A Fun and Festive Christmas Hat!

 I love Christmas--the Christmas season, the decorations, the happiness, celebrating, everything about it.  I crocheted this very festive Christmas hat for my granddaughter.  

The hat is based on the idea of the "ugly Christmas sweaters."  But, it turns out so cute!  I love Christmas sweaters, too, and don't find most of them ugly.  :)

K loves her hat!  The pattern is the Ugly Christmas Sweater Beanie, by Hooked on Sunshine.  Every pattern round is different, and most rounds have a color change, too, so there are lots of ends to weave in.  There are lots of different stitches, too.  Hooked on Sunshine has amazing and beautiful patterns for afghans, too.

I really enjoyed crocheting this colorful hat, and K loves wearing it!  

My notes: Size 4.5 mm hook and Red Heart Super Saver yarns in red, green, and white.

The hat turned out too long, so I skipped rounds 25 and 26. I also skipped some of the last rounds, and my last round is Front and Back post HDC instead of DC.  9" long.  Width is fine.

If bringing up colors for the last few rounds, make sure to join to the top of the Chain 2 at the end of the round with the new color, and then chain 2, which counts as the first stitch.  R. 16, popcorn is into the middle of the SC.

Gingerbread Hat--Love this Pattern

I love this Gingerbread Hat pattern by Angela Whisnant.  It's an easy pattern with very pretty results.

It has a simple 6-stitch cable with a little 6-stitch garter stitch pattern between the cables.  I used worsted weight Plymouth Encore yarn and size 5 needles for the ribbing and size 7 needles for the hat.  I cast on 96 stitches with the German Twisted Cast on.  Encore yarn is 75% acrylic, 24% wool. 

I love the big fluffy pompom.  To attach it, I sewed two strands of size 10 crochet cotton halfway through the pompom, making 4 strands.  I held a button on the inside of the hat, took each strand of crochet cotton through one hole of the button, and tied the strands all together into a knot.  Make sure to tie them tightly to hold the pompom securely onto the hat.  The pompom can be cut off when the hat is washed and then tied back onto the hat.

N loves her hat, and she looks so pretty in it!  We love warm hats!

My notes:  Encore pinkish yarn. Cast on 96 stitches with size 5 needles. K2, P2 rib for 8 rounds. Switch to size 7 needles.
6 repeats = 6 1/2 inches long approx. p1, k4, p1;p1, k1, p2, k1, p1.  Knit rows added between decreases between first 2 rounds and after 2nd round. .*SSK, K2, K2tog, P1, K4, P1 Repeat from * around.  *S2KP, K1, P1, K1, P2tog, K1, P1 Repeat from * around.  5. k2tog, p1, k1, k2tog, p1. 7. k1, P1, k2tog, p1. 8 knit around. 9. k2tog, k1, p1. 10. k2 tog. around.
So, decreases were changed and slower and some knit rounds between decrease rounds were added. So, hat finished at about 8” long, which was perfect for her. I used the sl1, k2tog, psso as my double decrease.

A Fisherman's Kep for My Granddaughter

I learned about the Fisherman's Kep pattern by Anne Sinclair from the knitters on Fair Isle who were selling the pattern to buy new windows for their local museum, the George Waterston Memorial Centre and Museum.  They have a Facebook group, The Fair Isle Fisherman's Kep Page, where knitters can ask questions and receive help with the pattern, and also post pictures of their finished keps.

So, I made this fisherman's kep for my granddaughter.  This will be so warm for her this winter.  This is a fun pattern to knit.

C

Fair Isle has a long history of trading their textiles, including their handknit keps, with passing ships for goods that were not produced on Fair Isle.

My notes:
I used Galway sport yarn and Cascade 220 sport in light pink. I used size 2 (2.75) needle for ribbing. 144 stitches and size 3 (3.25) mm for the body of the hat.
When turning the brim, p 1 row and then purl 1 row after turning so 2 purl rows aren’t at edge.
Next time, use a smaller needle for the outside ribbing on the brim so it holds in a little more.
I used a centered double decrease at the top so the pink thread would be on top of the stripes. So, slip 2 stitches together as if to k2tog, and then k1 stitch. Slip the 2 stitches over that stitch. Knit the stitch in pink, and each row, knit the stitch above the decrease in pink.
My decreases start with 112 stitches, decrease every other row to 16 stitches (all pink). 6 decreases.
Motifs from any of these books: A Shetland Knitter’s Notebook, A Shetland Pattern Book, or Traditional Fair Isle Knitting.

Fox Hat for My Granddaughter

I made this fox hat for my granddaughter.  The pattern is called Crochet Fox Hat by Repeat Crafter Me.  She has adorable patterns.  My granddaughters love them.  I used Vanna yarn and a size H crochet hook.  The buttons are 3/4". 

Changes to the Pattern
I made some changes to the pattern.  The child size was too long, so after I got to 64 double crochets, I switched to the white yarn. I  crocheted only 5 rounds of white in double crochet and 1 round of SC.  So, I crocheted a total of 9 rounds of orange and 5 rounds of white for the child size, plus the SC round of white.

The nose bridge was turning out too narrow, so instead of beginning with 6 SC, I used 8 SC.  So, my first row was 8 SC, 2nd row was 8 SC, 3rd row decreased to 6 SC (did 4 rounds total of 6 SC), and then went down to 4 SC and crocheted a few rows of 4 SC to match the length of the hat.

I did an extra piece of cheek fluff to match the white part of the hat.  So after doing the cheek fluff of chain 5, I did the next one with chain 4, HDC in 2nd chain, then HCD decrease and join to the next DC.  Then do the Chain 3, HDC decrease and join to the next DC on the edge of hat.  I joined with an SC.

On the black part of the ear, I did an extra row of 4 SC to make it a little longer.  I also made the nose wider by doing a round of SC in black around the black nose. 

Sewing on Ears
When sewing on ears, I use a plastic knitting safety clip to hold the corners in place so I can see how they look and to make sure they are even.  I use the yarn tail from the ear to sew it onto the hat.  I sew down the front side and then down the back side of the ear.  I reinforce the corners very well.  I take a bite of the ear and then a bit of the hat and I move along the ear.  I curve the ear slightly.

This was a fun project, and I'm sure she'll love it!