Textured Slouchy Hat - Free Knitting Pattern

Textured Slouchy Hat - Free Knitting Pattern

I created a new version of my slouchy knit hat in response to my son's comment that the original was too "girly". I used a tweedy yarn - Online Linie 245 and a simple textured stitch.

Click here to download a free pdf file of the pattern.

My Favorite Free Patterns: Hats to Knit & Crochet

A list, with photos, of my favorite free patterns to knit or crochet hats.There are so many lists of free knit and crochet patterns out there, but they usually don't have photos. So here's a quick list of what I think are the best free patterns out there. Leave me a message below with a link to your favorite if you'd like to add it here.

Easy Slouchy Hat

This is the hat I've knit the most. It can be finished in an afternoon and using variegated yarns make it look much more complicated than it actually is. The pattern is available as a free Ravelry download. It's shown here in Twisted Sister Jazz yarn. I used two colors (60 & 69) and alternated with two rows of each color throughout the hat. I've also seen it knit up in Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton (if you're on Ravelry you can see a photo here), Malabrigo Rios (Ravelry photo here), Debbie Bliss Andes Alpaca Silk (Ravelry photo here).

La Parisenne

I love the zigazaggy stripes of this one. the pattern calls for a yarn called SockPixie Sock yarn. The free knitting pattern for this beret can be downloaded here.It appears to be knit with an artisan dyed yarn that isn't available currently. I of course will go to one of my favorite yarns for striping, Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn or Noro Silk Garden Sock Green/Aqua/Brown.

Undergrowth Hat on Knitty

I love Knitty. But I even find it frustrating. Entering a search for "hat" brings up a list with no pictures. And of all the hats on the site, Undergrowth is the one I want to remember. (Download for Undergrowth Free Knit Hat Pattern is here.)  It calls for 1 skein in each of two colors of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport (colors pictured are #103 Deep Sea & #N003 Grey Heather.)

Lollipop Hat by Brittany Tyler

This is a fun hat that looks like it will be fun to knit. The instructions, available to download from the Tangled webzine, say it can be knit in up to 8 different colored stripes, making it a good project for using up leftover bits.

Tortora Hat on Knitty

Bobbles are one of my favorite stitches. Another Knitty option (free download for the knitting pattern is here), this knit hat mixes bobbles and stripes in an interesting way. It calls for 1 skein of Lana Grossa Alta Moda Alpaca Yarn and has versions for both a typical beanie and a slouchy toque.

Hatticus by Susanna Celso

A great cable pattern knit out of a bulky yarn, the Hatticus knit hat by Susanna Celso is available as a free download on Ravelry with notes on her blog. It's shown here in Cascade Magnum, requiring about 80 yards according to her notes.

Citron Scarf/Shawl

Citron Scarf in scrap sock yarn

Once again I fell in love with one of the free patterns on Knitty, Citron.  I started this project in a striped sock yarn. Got about 10” into it & realized that although the color/striping looked pretty good I really didn’t like the hand - way too dry & rough. 

So I started on another one using a lovely soft alpaca, Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Lace Weight Yarn. I used colorway 29 which is a very subtle, and I'd like to do another one using one of their more colorful dyes.  The alpaca is really soft and cuddly, but very light and comfortable to wear. The interesting shape makes it look great no matter how you throw it on. I ended up doing 7 repeats. Great size. Great weight. Perfect for warm climates. I didn't block it because I like the loose, fluttery look it has. I think it's a bit looser than the original pattern looks that's knit up in Malabrigo Yarn - Lace Baby Merino Yarn. I love the blue colorway that's linked here. And it's a great price. It's pretty quick and easy to knit so I think I'll give it a try.

Citron Scarf in Misti Alpaca Yarn (col. 29)

closeup of Citron Scarf

Design 17 Hat In Noro Silk Mountain Yarn

Noro Silk Mountain Hat Knit in Design 17

I quickly knit up this hat out of Noro Silk Mountain (colorway 3) using Design 17 from one of my favorite little Noro books, Noro: Designer Mini Knits . It's got lots of great little projects that are perfect for when you want to knit, but don't want to start on some involved project.

The yarn is gorgeous, of course, since it's Noro. And with this pattern the striping is very subtle.

Free Slouchy Knit Hat Pattern

Thanks to some helpful comments on Ravelry I've updated my free Slouchy Hat Pattern. I hadn't looked at the pattern in years, and when I recently did the crown shaping instructions made absolutely no sense. Hopefully these improvements work....

I've updated it on Ravelry (download here if you're a Ravelry member) or you can print this page:

EASY SLOUCHY HAT

Twisted Sisters Jazz Handpaint, 1 skein each color 60 & 69

#6 Needles Double Pointed Needles

Gauge: 4” = 20 stitches and 24 rows

CO 96

For entire hat do 2 row stripes alternating colors 60 and 69.

