Haturday - Knit Hats

Burnt Crisp

Made from yarn I found it at the thrift store. It’s a very retro burnt orange shade with quite a bit of brown in the coloring. I worked one by one ribbing for about an inch and a half to make sure the hem nice and stretchy, despite alpacas usual best attempts to stretch out (the yarn is a blend which helps as well). The pattern on the body of the hat is formed by knit and purl stitches alternating with rounds of plain knitting. the top of the hat has decreases of eight stitches set in four sections to form a smooth line of decreases. the hat is saw and not overly fuzzy, like many alpaca yarns.

Clouded Spring

The body is mostly half double crochet, with a few rounds through just one of the loops instead of both to form ridges. A little bit of leftover bright pink yarn from another project provides interest in stripes. The hem of the hat is all worked just through one of the back legs to form bridges all the way around to differentiate it from the body of the hat. I make most of my hats in half double crochet – it’s faster than single crochet, but more dense than double crochet.

Shell Stripe

I took a break from my usual knitting to crochet a couple of hats. Crochet hats are a great way to use up my leftovers, since crocheting is a great way to eat up lots of yarn quickly and I can crochet a hat in just a couple of hours. I don’t crochet as much anymore, since it has a tendency to hurt my wrists, but I made an exception in this case since this color combination was just calling out for the structure that crochet can give to a hat. These are alpaca yarns, both the same brand and both found at the thrift store. A varied between working rounds of single crochet, double crochet, and half double crochet to keep the hat interesting to make. For the bottom to help it draw in and keep from stretching out I worked just rounds of single crochet, then added a slight picot to the hem.

Berry Woods

I made this hat to use up two small skeins of leftover yarn from other projects. Both yarns were worsted weight and fairly muted, so they seemed like a good combination. I knit about an inch and a half of ribbing before starting the body. The top of that hat decreases quickly in just a few rounds as is my usual style of hat decrease.

I added a final bit of bright color at the top to provide a bit of a pop. the only thing I would do differently next time is to be a bit more careful about knitting in at the ends of my yarn. You can sort of see where I switched colors, not a big deal, but annoying all the same.

Red Jumper

Another hat from yarn found at the thrift store. This yarn was a nice find – alpaca (a blend I think, but the label is long gone), fuzzy and warm. I used a longtail cast on and knit one by one ribbing for about 3 inches. I knit two rounds to give enough space before the yarn over round, then worked yarn over, knit two together around for one round. The rest of the body and top of the hat is all stockinette stitch. The top is decreased quickly over several rounds. The ribbing helps keep the alpaca yarn stretching out is much as it would if the hat was just in stockinette stitch.

Easter Egg

I didn’t set out to make this happen look like an Easter egg, it just kind of happened! I was trying to use up all of the pastels in one go, and it ended up looking better than expected. The pop of bright purple right above the ribbing really makes this hat for me, making it look really fun and cute. I knit this hat in wool tapestry yarn I found out the thrift store. The yarn is worsted weight yarn more suitable for outerwear than next to the skin, but that will make the hat quite sturdy and warm, perfect for someone who is outside a lot. The ribbing would’ve looked better if I switch to smaller needles to work the ribbing, or increased a few stitches before working the body of the hat.

Simplistic Rib Hat

I knit this hat in a hand painted wool and alpaca blend yarn. I worked one by one ribbing through the entire body of the hat. To prevent flaring at the cast on edge, I worked two rounds of slip stitch edging. To add interest and break up the ribbing, I worked two garter stitch ridges about 3 ½ inches up the body of the hat. The top is decreased while maintaining the ribbing so that it remains stretchy like the rest of the hat. The gray colors of the hat are nice, but the guard hairs show up quite a bit in this yarn, making it itchier than some people might like for a hat that sits against the skin.

Avocado

The yarn is two strands of the green sock yarn that I found at the thrift store. holding the two strands of yarn together gives they had enough body and weight to fit somewhat more securely on the head, plus adds additional warmth and knits up faster than just working with the strict single-strand of sock yarn. The hem is deep ribbing with a couple of purl bumps thrown in in the last few rounds to have interest. the top decreases quickly over a few rounds before being finished off, as is my usual style. The hat is machine washable wool, so great for someone who needs the warmth but also needs it to be sturdy and easy to care for.

Melon

Knit in a worsted weight washable yarn, this soft, squishy hat is form fitting and will stay on place on the head. The one by one ribbing draws in just enough to keep the hat snug. The pattern on the body of the hat is simple garter stitch interspersed with columns of knits to break up the pattern. the rest of the body knit plain until the top. I decreased quickly over a few rounds to finish off the hat.

Tweed Cashmere Hat

This is the super soft hat in recycled cashmere and sock yarn I found at the thrift store. I recycled the cashmere from a lovely colored but very outdated sweater I found at the thrift store. The sock yarn is a smooth superwash yarn, making the entire hat very soft and squishy, perfect for someone who needs a bit of warmth, but can’t wear anything itchy next to their skin. I knit an Icord edging using my Icord knitting machine, making it slightly longer than I thought I needed for the circumference of the hat. From there I picked out two stitches for every three rounds of Icord, then joined in the round then worked three ridges of garter stitch. For the cashmere stripes I held the cashmere yarn with the stranded sock yarn, then switched back to the sock yarn to form the solid color. This is a great way to really stretch the cashmere yarn, making sure it gets maximum impact for softness where it will be over someone’s ears and forehead.

Beige Glory Hat

This hat was knit in thrifted acrylic yarn, making it machine washable. A quick one by one ribbing helps keep the hat in place, and the body of the hat just knit in very simple patterns, nothing more complicated than alternating knit one main color, knit one contrast color. The top of the hat is decreased quickly over several rounds in my usual style. the colors are a bit on the retro side, but also quite neutral.

Team Spirit Hat

This is a combination of two yarns I found at the thrift store. The first yarn is a bright yellow, white, and blue sock yarn that had been part of a pattern kit for a lace scarf. The other yarn is a very tightly plied blue tweed sock yarn that I also found at the thrift store. They held the two yarns together to try and tone down the bright yellow and prevent very obvious pooling. The hat is very soft and not itchy at all. I knit the hat with a simple 2 x 2 ribbing for the hem, a plain stockinette stitch body, and quick decreases over a few rounds for the top of the hat.

Haturday - Knit Hats

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