friday freebie: reversible baby hat pattern!

TGIF, folks! And to celebrate the impending weekend, how about a quick free pattern that I whipped up recently?

Perfect for that variegated skein of sock yarn that we all have in our stashes, this hat is quick, simple, and reversible thanks to its ribbed brim and garter stitch texture. I used less than one skein of a favorite fingering-weight yarn, Koigu KPPPM because I love its color saturation, woolliness, and tight twist, but any warm and stretchy sock yarn will work well.

One of the great little tricks that I used to make this hat has to do with the brim, and is courtesy of the Tech Knitter. By knitting a few rows in the round on larger needles, then switching to your intended needles to work the ribbing, you get a super-stretchy and rolled edge to your brim that is very durable and not at all binding on the head. This is a brilliant and easy tip that has wide applicability to any edging (think sleeve and neck cuffs)!

Because the body of the hat is worked in garter stitch in the round, you will get a faux seam along the line where you begin a new round, but if you’re like me, that’s nothing to worry about. Just full disclosure, really!

And to keep the knitting speedy, the crown decreases are concentrated in the very last rounds at the top of the hat to create a gathered effect. Easy and comfy for baby!

The instructions, including the sizing, gauge, and materials are all below. Enjoy!
xoxo Danielle

Reversible Garter-Stitch Baby Hat

To fit: Infant
Finished Head Circumference: approximately 14.75″ [37.5 cm], unstretched
Note: Hat is designed to be worn with anywhere from no ease (for a loose fit) up to a couple of inches of negative ease (for a snug fit)

Materials:
130 yards of fingering-weight yarn; shown in Koigu KPPPM (100% merino; 175 yd/160 m per 50 g/1.75 oz), colorway P470X: one skein.
US 3 [3.25mm] needles: 16″ circular needle and double-pointed needles (DPNs), or size needed to obtain gauge
US 5 [3.75mm] needles: 16″ circular needle (note: these extra needles are only for the rolled brim technique. You may omit these needles if you skip this step.)
One marker
Tapestry needle

Gauge
26 sts and 56 rows = 4″ [10 cm] in garter stitch, blocked

Instructions
Brim
With larger needles, CO 96 sts. Join in the round, being careful not to twist CO.
Knit three rounds.
Note: The above rounds are optional. If you’d just like to start the brim with ribbing, then CO 96 sts loosely with the smaller circular needle and proceed with the ribbing as described below.

Switching to smaller circular needle, work ribbing as follows:
Rnd 1: *k2, p2; rep from * to end of round.
Rep Rnd 1 until ribbing measures approximately 3/4″ [2 cm].

Body
Work garter stitch as follows:
Rnd 1: knit.
Rnd 2: purl.
Rep last 2 rounds until hat measures approximately 6″ [15.25 cm] from CO edge, ending with Rnd 2.

Crown
Note: switch to DPNs when there are too few stitches to fit comfortably on the circular needle.
Work decreases as follows:
Dec Rnd 1: *k2, k2tog; rep from * to end of round. 72 sts.
Next rnd: purl.
Dec Rnd 2: *k1, k2tog; rep from * to end of round. 48 sts.
Next rnd: purl.
Dec Rnd 3: *k2tog; rep from * to end of round. 24 sts.
Dec Rnd 4: *p2tog; rep from * to end of round. 12 sts.
Dec Rnd 5: Rep Dec Rnd 3. 6 sts.

Finishing
Break yarn with 6″ [15.25 cm] tail, and using tapestry needle, pull tail tightly through remaining 6 sts and send tail through center top of crown. Weave in loose ends and block, if desired.

Note: All instructions and pictures are © 2014 Danielle Chalson.  Please do not use either without my permission.  Thank you!