Work 2 x 2 rib for 1 1/2”

Increase 8 stitches. (104 stitches)

Work stockinette until 9 1/2” from beginning.

Crown

On the next round (work 24 sts, k2tog) 4 times. [100 sts]

Work one round even.

Shape crown as described below.

Round 1: *Work 8, k2tog. Repeat from * around. [90 sts remain]

Round 2: Work even

Round 3: *Work 7, k2tog. Repeat from * around. [80 sts remain]

Round 4: Work even

Round 5: *Work 6, k2tog. Repeat from * around. [70 sts remain]

Round 6: Work even

Round 7: *Work 5, k2tog. Repeat from * around. [60 sts remain]

Round 8: Work even

Round 9: *Work 4, k2tog. Repeat from * around. [50 sts remain]

Round 10: Work even

Round 11: *Work 3, k2tog. Repeat from * around. [40 sts remain]

Round 12: Work even

Round 13: *Work 2, k2tog. Repeat from * around. [30 sts remain]

Round 14: Work even

Round 15: *Work 1, k2tog. Repeat from * around. [20 sts remain]

Round 16: Work even

Round 17: *K2tog. Repeat from * around. [10 sts remain]

Finishing

Cut yarn, leaving a generous tail. Draw tail through remaining stitches on the needle. Pull gently to close hole. Weave in tail. Weave in ends.

Updated 4/15/12

 

Free Knitting Pattern: Sari Silk Pillow on the Bias

Recycled Sari Silk Knit Pillow

Garter stitched squares are knit on the bias and sewn together to create this pillow cover. This is a great project for the beginner who’s ready for something a bit more challenging than a scarf. You’ll practice increasing and decreasing. And there’s so much going on with the yarn that your stitches don’t have to be perfectly even, and assembly is a breeze. No neat sewing required!

KNITTED MEASUREMENTS:

18” Square

MATERIALS:

700 g. Recycled Sari Silk Yarn

18” pillow form

1 pair US 7 (4.5mm) needles

GAUGE:

16 sts and 14 rows to 4”/10cm

NOTES:

The recycled silk yarn is uneven in both size and color throughout the balls. I prefer to buy skeins (instead of balls) so that I can see the colors and control how the color plays out. If you can’t find skeins, you can either unwind the balls, or, just let the color come naturally and be surprised!

SQUARES:

Cast on 3 stitches.

Increasing:

Row 1 (Increase Row): Knit into front and back of first stitch. Knit to last stitch. Knit into front and back of last stitch.

Before turning work, place a safety pin on the first stitch of this row. The safety pin is placed so that you know when to increase. Whenever the pin is on the right-hand side of your work, you increase at each end.

Row 2: Knit across row

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until you have 47 st on the needle (edges should measure 9”.)

Knit across row.

Decreasing:

Decrease Row 1: K2tog, k to last 2 st, k2tog.

Decrease Row 2:Knit across row.

Repeat these tow rows until 3 st remain. Pull yarn through 3 stitches and knot.

Make a total of 8 squares.

ASSEMBLY & FINISHING:

Sew together 4 squares for front, and 4 for back.

Block to measurements.

Sew three sides together. Insert pillow, sew remaining side.

You can view this project on my Ravelry page

A thank you gift for Ayi

I've just packaged up this scarf I made using Teva Durham's "Braided Neckpiece" pattern from her book Loop-d-Loop. It was quick and easy to make up. I  used Berrocco Memoirs, a yarn that has now been discontinued, that's a blend of 43% Wool, 40% Mohair, 14% Rayon and 3% Polyester.


I'm sending it off to our Ayi, to thank her for her help and kindness during our time in Shanghai. She's definitely one of the things I'll miss most about life in Shanghai. She's probably the best employee I've ever had, most likely because of my almost complete inability to communicate with her, leaving me therefore, unable to tell her how to do her job. She was always patient with my pitiful attempts at Mandarin, somehow figuring out what I really wanted when I asked her to do something that made no sense (like asking her to iron the dishes, or wash the bed). Hopefully this will keep her a bit warmer as she goes about Shanghai in the bitterly cold, wet, icy and windy winters.





The scarf was quite fun to make, you sort of make a hole, then make some strips that you weave between. Harder to say in words than it was to do.  There's an interesting texture created by knitting one half in stockinette with the knit side showing, and one half with the purl side showing. Which contrasts nicely when it comes to the weaving in and out part.  

Lintilla Scarf

Finished Lintilla Scarf

finished size: 51" on straight side. 10 1/2" at widest point. 21 ruffles on long side. 14 ruffles on short side.

gauge: 21 stitches/ 24 rows in 4"

Yarn: Regia 4-Fach Haltbar, Design Line, Kaffe Fassett. Color 4259. Used 2 balls + very small amount from a third.

