Sunday 11 September 2011

Hat Pattern on Straight Needles.

So, I promised you a reveal of the hat I've been knitting over the last few days. To be honest, it took me a couple of hours, but I redid it once, and I might re-do it again and use the same lace pattern I did for the scarf. 

The hat, like the scarf, is really simple. Again, it uses Knit, Purl and K2 or P2 TOG. 
This pattern is also for use on straight needles, other than circular of double-pointed (which a lot of hat patterns are for). 

I used the Debbie Bliss Paloma in Mustard, which calls for 10mm (but I used 9mm) needles. It's gives a very elastic finish, which is of course great for hats and gives a perfect fit. 

CO Cast On 
K Knit
P Purl
K2P2 Knit two Purl two
K2TOG Knit two together

CO 56 Stitches.
K2P2 for 8 rows. 
This gives the ribbing on the edge of the hat, making the fit even better.
Knit in Stockinette stitch (K a row, P a row) or in Garter (K all rows) for 26 rows. 
In the hat below, I did about 8 rows of Garter, followed by stockinette starting with a K row on the wrong side, so that the purl rows show on the same side as the first 8 rows of knit (I was experimenting a bit here!) and even when you start decreasing in the next step, continue with the type of stitch you are doing, e.g. if you are using stockinette use P2TOG (on P rows) or K2TOG (on K rows) depending on the row that you are on.
Decrease by K2TOG or P2TOG four times on every row. 
On the first decreasing row, knit(or purl) the 11th and 12th stitch, second row 10th and 11th row, and so on (do count your stitches and divide by 4, and minus 2 to work out how many stitches are in between your k2/p2tog stitches). 
Repeat until you have 8 stitches left, then cut yarn leaving 12" tail.
Pull the yarn through remaining stitches, cinch tight and weave in ends. 
You can pull the yarn through the remaining stitches by using the end of your other needle. When weaving in the ends you can pull the stitches (close to the edge of the hat) apart a little and pull the wool through, making sure to keep it as tight as you can. When weaved to the end, just tie off (either to itself by looping through stitches or to your BO wool). 

(Sorry about the overexposed-ness; dang PhotoBooth!) 
This is on the P side, so you can see the 8 rows or so of K, followed by the ws side of the stockinette and so all the P stitches. 

I showed you a pattern earlier this week for a simple lace-like scarf, here. And this is the finished scarf (or cowl). After getting to the desired length, I bound off, leaving a 6" tail and weaved through the two ends, pulling tight and tying off. I like cowls, there a bit more useful than just a scarf :)

Any questions about either pattern just ask :)
Rebekah
x



9 comments:

  1. Hi is this a one size fits all kind of hat or should I cast on less for a hat for children??
    http://traceyinlife.blogspot.co.uk/

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    Replies
    1. Hi Tracey!

      Sorry about the late reply. The wool that I used has quite a bit of stretch in it, and I found it to be snug. I think the best thing to do would be to knit it as per directions and try it. If it's too big then decrease your cast ons, I tend to use about 5 or 10 less, depending on how much smaller what I am knitting needs to be. Consider the wool you are using too :)

      Hope this helps!

      Delete
  2. Hi, I've knitted my first 8 rows and done my 26 rows of stockinette. I'm sorry but I really don't understand the instructions for decreasing. Is there an easier way of explaining? thanks

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    Replies
    1. Hi! After re-reading my instructions, they are a little confusing, aren't they! For example, if you are about to start a Purl row and want to decrease on that row you need to use the P2TOG method, i.e. the needle goes through two loops together. To make it more even I suggested doing these P2/K2TOG stitches every 11th/12th stitch (then as it decreases, 10th and 11th, etc). For example, if you had 40 stitches on a row, and you wanted to decrease 4 times per row, then you would be decreasing the 9th and 10th stitches (i.e. 40/4 = 10) this would mean you would need to complete 8 normal purl or knit stitches then P2/K2TOG the 9th and 10th, K/P the next 8, P2/K2TOG the 19th/20th stitch, etc.

      I hope this helps! Basically you just want to evenly decrease the amount of stitches you have on your needles so that it starts to resemble a hat when you meet the seems (it may look a little odd!).

      Anything else, just ask!

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  3. Thankyou for your reply! Have now finished the hat . It's great!

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    Replies
    1. Aww brilliant! If you blog about it, let me know! xx

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  4. Hi Rebekah, thanks for your tutorial..I am going to use your pattern for making a hat for my hubby..but i am a bit confused..i got the below steps..
    CO 56 stiches
    k2p2 for 8 rows
    stockinette for 26 rows.

    My query is that do we need to start decreasing the stiches after the 26 rows of stockinette. And this 26 rows means 26 K on a row and 26 P on a row or just 18 K and 18 P..sorry for the confusion since i am just a beginner to the kniting world..

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  5. Pretty hat, but awful instructions for a less experienced knitter to follow. Talk about confusing.

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  6. I hate it when knitting patterns have no guage in the instructions as we all knit to a different tension. Not helpful to a beginner.

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