Hat Time

I am terrible with keeping track of my stuff. I once spent a dedicated month making a pair of knit gloves and managed to lose one glove the day after they were finished.   So, I've been constantly impressed with myself for holding onto a hat I had knitted several years ago.  Sadly, I lost it a month ago and realized that it was my last hat. I've been biking with a bandanna, looking super hardcore ever since.  I finally broke down a couple weeks ago and made this basic knit hat.

I love the look of a knit hat.  It takes longer than crocheting (at least for me), but I definitely think it's worth it. I also like to crochet a couple rounds at the bottom of the hat to give it a clean, tight look.  I'm not going to explain basic knitting techniques for the hat, but I'll go into detail for the two very easy button things I stitched onto the finished hat.

Simple Knit Hat

What you'll need:

yarn

16-inch circular needles, US size 7

double-pointed needles, US size 7 (mine are super long. the shorter ones will be much easier to use)

scissors

crochet hook

For the optional button things:

yarn

scissors

crochet hook, US size G or H 

Here is a link if you're new to knitting:

basics of knitting

Gauge

I really recommend making a gauge before making this hat.  I followed patterns online and ended up redoing the hat four or five times to get it sized right. The last time I finally used a gauge.  I also think my head is unusually small, so that might explain my difficulties. 

Step 1

I measured my head around so that the measuring tape covered my eyebrows.  My head is about 22 inches around.

Step 2

Knit a gauge using your circular or double-point needles and your yarn, casting on 10 stitches. Knit 10 rounds.  Measure across the square.  

My 10 stitches = 3 inches.  

Step 3

Now take the measurement of your head and divide it by the width of the gauge (22 divided by 3). Then multiply that number by 10 (the stitches in the gauge).  I got 73 stitches. I like a tighter hat, so I ended up doing 70 stitches. 

The Hat

Cast on your stitches (as I said, I did 70).  Tie the ends together, making sure the stitches are not twisted at all.

Knit a round. Continue knitting rounds until the top of the hat hits the crown of your head.

I knitted until it was a little over 3.5 inches in length.  I went on the short side since I was planning to crochet 2 rounds at the bottom.  So without crocheting, I would have gone to about 4.5 inches. Also, I do a very gradual decrease, so going on the shorter side is better.

Begin decreasing

Now you'll begin decreasing.  I picked a large number that divides evenly into my total stitches (what's with all of this math?).  Since I have 70 stitches, I picked 10.  This just helps you decide how many stitches to knit before decreasing each time.

So every 10 stitches, I knit 2 stitches together. Knit one round.  The next round, knit 2 stitches together every 9 stitches. Knit one round.  Continue this way -- switching to double-pointed needles in a couple rounds-- until you are decreasing every 3 stitches.  The next round, continue to decrease, but every 2 stitches. The next round, every other stitch.  Continue this until you have 10-15 stitches left on your needles.

Bind off leaving about 8 inches of a tail. With a crochet hook, pull the tail through all of the last stitches.  Pull to close the hole and tie the string on the inside of the hat. 

At this point, I half-double crocheted two rows on the bottom.  Single crochet would work fine, I just like the look of the half-double. Weave in the ends.

Now for the button thingies.

Buttons

These are very simple to make. You could make  several or do different colors. I'm not sure what inspired me to do mine the way I did; it just happened.

For the smaller button, chain 4 stitches, making sure you have a few inches of a tail on the end.

Attach the ends of the chain with a slip stitch to make a circle.  Crochet into the center of the circle 6 times to make a round of stitches. 

 

At this point you are done with the smaller one.  Connect your working stitch into the next stitch with a slip stitch to close the circle.  Cut the yarn leaving a few inches so you have two tails connected to the shape. 

For the larger shape, follow the same steps and then crochet 2 stitches into each stitch all the way around.  If you wanted a bigger shape, then for the next round, crochet 2 stitches into every other stitch. Your basically crocheting as if you were starting a hat but stopping once you have your desired shape.

 

 

To attach the button to your hat, use the tails and your crochet hook.  There's no exact way to do this. I just set the button on the hat and pulled the tails through.  I then pulled on up through one of the stitches of the button and back down another stitch.  Keep this up until the button looks secure.  

Tie the ends on the inside of the hat.   Voila!

If you have any questions, or would like help with the basic techniques, please let me know. Happy knitting.

My lovely roommate