To get the striping I worked 2 rows at a time from two different balls (both coming from the inside of the ball.)  When I ran out of those balls I pulled from both the inside & the outside of the third ball.


Notes and pictures on my progress:

Serape Inspired Cowl

After finishing a baby blanket in this yarn the wrong side reminded me of the Mexican serapes I used to see in Tijuana. I liked the idea of the pattern as a cowl, which is currently my favorite thing to grab and throw on as I dash out the door. It’s freeeeezing now in Shanghai and this is a great final layer.

Used leftover bits from 13 colors of yarn. Knit a 30” tube in garter stitch.

These days nothing seems finished to me unless it’s got a crocheted edging. Thank heavens for Edie Eckman’s “Around the Corner”. I used pattern number 2 at the lower edge; and pattern number 20 on the top edge. I did round 2 in purple and round 3 in green, adding a 3 stitch picot at the top of each scallop. This is one of my most used stitch dictionaries, with easy to read written instructions and charts that make customizing it to work for your project easy.   

Knit Headband with Crocheted Flower

Something to keep Delaney's ears warm at school. We saw a headband at Anthropologie that was similar and much more expensive and not nearly as soft as the ball of yarn it took to make this.

Freeform Afghan #2

Finished! My second attempt at a Freeform Blanket

For weekly notes and photos on how this thing came together click on read more below

Freeform Afghan #1

Blanket made from scrumbles collected during a round robin swap. Finished size is 50" x 72".

Sari Silk Bolsters

Sari Silk Bolsters

I knit a tube then attached crocheted circles to each end.

Freeform Crochet Fun & Frivolity Crochet-a-Long

In April 2010 a group on Ravelry started a Crochet-a-Long with weekly instructions submitted by different designers. I'd participated in a similar project earlier in the year & thought it was a great way to go about crocheting. I completed the first four weeks. Then, as I was packing up to leave Shanghai for the summer it was just too much to fit in my suitcase. So I washed it, cut it up, felted it and cut it up some more and ended up using the pieces in a bag.

Following are the instructions as they appeared on the Ravelry site and pictures of what I did. My notes are in blue.

The 2010 International Freeform Guild's Show: Somewhere in My World

My entry into the International Freeform Guild show.

It’s kind of boring for freeform. It did serve my purpose of figuring out how to build up crochet into a form. And it is reminiscent of the hill I see out my window.

The main page of the exhibit is quite intriguing and the variety of techniques used and approaches to freeform is truly inspiring.

How to do a Jogless Join When Knitting in the Round

I can never remember how to do this, or find the instructions when I'm looking for them. Here are notes I copied up from a project I can't now find on Knitty. (Yes, the primary purpose of this blog is to get me organized in some sort of fashion...)


You may want to do the famous "jogless join" to avoid that little "step" that happens when you switch colors while working in the round. To do this, work one round in the new color. On the first stitch of the second round, pull the stitch below that first stitch (in the old color) up onto the left needle and knit it together with the stitch in the new color. Keep knitting in the new color. Lovely.

Utopia hat - finally finished

This project has been lanquishing in my WIP bag for months. I'm not sure why it got set aside for so long. It only took a couple of hours to finish once I picked it up again. It's a free pattern available on at Smariek Knits. 


This one is in Lamb's Pride Worsted (color M-26,  Medieval Red) which made a great weight fabric that's just thick enough to be warm, but not too heavy; has good stretch; and is relatively soft and not too scratchy.

Noro Stripe Long Ribbed Fingerless Gloves

Design 19 from the book Designer Mini Knits. My fascination with striping Noro yarns continues...

Noro Kureyon Striped Scarf

Finally finished this Noro stripe scarf. I've had the how-to notes scribbled on a scrap of paper on my desk that I uncovered during my end of year cleaning. It came from a 2007 post on the Brooklyntweed blog.


When I finally got around to it, it couldn't have been quicker or easier. And it's far more interesting & complicated looking than it actually is.


I used 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon - one each in color 90 & 220.


Instructions:
Using US7 needles I cast on 39 stitches using cable cast on. To keep the edges neat & tidy I slipped the first stitch of each row as if to purl. I worked 1 x 1 rib until I didn't have any yarn left. Ended up being 7" by about 75". A great length and just the right width to length proportion.

I finished a second scarf using the same technique - this time in Noro Silk Garden, colors 279 & 267.

Freeform Scarf

Finished! Shape makes it easy to throw on & it looks good no matter how it lands.


Finished size:
14.5" at widest point.
85.5" at longest point.
left side is 33" from center
right side is 52.5" from center


Following are photos and notes on the progress: