 month old surprisingly well, but her head is in the 98% range!

Pattern:

CO 64 sts.
If using dpns, divide evenly on needles. I used the magic loop technique on a long circular.

Join to begin working in the round and begin K2, P2 ribbing until piece measures one inch.
Switch to stockinette (knit every stitch). Here you can stripe your hat as you wish, using as many colors as you want. For my hats, I knit the following pattern using 2 colors:

Knit three rows with the main color - "MC" (the color you used for the ribbing)
Knit one row in a second color - "SC"
Knit one row MC
Knit 5 rows SC
Knit one row MC
Knit 1 row SC
Switch back to main color and knit every round until piece measures 6 inches from cast on edge.

Decreases:
*K2tog, K6* repeat till end of round.
K all stitches.
*K2tog, K5* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog, K4* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog, K3* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog, K2* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog, K1* repeat till end of round.
*K2tog* repeat till end of round.

Cut yarn and pull the tail tightly through the remaining stitches. Weave in all ends and block if desired.

6 comments:

jmason said...

Just the kind of pattern I was looking for, thanks for sharing!

Lauren said...

No problem! Thanks for visiting my blog :-)

rachpg said...

after the directions for the decreases you put

Decreases:
*K2tog, K6* repeat till end of round.

K all stitches

so do i knit all the next row? still trying to learn.

Lauren said...

@Rachpg: Sorry I never responded to your comment! Yes you are correct. The first round you repeat *K2tog, K6* across the whole round. Then, on the next round, you knit all stitches. Let me know if you have any more questions! Sorry if I was confusing in my pattern :)

Sara said...

Hi there. I am new to knitting and learning more and more. I love the Magic Loop method. For the Magic Loop, what method do you use for changing colors? I can join a new color in the beginning, but when I get ready to join the MC again, I don't know exactly what to do, 1) to make sure I don't have a hole and 2) to be able to keep going in the round. I am a visual learner and I have yet to find a YouTube video showing exactly how to change colors and knit another row using the Magic Loop method. Would you consider doing a YouTube tutorial of this? Or know of one out there. :D Thank you!

Lauren said...

Hi Sara! I find that when I am weaving in the ends I can take care of any gaps or holes where the color changes are. You will get a "jog" in the stripe (it wont perfectly line up) unless you use one of the jogless stripe tutorials. There is a good one on knitty.com here: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEff10/FEATff10TT.php

Otherwise I don't do anything special to join colors. Hope this helps! Thanks for reading!