Wiggle Their World, Free Pattern Today!

Good Afternoon,

Yesterday's post was about mittens, today hats.  One in particular, the Wiggle Hat.  This is one of my very favorite hats to knit for kids of all ages, newborn to adult.  It is nearly a close your eyes, sit back and relax kind of hat.

There are no increases or decreases, just the ribbing if you want and then straight up the hat to the closure.  Use a 3 needle bind off or my favorite, Kitchener Stitch.  Add some pom poms, maybe some embellishments and you are done.  Add a pair of mittens to go with it, and you have a great gift for the Holidays for your favorite munchkin.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

 

This one is used on my website http://youandmeknit.com

 

I knit this hat to demonstrate the Kitchener Stitch on my You Tube Channel.

It may be accessed from my website if you would like to review the tutorial.

 

 

This hat began the Wiggle Collection.  I knit this for JT for his Birthday in December.

It was he who named it the "Wiggle Hat" and it stuck.

 

This one belongs to Mason, JT's younger brother, both the boys look so cute in their wiggle hats!

 

 

Get out your needles and here we go:

 

Using your favorite yarn, cast on the number of stitches that you would use for that weight yarn using a 16" CN in a size for your chosen yarn.  Or, use a favorite hat pattern for the cast on amount.

 

Begin by knitting your favorite edging, ribbed, twisted ribs, or rolled edge.  The idea today is to make it yours.

 

Once you finish the border or edging, work in whatever stitch or color pattern that suits your fancy.

Continue to knit usually between 6"or 8" depending on the size of the hat for the child.

 

Finish off with Kitchener Stitch or a 3 needle bind off. 

 

Add pom poms to the corners, add embellishments if desired and fasten off and weave in all ends.

 

Make a hat for the entire family.  Depending on size, an easy knit for the evening while watching TV or reading.

 

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon and the hat.  Happy Knitting!





What's in a Hat? Another Hat!

Good Morning!

The photos you are seeing is an old design but a recent knit.  The hats are really one with two designs.  It is great for kids, seeing as how they love to change up their colors and designs depending on  what they are wearing.  I wish as an adult I had that same abandon....stripes with prints, plaids with paisley, two different socks; no thought at all about someone else's opinion.  Just when did we lose that anyway?

The hat was started with a crocheted provisional cast on, just above where the ribbing goes.  Knit your hat in the usual way, this one was done on circular needles.  Finish as normal and add whatever "topping" you would like.  In this case I used a pom pom, for the first one on the needles.

Then came the embellishment.  I love to use lazy daisies, they are so girlie.  No offense guys.  Now, pick up the stitches from the provisional cast on and knit the ribbing.  Then knit the other hat.  Once you decrease the top of the hat, you won't easily be able  to add embellishments, so I like to use this hat for interesting stitches and color work.  It does make for a great contrast between the two.  I finished this one with an I-Cord pig tail.  So much fun!

The pattern will be finished soon and will be available on my site.  Just click on the "Pattern" button.
Hats have been a special passion for me for many years.  My very first design while in Jr. High School, now called Middle School, was a hat knit without the benefit of a pattern.  It was a 2 X 2 rib and was able to figure out the decreases.  Hats are quick knits and great for using up bits of yarn in your stash to make room for more stash. 

I hope you all have a great weekend!  Pick up those needles and get knitting.  Remember!  Christmas is only six months away!  Did I say that!?!

Knitting on Etsy



Good Afternoon!

I am so behind the eight ball today.  Here it is 1:30 Eastern Time, and I am only posting this now.  My morning has been so taken up with the boys and trying to combine it with my work....not always a good blend.  Mason is climbing so fearlessly, I believe that he thinks he has bungee cords attached to him.  That is, if he even knew what they are....wish he did have them, I would feel better.

Beyond that, I have been working on setting up my Etsy Shop on etsy.com.  First I spent most of the morning reading up on all of the procedure and policies, the where and wherefores and the whys and why nots.  Phew!  So much to digest all at once.  So I said to myself, just get to it. Get started. You don't have to finish it today. There is such a thing as a SAVE button.

I dove in and edited my profile and then on to the store itself.  I have learned to not answer any questions or give additional information if it is optional, at least right now anyway.  The reason being, is that you get side tracked, forget that you didn't save the latest information that was added and now you are starting again.  Dang. Side tracked is not good.  Staying focused and on task is so much better, but sometimes this gal just needs a set of blinders to keep that focus.  Keep your eye on the goal.  My short term goal is to get my Etsy shop finished. 

Time for me to get to my Nanny chores.  The dishes are calling me and then I will have some lunch and then back at my new Etsy store for some more data entry. BTW, the hat above will be in my Etsy store.   Hope everyone has a wonderful afternoon and Happy Knitting!

The "Wiggle" Hat

Good Morning!

It's another mostly cloudy day today with rain again this afternoon, perfect knitting weather.  I just love settling in with a good book on my iPad or a movie and my knitting.  It's those kinds of lazy-ish days that "mindless" knitting seems to imply.  Although, with the boys to keep me company, that usually won't happen until the afternoons when JT and Mason go down for their naps.  It's nap time right now for Mason, and snack time for JT and so a perfect few minutes to write. 

One of the first patterns that I did was the "Wiggle" Hat.  I had mentioned the hat in one of my  posts of last week and how it got it's name.  If you missed that post, JT named the hat.  I had made one for each of the boys and one afternoon when my daughter got home from work, she asked JT to get the "Wiggle" Hats.  I was surprised at that, since I didn't know that they had been named.

The sample hat that I had made for The Perfect Blend, yarnandteashop.com, was double sided.  I had embroidered a flower on one side and a frog on the other side.  By doing this I didn't have to knit two hats.  Anyway, it is a very simple hat to make, but the advantage to that is once it is knit, there is a perfect opportunity to teach the Kitchener Stitch. There are quite a few more stitches on the hat than on the toe of a sock or the shoulder seams of a sweater.  Therefore, more practice time gain an understanding and the ability to memorize the process.

My friend Carol Cypher, a beading teacher, used to teach her classes using mantras for learning.  I loved this method of teaching, and adapted a mantra for the Kitchener Stitch.  It is as follows:

Front Needle
Slip one (stitch) as if to knit, take it off
Slip one (stitch) as if to purl, leave it on
Back Needle
Slip one (stitch) as if to purl, take it off
Slip one (stitch) as if to knit, leave it on
And Repeat

Here is the link to view video on YouTube. 
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnQi2DrdG0jIxOZp1SeKebQ?feature=guide

It's Elmo time.  JT hasn't seen Elmo since last week and he has washed his hands and is already for me to get him set up.  Have a Great Day everyone!