Sunday, November 12, 2006

Father/Daughter Hat




John wanted a hat that could be thrown into the washing machine. One that wasn't frou-frou at all. This hat is the result - it's stretchy and easy to fit, and it decreases sharply with four raglan decreases at the top so there's not a bit of pointiness. It's easy and it's very quick; I've got it here in Encore Worsted, which is inexpensive and washable.

I've got instructions here for two sizes - the large fits adults M - XL. The small fits a child through small adult. If you want to knit it for a person with small head circumference but want it a bit longer, you could knit one inch of stockinette after the ribbing and it would work fine. Both the large and small sizes fit me, albeit a bit differently.

Materials:
1 skein of Encore Worsted, or yarn that gives similar guage. You won't use the whole thing.
Circular needle, 16", and matching DPs, in a size to give you the correct guage (I used size 5, but that's because I knit REALLY loosely - you probably need a bigger size!)

NOTE: Feel free to knit longer ribbing if you want to fold it up, or knit plain between the ribbing and the decrease section if you want the hat to cover the ears more.  That's up to you - the pattern is completely open for your interpretation!

4.5 sts/inch

To start, I used two needles together to cast on loosely; you can use whatever method you'd like to ensure a stretchy edge.


For sizes Child/S (M/L)

Loosely cast on 88 (96) sts. Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist, and place marker to signify beginning of round.
For both sizes, knit 3" of K2, P2 rib.
Knit 1/2 (1) inch plain.

Begin decreases as follows:

Decrease set-up round: *K1, SSK, K17 (19), K2tog, place marker, repeat from * to end. You have 80 (88) sts remaining.
Knit two rounds plain.

Decrease Round: *K1, SSK, Knit to last 2 sts before marker, K2tog, slip marker, repeat from * to end. You have 72 (80) sts.
See how that will work out? You have one stitch plain at the marker, and you'll be doing paired decreases on either side of it all the way through.

Knit two rounds plain.

For both sizes, repeat the Decrease Round, knitting two rounds plain between decreases, until you have 64 sts.

Knit one round plain.

Repeat Decrease Round. You have 56 sts.

Knit one round plain. You have 48 sts.

At this point, every round repeats the Decrease Round. Change to DP needles when practical.

Continue decreasing until you have 8 sts remaining. For the last part, when you start wondering how to decrease the last round of sts, because the two decreases overlap, you can decrease into the one plain stitch that's between the K2tog and SSK. Experiment - it'll work out.

Break yarn, thread through 8 remaining sts, and draw through to wrong side of hat. Weave in ends - Voila! The hat is super stretchy, so you can block if you want to, but I didn't.



Copyright 2006 Windansea/Lydia McNeil. For personal use only.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Lydia, I got this from you from lonesome skein. I was just this afternoon thinking about making a similar hat and am glad to see it done up and now I don't have to think about it! What I especially like is the ribbing but no turn up...I was thinking of doing it in blaze orange bartlett which is a bit itchy (for a hunter I know)... and was tossing around ideas for ribbing/cuff or not/liner. I think that your hat can be adapted with a liner, either a softer yarn or maybe fleece. Thanks again!

Windansea said...

Hey Lisa, send me a picture if you end up making it - I'd love to see it. To line it, would you make it up in softer/thinner yarn and then tuck it inside, seamed at the cast-on edge? Or would you double knit it? It doesn't get too cold down here in Southern Cali so I've never had to line anything!

Lydia

Stacey said...

Great hats! I'm about to start one for my dad, this will be perfect!

Windansea said...

Thanks! My husband loves his.

Lydia

Anonymous said...

THank you for sharing, this hat looks *great*! I'm def. adding it to my list of things to knit.

Windansea said...

Thanks Ulrika! I visited your blog - such beautiful winter photos!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lydia,
I saw your hats, and was very impressed. How many yards did your ball/skein hold. I am always afraid I'll run out of yarn.
Thanks for sharing.
June

Windansea said...

Hi june, Plymouth Encore has 200 yds/100 g....the smaller hat weighs about 40 g, so that's about 20 yards. The larger one still probably takes less than 50 yds.

Anonymous said...

Dom är jätteläckra!!

Precis en sådan tänker jag göra - dom kommer att matcha pulsvärmare jag håller på med perfekt:-)

Windansea said...

Hi Heidi! I'm sorry I can't understand, but thank you! Lydia

Anonymous said...

What's up? I love to to knit even tho i am 13. It looks like a cool hat.

Unknown said...

hello Lydia
what Heidi said is something like this:

It's great!
precisely such one I intend to make -wristwarmers will match perfectly

(I am not an expert translator, sorry)
Aaltje

Unknown said...

Hi Lydia, my Husband has also been hankering for a "No Frills Hat" w/out a turned up edge. I happened to have some Encore Worsted yarn and decided to try your pattern, however could you confirm that the gage is really 4.5st/in on size 5 needles? I'm getting 5st/in on size 7 needles and am thinking that I'll have to use 8's ... maybe I just knit really tight?? :) Jen

Windansea said...

Hi jen, yep - you're reading right - but it's because I'm a really really loose knitter. I'm sure your 8s will work out fine if you're getting that gauge! Lydia

Unknown said...

Are your needle sizes listed in US or Metric? US 8 = Metric 5 ... which may be the difference! On another note: My husband has been peering over my knitting bag to find "His Hat" - I'll send you a picture of the finished product when it's done if you like. Thanks for the quick response! :) Jen

Windansea said...

Hi jen, that's the US size. I typically knit worsted on 6 or 5 size needles, while everyone else is on 7 - 9s. I look forward to seeing yours! Lydia

Unknown said...

:) very good then - just wanted to double check ... I'm off to go dig out my double pointed needles. Thanks again and have a great day!

Unknown said...

It's finished - with only a few modifications to accommodate a 24" hat size and some style preferences on the ribbing! :) My Husband loves it and wants another one in a different color. I'm off to go dig in my stash of yarn to see what I can find. Thanks for sharing the pattern. I'd attach a picture, but the blog site won't let me, but if you email me off-blog I'll be happy to share. - Jen

San Diego Champions said...

Hi Jen~
Can you send your adjustments for the 24" hat please?
Thanks,
~Chris

Unknown said...

All I did was play with different sized needles to achieve the desired tension in the ribbing so that it would fit my Husband w/o feeling too loose or too tight. Size 7 needles turned out to be perfect. I also made the ribbing in different heights 1" to 5" to see if that would make a difference on how it fit. I didn't change the number of total stitches cast on or the decrease at all as I moved up towards the top of the hat.

Anonymous said...

I've used your pattern to knit my first hat. Your directions were easy to follow, and it worked out beautifully. My husband's already worn it outside on a New York winter day and commented on how warm it was. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

My son-in-law gave me some yarn that he bought in Peru and requested a hat. Lucky me that I found this pattern...

Adrienne said...

Hi! I just found this pattern and want to make it for my husband. QUICK question....am I supposed to k2tog on each side of the marker?? I'm still a fairly new knitter and it's really confusing me lol.

The pattern says:
Decrease set-up round: *K1, SSK, K17 (19), K2tog, place marker, repeat from * to end.

But then you say:
See how that will work out? You have one stitch plain at the marker, and you'll be doing paired decreases on either side of it all the way through.

And that kinda makes me think that I should be doing the decreases on each side of the marker lol.

Thanks for ANY info! LOL

Windansea said...

Hi Adrienne, I emailed you in case you didn't see this response. But - your paired decreases are going to have one stitch knitted plain between them. That's the first K1 right after the * in the decrease round. Hope that helps! Lydia