Lickety Split Crocheted Newborn Hats

Here's a super fast and fun crochet project for charity. I've made ten of these little hats in the last few days. This pic if of the first two.

Materials:
Worsted weight yarn, less than 1 oz.
Size H crochet hook

Gauge:
3 dc stitches per inch
2 rows of double crochet per inch
(However, gauge really isn’t terribly important for this project, as babies come in all sizes and grow very quickly.)

Ch 4, join with slip stitch to first ch to form a ring.
Row 1: Ch 3 (counts as first dc throughout), dc 11 in the ring, ss in top of beginning ch 3.
Row 2: Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, ss in top of beginning ch 3.
Row 3: Ch 3, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, *dc in next 2 sts, 2dc in next st; repeat from * to end of round, ss in top of beginning ch 3.
Rows 4–9: Ch 3, dc in next st and in each st around.
Fasten off and weave in ends.

© 2008. Please don't sell these instructions or post them on the Internet. You may link to this blog post.

Next I plan to work up a version of this hat that uses baby yarn. Stay tuned!

EDIT 1/30/2010: Here's a version that will give you a slightly larger hat, better suited to a typical-size newborn (the original is more of a preemie size):

Ch 4, join with slip stitch to first ch to form a ring.

Row 1: Ch 3 (counts as first dc throughout), dc 11 in the ring, ss in top of beginning ch 3.

Row 2: Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, ss in top of beginning ch 3. 

Row 3: Ch 3, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, *dc in next 2 sts, 2dc in next st; repeat from * to end of round, ss in top of beginning ch 3. 

Row 4: Ch 3, dc in next 2 st, 2 dc in next st, *dc in next 3 sts, 2dc in next st; repeat from * to end of round, ss in top of beginning ch 3. 

Rows 5–10: Ch 3, dc in next st and in each st around. Fasten off and weave in ends.

(To make the hat fit an even larger range of sizes, you can add more rows before fastening off. Any excess length can be folded up as needed.)

© 2010. Please don't sell these instructions or post them on the Internet. You may link to this blog post.

Here is a comparison picture. The new larger version is on the left.

Lickety Split Loom-Knit Newborn Hats

I've been doing some charity crafting again lately, and I thought I'd share my patterns for what I've been making. This almost doesn't qualify as a pattern it's so simple, but I do have a very specific way I like to make these little rolled-brim hats, so perhaps someone else would like to make them this way too. Enjoy!



Materials:
Small amount of worsted weight yarn
Small amount of sport weight or fingering weight yarn
24 peg Knifty Knitter round loom, or similar large gauge loom

This hat is worked using one strand of worsted weight and one strand of sport or fingering weight yarn held together.

Cast on using the crochet cast-on method (this creates a firm but stretchy edge that isn’t too loopy). I also really like the double e-wrap cast on for these hats.

E-wrap and knit off 19 rows.

To decrease for the top, move the loop on every other peg to the peg to the left. You should now have 12 pegs containing 2 loops alternating with 12 empty pegs.

E-wrap only the 12 pegs containing loops. Knit off (knit 2 over 1 so you end up with 1 loop on each of the 12 pegs).

Gather off and weave in loose ends.

© 2008. Please don't sell these instructions or post them on the Internet. You may link to this blog post.

Up next: crocheted newborn hats!

Some Knits for Moi!

Pattern: just a simple mistake rib
Yarn: Purewool 1 Ply, colibri II colorway
Needles: size 8 bamboo straights for scarf, size 7 16" Knitpicks circs for the headband

I looove them. Super soft and comfy to wear.

Chemo Caps

I made some chemo caps for a dear friend who is battling breast cancer. They're all made from worsted weight acrylic, since she says she doesn't like wool.


Knit caps from this pattern. I substituted baby cable rib for regular rib in the brown cap. I love the way it turned out!


Loom knit caps using using the second largest Knifty Knitter loom. These aren't terribly stylish, but they're supposed to be especially comfortable for sleeping in for chemo patients with tender heads. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn. It's nice and silky.


Crocheted caps from this pattern.

I hope she likes them!

Cotton Baby Hats

I knit these a while ago, but since they were gifts I didn't want to post them in case the mommy to be reads my blog. She opened them at a baby shower on Saturday, so now I can finally share pics.

Pattern: Children's Cotton Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots

Needles: US size 7 circs

Mods: none

I love 'em! They were a super fast knit, they turned out so sweet, and I love the Cotton Tots.

How-To: Nicely Rounded Loomed Baby Hats

Several people have expressed interest--via comments, emails, and posts on my looming groups (here and here)--in how I made these little loomed baby hats with the rounded tops. It's no big secret. I got the tip about how to decrease for the top from a few different people on my looming groups. I didn't use a pattern, but (with a nod to those helpful loomers for sharing their shaping advice) I'll tell you what I did:

Knifty Knitter round blue loom (24 pegs)
One strand worsted weight yarn (white) and one strand sport weight yarn (baby colors)
One strand of worsted and one strand of sport are held together throughout

Do the crochet cast on.

E-wrap and knit 1 over 1 for about 6 inches, changing colors as you feel like it or as you run out of yarn.

On the row right before you're done, move the loop on every other peg to the peg adjacent to it, thus creating an empty peg. Wrap the loom as usual, knit over, making sure to knit over 2 over 1 on the pegs that have 3 loops on them. Remove the hat from the loom as usual using the gather method. Weave in ends.

This makes a pretty tiny hat. I think I need to pull out T's newborn hats again just to make sure these loomed ones aren't too little. I'm not sure if I've just forgotten how tiny newborns are or if these hats are truly tiny.

No More Puckers

Thanks to some suggestions from the kind members of the loom knitting groups I've joined ('cause what fun is a new hobby without online buddies to chat about it with), I can now make loom-knit hats that are nicely shaped on top. Kinda cute, eh? These are going to the hospital along with the girly baby blanket. Okay, now it's really time for something other than hats--or at least a hat in a new stitch.

I've been knitting steadily along on my trusty needles too. I started T's birthday sweater, a seamless EZ pullover, and have about an inch of the body done. Nothing picture worthy yet--but soon!

Finally, Decent Cold Weather Gear for T!

I've finally gotten around to making T a decent winter hat and mittens. The poor kid was really looking like a ragamuffin in his mismatched, ill-fitting hat and mittens. I got the inspiration for the mitts from Laura's post on this blog on December 11. The original "pattern"/recipe comes from Lisa's blog here (scroll down to November 19). I changed things up a bit and did a crochet/slip stitch chain instead of an I cord for the connector. The hat is from the Bernat pattern booklet called Baby Love. Both were knit in Patons Classic Merino, color Bright Red. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to try them on T. Let's hope they fit! (Sorry for the dark picture. I didn't feel like waiting for sunlight to get this posted. Maybe I'll replace it with a nicer pic later. Or not . . . )

Some FOs

In between rounds of frogging and redoing Doodlepants, I've been working on a few little hats for charity, using up my stash of acrylic. (I don't remember what I bought these incredibly gaudy colors for, but there they are . . .).