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Ski Hat

Imitate and knit mine, or design your own!
From The Knitting Fiend
Sept. 30, 2001 The days are getting cold in Illinois. I needed a warm hat. A site visitor asked for a patriotic one. So, here's my hat which can be knit by hand or machine; I knit this one by hand. I knit back and forth, but if you wish to knit circular, eliminate the two seam stitches (i.e. the edge stitches) and just knit circular.

Ok, so you are saying to yourself. "The hat shape is ok, but..... I'm Canadian *, what do I want a red, white and blue hat for? I'll just keep surfing.... "

Well, DON'T leave yet. You can make the hat you want. Just keep reading! You can use any yarn you like and recalculate the rows and stitches using this page.

Good luck.
Lucia

Stitch Patterns

Officially, this hat will use four stitch patterns. It seems like three because two of the patterns happen to be identical. Later, if you love the shape of the hat, but want to design your own, you can choose your own stitch patterns for patterns 1, 2 and 4. Stitch pattern 3 is used to make sure the fold is crisp; it should be stockinet. (Guess what? Picking your own stitch pattern is called..... designing your own hat. Wow! If you do make one, send me a picture. Heck, if you imitate my hat, send me a picture!)

One important point: All stitch patterns must achieve the same stitch gauge. Different row gauges are permissible. It's pretty easy to match the stitch gauges. Use similar weight yarns throughout the hat, and limit your design to fair isle or stockinet. Those knitting with machines may find the row gauge differs for stockinet and fair isle. That's ok.

These are the stitch patterns used in my hat. The knitting directions for each are for flat knitting (not knitting in the round). When you design, write down your own instructions for St. Pats. 1-4.

Stitch Pattern 1: 2 x 2 rib. Cast on a multiple of 4 stitches + 2 extra stitches. Knit in blue.
Row 1: *K2, P2* repeat until last stitch K2.
Row 2: Knit stitches "as they present themselves". (This means knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches, or P2, *K2, P2* repeat to the end.)
Row 3: Repeat Rows 1 and Row 2.
Design tip: This is a "welt". If you substitute, pick a non-curling stitch, (e.g. ribbing, garter stitch.) This should be the same yarn type and weight used for stitch pattern 2 and 3. Stitch pattern 2: Stockinet in blue.
Row 1: Knit all stitches.
Row 2: Purl all stitches.
Design tip: You can go wild here! Or you can pick a boring stitch like I did. For your first design, pick a stitch with a small pattern repeat. Otherwise, you will get a noticeable pattern discontinuity at the seam. There will be no discontinuity if the stitch pattern is a multiple of 4!
Also, use the same yarn type and weight for stitch pattern 1, 2 and 3.

Stitch pattern 3: Stockinet in blue.
Row 1: Knit all stitches.
Row 2: Purl all stitches. (This is also knitting stitches "as they present themselves!")
Design tip: For your first design, substitute color but not stitch. Also, pick the same yarn type used for stitch pattern 1. You'll see that this stitch forms a "buffer" near the fold. Stitch pattern 4: Stockinet in red and white stripes.
Row 1: Knit all stitches.
Row 2: Purl all stitches.
Design tip: See tip for stitch pattern 2! You can use a slightly different weight yarn for stitch pattern 4.

Yarn Choice:

I used about 4 oz of worsted weight hand washable wool distributed as follows: about 2 oz blue, about 2 oz red and about 2 oz white. (Ahem, 2+2+2= 4? Not on my planet! The whole hat weighs around 4 oz. But my kitchen scale isn't very accurate! So, I round each individual amount up!)

You can use any worsted weight, double knitting, or sport weight yarn. I'd avoid chunky yarn for this design for two reasons: The hat would probably be too hot; wearing this hat is like wearing a hat and a head band! Also, if the yarn gauge is too large, the hat probably won't match your head size well. There just too much rounding when I make the number of stitches a multiple of 4.

Oh! Beginners: Don't fret if you don't match the gauge on the yarn label exactly; don't worry if you don't match my gauge. The yarn I bought recommended a gauge of 5 st/in. I knit at a gauge of 4.76 st/in. I liked the way the yarn looked, so I decided that was fin. The whole purpose of this calculator is to free you from patterns written to an exact gauge. Decide if you like your fabric, and type your own gauge into the boxes. Everything will be just fine.

Finally: THE ACTUAL PATTERN

Yarn & Tools required:

About 2 oz. each of red, white and blue yarn. I used worsted weight.
Two knitting needles or a knitting machine. I hand knit using 4 mm and 3 mm needles.
Tapestry needle.
Scissors.
Tape measure.

Note:

Special instructions for Machine Knitting will be listed after the abbreviationMK. You must know how to use your machine. I do not provide machine settings.
Special instructions for hand knitting will be listed after HK.

How to Create your Pattern.

To create your pattern, you must:

Make 3 swatches, one for stitch pattern 1 (here: blue stockinet), one for stitch pattern 2 (here: red and white stripe stockinet.) and one for stitch pattern 3 (here: blue stockinet.) Note: If you are not varying yarn types and are sure all patterns will have the same gauge, you can get away with making 1 swatch! That's what I did.
Measure and calculate your stitch and row gauges.
Type YOUR stitch and row gauge data into the form.
Measure the hat wearer's head. (No, don't email me and ask me how big their head is. Would you email me and ask me their shoe size? You click here for information. )
Type YOUR head circumference into the form below.
Type other design parameter you chose into the form. (Hint: if you type a really small number for the hat length, the form will replace your choice with the smallest reasonable hat length for a wearer with a given head circumference. If you want to make the hat longer, the form will let you. You'll need more yarn, but a long hat does look cute.)
This page will perform all calculations required for your hat.

