Whit's Knits: Heirloom Hats for Newborns
It used to be about every two years that a friend or a cousin had a baby. I was able to knit each newborn a blanket or at least a sweater. Lately, though, it feels like about every two minutes that a new baby comes along, and so, sadly, hand knit baby blankets have fallen by the wayside. But I am not willing to forego hand knit baby gifts altogether, nor am I willing to give the impression that I threw some yarn together into something vaguely wearable and oh-by-the-way-congratulations-about-the-baby. In other words, I have been in serious need of a quick, but exquisite baby gift.
Nothing's quicker than a hat, but how to convey that this is no ordinary hat? Choose an extraordinary yarn. Louet's Mooi yarn is instantly special. A blend of bison, cashmere, and bamboo, it is as light as a feather and as soft as a kitten. Dyed or undyed, it has a natural beauty that evokes a forest floor. Plus, the 350 yard long skeins mean that I'm all set for at least the next six babies!
These hats have a timelessness and a delicacy that put me in an old attic kind of mood. They seem to already have a story. Imagine: a huge steamer trunk, a dusty tuxedo, a playbill, a crushed patent leather pump, and, on top, some carefully folded tissue paper. Hidden among the folds, these tiny hats wait to be discovered for the next generation of babies born.
The Materials
- 2 skeins of Louet's Mooi. 15% Bison, 15% Cashmere and 70% Bamboo. These colors are, from the top, Natural and Spring Espresso. This is enough yarn for at least six hats.
- A 12 inch, US #2 circular needle.
- A set of US #2 double pointed needles.
- A Pom Pom Maker (for the Roll Brim Hat). I used the Susan Bates version.
The Patterns
Gauge
8 stitches = 1 inch in stockinette stitch
Finished Size
13 1/2 inches in circumference
Garter Brim Hat
With Color A, cast on 108 stitches.
Place a marker and join for working in the round, being careful to not twist the stitches.
Round 1: Purl.
Round 2: Knit.
Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 three more times.
Next Round: Purl.
Change to Color B and knit every round until the piece measures 4 inches from the cast on edge.
The Crown
Round 1: *K7, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (96 stitches)
Round 2: Knit.
Round 3: *K6, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (84 stitches)
Round 4: Knit.
Round 5: *K5, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (72 stitches)
Round 6: Knit.
Round 7: *K4, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (60 stitches)
Round 8: Knit.
Changing to double pointed needles,
Round 9: *K3, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (48 stitches)
Round 10: Knit.
Round 11: *K2, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (36 stitches)
Round 12: Knit.
Round 13: *K1, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (24 stitches)
Round 14: *K2tog, repeat from * to end of round. (12 stitches)
Round 15: Repeat Round 14. (6 stitches)
With Color A,
Round 16: Repeat Round 14. (3 stitches)
Arrange the remaining 3 stitches onto one needle.
Knit a 2 inch I-cord. (For help, visit our I-Cord Tutorial here.)
Bind off, cut the yarn, and pull the tail through the remaining stitch.
To form the top loop, bring the tail to the inside of the hat, pulling the very tip of the I-cord along with it. As you weave in the tail, sew the I-cord tip to the inside of the hat.
Weave in the rest of the ends and gently block the hat.
Roll Brim Hat
With Color A, cast on 108 stitches.
Place a marker and join for working in the round, being careful to not twist the stitches.
Knit every round until the piece measures 4 3/8 inches from the unrolled cast on edge (4 inches from it rolled).
Work the Crown section of the Garter Brim Hat (above) through Round 15. (6 stitches)
Cut the yarn, and sew it through the remaining 6 stitches.
With Color B, use a Pom Pom Maker to make a pom pom. I used the smallest Susan Bates template and made the pom pom quite sparse so it wouldn't be too heavy on the hat.
Bring each tail of the pom pom to the inside of the hat through a different hole. Tie a knot with the tails and weave them in.
Weave in the rest of the ends and gently block.
Striped Hat
With Color A, cast on 108 stitches.
Place a marker and join for working in the round, being careful to not twist the stitches.
Round 1: *K1, p1, repeat from * to end of round.
Repeat Round 1 six more times.
**With Color B, knit 2 rounds.
With Color A, knit 2 rounds.
Repeat from ** until piece measures 4 inches form the cast on edge, ending with the first round of either color. (For help with knitting stripes, check out the "Knitting Stripes in the Round" section of the Rochefort Chapeau Project Journal.)
Maintaining the stripe pattern, work the Crown section of the Garter Brim Hat (above) through Round 15. (6 stitches)
Cut the yarn, and sew it through the remaining 6 stitches.
Weave in the ends and gently block.
August 1, 2010
Reader Comments (23)
This yarn is handwash only, but it's worth it! Everytime you wash it, the bison opens up more creating a golden halo around the other fibers, it's very beautiful.
100 yards should be enough for a baby hat.
Thanks,
Cindy
The first thing to look at is your gauge (how many stitches you are getting per inch). It sounds from your description that maybe you are knitting too loosely. At the correct gauge (8 stitches per inch) the circumference of the hat should be 13.5 inches when you take it off the needles.
If you're having trouble getting the gauge right, you can go down a couple of needle sizes to get a more tightly knit hat.
One other note, if you've substituted a different yarn for this project you may have a hard time getting the gauge because this yarn is very fine. Be sure that if you have substituted the yarn that it can be knit at 8 stitches per inch.
Please let us know if this doesn't help and we'll be happy to help you further.
thanks and good luck!
Purl Bee
I do not know the gender of the babies, so I would like something gender neutral. I really like the colors you used for these hats!
Sadly, Louet is no longer making the Mooi, but there are some other totally beautiful options. You could try Anzula's Cloud ( http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/8152-Cloud ) or Mermaid ( http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/8321-Anzula-Mermaid ) or Jade Sapphire's 2 ply Cashmere ( http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/614-Jade-Sapphire-2-ply-Cashmere ) or 2 Ply Cashmere-Silk ( http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/834--2-ply-Cashmere-Silk ). Each of these would make gorgeous Heirloom Hats!
Thanks for your question!
Whitney
Thanks for the great patterns. Loving them. I'm wondering if the cast-on is a multiple of 2 or 4 or 6? I wish I was better at looking at the pattern and determining the right cast-on multiple. Maybe you can shed some light on that technique.
Thanks again!
I have cast on 84 and 76 stitches depending on the thickness of the yarn, to get the same size. Multiples of 4 work best for me as I knit with 5 double pointed needles instead of a circular needle.
Renee
In order to not encounter problems with the crown decreases, I would recommend casting on a multiple of 9 stitches. The way to figure this out is simple. The key is in the first round of crown decreases. In this case, the first round of crown decreases is K7, k2tog. So, you add 7 + 2, which equals 9, and that is the your cast-on multiple! Hope this helps for future hats!
Also, If you are starting out with a 1 x 1 rib (like the Striped Hat) then also make sure that your cast on number is even. (For a 2 x 2 rib make sure it is also a multiple of 4.)
Please let me know if you have any more questions and good luck!
Whitney
It's very possible that the pattern as written would work out fine for a three month old since there's such wide variance in baby sizing! But just too be sure, you could knit for 4 1/4 or 4 1/2 inches before starting your crown decreases.
Thanks for your question. Please let me know if you have more!
Whitney