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Monday, January 10, 2011

Knit Baby Hat with Three Colors

To make the matching baby hat to go along with the afghan/sleeping bag, get a baby size hat loom. These can be purchased at any craft store. Walmart also has a hat loom set for fairly cheap. They are by "Provo Craft."


Make a slip knot using the three strands of yarn you used to make the afghan and put the knot around the knob at the base of the loom. Then, start wrapping the three strands around the loom pegs going on the inside of the peg first and wrapping it around to the outside and then on to the next peg. Once you get all the way around, push the first loop down a bit and wrap a second loop. You only wrap it around twice when you are starting a new hat. After that you will only wrap it once each time.


Once you have two loops on each peg, wrap the end of the three strands around the base knob several times or you can make a slip knot and put it on the knob until you need to make another row of loops on the peg.


Take the hook that comes with the loom and lift the bottom loops over the top loops and off the peg leaving you with only one loop on the peg. Once you have done this all the way around, take the yarn off the knob and start looping the yarn around the pegs again starting on the inside and heading around the outside and then onto the next peg. Once they are all looped, put the loose yarn on the knob at the bottom again and use the hook to pull the bottom loop over the top loop and off. Repeat this until you have about 8 rows (8 rows for a thin rim and about 12 rows for a thick rim or band on the hat) done.


Once you have 8/12 rows done, you are going to take the bottom of the hat and pull it up to the top of the pegs and loop the most bottom knit over the peg rather than looping the yarn around. This makes a rim. I start with the yarn that is hanging from the bottom and make sure it lines up with the right peg on the top and just follow the knit around until all the bottom knits are on the pegs.


Next, take the hook and pull the bottom loop over the knit loops you just stuck on the pegs. This will make a thick rim. Follow that around and then continue as before looping the yarn around the pegs and pulling the bottom loop over the top and off the peg.


Once you have about 20 rows on the loom, you have enough to complete the hat. You can make it shorter or longer by adding or not making as many rows. To finish it off, I cut off about 12 inches of yarn. I put the loose yarn on the outside of the pegs and pull the lower loop over the yarn and off the peg and pull the whole piece of yarn through the stitch. Once all the loops are off the pegs, this works like a draw string and I pull the top closed and cinch it up. I pull one thread of the three pieces of yarn through one stitch and the other two through another stitch and tie them together on the under side so that the knot doesn't show. I then weave the strings into the backside of the hat and cut it off after an inch or so.


I weave the lower starter hanging yarn through the hat also cutting them off and then you can make flowers out of yarn and attach them to the hat, or you can make pom poms and put them on top.


To make a pom pom, you just wrap the yarn around four fingers about 12 times. Pull the yarn off your fingers and tie a knot right in the middle making the yarn as tight as you can. Once it is tight in the middle, you cut the loop on both ends making it a pom pom. You can make it a fuller pom pom by cutting it shorter and closer to the knot in the middle. I use the yarn I used to tie it in the middle to tie it onto the top of the hat. After it has been tied on, I weave the ends into the hat and trim.





I hope you enjoy this project as much as I have. I can make a baby afghan/sleeping bag in about 5 hours and a hat in about an hour. If we are watching a movie, driving, visiting, waiting at a Dr. visit etc, I take it with me. It has been a fun project as my Nephew and his wife had my parents first Great-Grand-daughter today. Little darling weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Another nephew announced this week he and his wife are expecting great-grandchild number 2. With 50 grandchildren, I can't imagine how many great-grandchildren my parents will have but today was memorable as it was also my older brothers birthday. My good friend Roene's daughter also had her first baby today. Must be a good day to be born!


Happy Birthday to all three!

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