Input data: REQUIRED.

Fill in the following boxes to customize your hat pattern for your gauge and the wearer's size. Fill in all the boxes provided here.

Stitch pattern 1 Mine is ribbing. It is knit at one tension dial setting tighter than the stockinet. st/in rows/inch	Stitch pattern 2, 3 & 4. These must all have the same stitch gauge. My version: stockinette: st/in , rows/inch Tension dial setting or needle size used: T or N =.
Head Circumference:inches. Reduction factor:%. (I like 5%. If you like really tight hats, enter a larger number.) Hat length from hem to top:inches. Approximate width of stripes: inches	OUTPUT: Based on your input, these will be used to design the hat. Knitted hat circumference: inches. Actual width of stripes:inches. Brim depth: inches

Knit Brim.

The picture to the right shows the brim after it has been steamed folded into position. I knit this by hand. Notice the row of purl stitches for a "bump" at the bottom. This makes it easy to fold the brim. There are a few rows of 2 x 2 rib at the top of the brim. This prevents the brim from curling forward.

Knit in stitch pattern 1. (For pattern shown this is 2 x 2 rib in blue.) Cast on stitches. HK: N=; MK: T= . Knit over all in stitch pattern 1 for rows.
Loosen tension or change to larger needles: HK: N=; MK: T= . There are still stitches in work.
Knit rows in stitch pattern 2. (Here: stockinet in blue.)
Change to stitch pattern 3 (Here: blue. Always: Stockinet.):Knit rows or inches from the cast on.

Fold row:

HK: Knit 1 purl row on the knit side. MK: Knit 1 row at the loosest possible tension. Return to normal tension. (This forms the fold line. It's really obvious in HK. It's only slightly obvious in MK. )
Continue in stitch pattern 3 (Here: blue. Always: Stockinet.): Knit rows in stockinet. (The first of these rows is a purl row on the purl side! The last of these rows is a knit row on the knit side.)
Fold over portion complete.

Turn work.

The purpose of the next step is to arrange your work so the side that was formerly the "outside" is now the "inside".

MK: Break yarn. Take work off machine on waste yarn or a garter bar. Rehang work with right side facing you.
HK: Just start to knit on what was formerly the purl side; purl on the knit side. This means the next row you knit will be a purl row.

Upper Hat:

The top of the hat is shown to the right. The hat is knit without shaping until the last two rows. You don't bother to bind off. Instead, you will cut the yarn and draw it through all the loops. But don't tighten until after seaming! It's easier to seam when everything is still flat.

If you want to hide the top under a pom pom, go ahead. That's a popular treatment. But my mom said: "Lu, don't add a pom pom!" I have to obey my Mom, don't I?

To make stripes the width you asked for, alternate rows of red stripes and rows of white stripes. It doesn't matter whether you begin with a red stripe or a white stripe!

Shaping directions:
Knitting in stitch pattern 4 (Here: red and white stripes), knit rows with out shaping. Hat will measure inches from fold. HK: Finish knitting with right side facing you. Optional: If you like, continue knitting straight until the stripe you are working on is completed.

On next row decrease roughly 1/2 the stitches as follows:

HK: K1, *K2 two together *. Repeat directions between * and * until last stitch. K1. Next row: P1, *P2 two together, repeat until last stitch. P1. (Do this tightly to draw the hat in.)
MK: Leaving stitches on edge needles. Now, transfer stitch on every other needle to the adjacent needle. K1 row.

Knit 1 row. Break leaving a long tail. You could repeat the decrease and knit another row, but some machines have difficulty decreasing this much twice in a row. If you don't know whether your machine can do it, don't risk it now.)

MK: Take work off on waste yarn.

With a tapestry needle, thread the long tail of yarn through the last row of hat stitches (not the waste yarn). Don't pull the string to tighten the to yet. MK: Remove waste yarn.

Assemble

If you used wool, lay flat and steam hard but don't flatten the "purl" row used to mark the turn. If you used acrylic, steam gently (and test on the swatch first!!!)
Fold up along purl row. Steam hard again this time making sure the fold is nice and crisp.
Fold hat and stitch seam from the top of the hat to the beginning of the red & white stripe pattern. The ugly part of the seam should face inside. Make sure the seam looks nice on the outside of the hat. See seam detail to right. Notice the red and white part of the seam is on the purl side.
Mattress stitch brim and the few blue rows after the turn row. This time, make sure the ugly side of the seam doesn't show on the outside when the brim is folded up. See seam detail to right. Notice the the seam is attractive on the knit side.
Tidy up all loose ends of yarn.
Pull to form top of cap. Tidy up and secure the tail.
If you feel like it, steam again!

Wear Hat

Jim's fishing again! So, he couldn't take my picture. Teddy is modeling for me. Teddy's head circumference is 3" smaller and a lot shorter than mine. That's why the hat is drooping down. Can you believe it, Teddy wants to keep the hat? And he's nagging me for a matching sweater!

I'll post a picture of me in two days; then you'll see how it looks when it fits!

What have you learned?

Did you design your own hat? Then you taught yourself how to modify the stitch pattern element of a design.
How to make a nice turn row for a brim.
How easy it is to make a hat.

Knit like a fiend!
Lucia

Abbreviations

RC = Row count. T = Tension setting. N= needle size. WY = Waste Yarn. St = stitch.