Acorn Caps Basic Ribbed Edging Knit Hat
Acorn Caps Basic Ribbed Edging Knit Hat
Items to source:
Circular knitting needles 16 inch length size 7 or 8 depending on your knitting tension
Double pointed knitting needles size 7 or 8 depending on above
Acrylic yarn between 80 and 100 yards
A stitch marker or paper clip, anything that you can easily loop on and off the end of a knitting needle to mark the start of a new row
A large eyed needle for weaving ends
To start the hat we need to cast on 78 stitches
K2together to join as the base of the hat
(To join the new stitches into a circle you will need to lift a single stitch from the right needle over to the left needle. Try and pull the main working yarn a bit to keep a gap from showing. You can now slide two stitches onto your right needle and knit as if it was a single stitch. You did it! You just did a k2tog!)
Next is the ribbed base.
We will be working in P1,K1 for 7 rows.
(Because we started our circle by knitting 2 together, we will now do a purl stitch. We will continue in Knit a stitch, purl a stitch ribbing for 7 times around the hat. Look at you! You are making a hat!)
Now is the fun part. Continue in straight knitting till the hat roughly measures 9 inches.
(Just keep doing the knit stitch. We will knit until the hat measures 9 or so inches. This part is really up to you. If you want a hat that slouches a little, it will hang low on the child’s neck. Reducing that space between jacket and hat. If your hat got a little longer between measurements no worries. You just designed your own style. Think of the little head that will one day be so thankful you shared your time. Go you!)
Time to start saying goodbye
K2tog til 8 stitches remain
(We will now k2tog every stitch until the circular needle feels stretched and icky. Please switch to using double pointed needles. They are not as fancy as they look. You take one and start knitting 2 together when you think you have a few on and it’s not so intimidating, pick up a double pointed and do it again. Eventually you will have all the stitches on double pointed needles. Stop when 8 are left. You did it. You are so awesome. You look like a picture from an intimidating knitting book. Whoo hoo!)
Weave in the ends and secure inside the top of the hat.
(To take the stitches off the needle and into a closed hat top is not overwhelming. This is how you can make it work. Take your working yarn, the yarn you’ve been knitting with and roughly pull out 12 inches. Now cut the yarn. It’s okay, I’ve got you. Take the end of the working yarn and thread it into the yarn weaving needle. Now, look at the hat and find where you stopped your last knit 2 together stitch. On the left side of that stitch, I want you to slide the stitch onto the weaving needle. Push the stitches onto the yarn string as you take more stitches off the double pointed needles. When you have all the stitches off the double points, You can gently tighten the stitches to form a circle. Take the needle and push the needle into the inside of the hat. Pick a spot that’s pretty close to the circle you just created.Turn the hat inside out. Run the needle through some stitches around the opening. The stitches may look like little lines or bridges, run your yarn in those spots. After you have made a loop around the circle and feel happy about it not unraveling you can pick your final stitch. Make a loop with weaving yarn and go into that loop and pull tight. This will help the yarn wiggles.)
You did it! You made an Acorn Cap. Please take a picture and post on instagram @acorn.caps.celebrate
I would love to say thank you and celebrate this achievement with you.
By sharing your time, energy and love you are making a difference in our community. You are helping me keep my passion that one day this will be a non-profit that will make every child feel warm and loved. Please return to the library and they will show you how you can send your creation off into the world.
Sending love,
Rhesa