Knit Diary: I Knit a Lot of Hats

Welcome to my beginning knitting diary. It’s not always pretty, but it’s a log of my growth. I’m not sure why I decided that knitting a hat would be a great first knitting project. I guess it seemed like a hat could be just knit and purl stitches with a few skills mixed in like joining in the round, decreasing stitches, and using circular and double pointed needles.

This isn’t every single one of my beginning knitting projects. I did knit a very, very long rectangular scarf that is full of irregular stitches and mistakes and—let’s just say it’s really, really ugly. I also knit a circular cowl thing that is beautiful (blogged here), but I don’t really know how to wear it. Have you ever sewn something and learned a lot from the experience but you realize it’s not really something you’ll wear? That’s what the cowl was for me.

Then there were a lot of hats. Many, many hats. Some of them were free patterns and I thought some of you aspiring, beginner, or even experienced knitters might be interested to know of them.

The very first knitting project cast onto my needles: the Spicer Hat by Blue Sky Fibers. I distinctly remember browsing the printed knitting patterns at Sew To Speak in September 2018 looking for something that wasn’t complicated but still looked like something useful to know how to knit. I walked the pattern over to an an employee at Sew to Speak and said, “Help!” and was immediately shown the correct needles and fiber for this project. The employee even assisted me while I cast on and joined my stitches in the round.

So, the Spicer Hat was the beginning for me. I knit two of these, but one has disappeared into my husband’s winter clothes as he wore it often last winter.

After the Spicer Hat, I wanted something a little more complicated but still only using knits and purls. I received a suggestion from a friend to look into the free patterns from Tin Can Knits. Tin Can Knits has a series of twelve free beginner knitting patterns where you learn new techniques for leveling up your knitting. Of course, after browsing the Tin Can Knits library, I didn’t choose a free pattern. Instead I chose a very reasonably priced $5.00 pattern called the Bumble Beanie. This sweet beanie pattern introduced slip stitches to me which created a very nice pattern. I knit one of these beanies for each of my boys last year and let them choose the color of Brooklyn Tweed yarn to use.

As you can see in the pictures I struggled to keep my stitches even throughout the pattern but my kids don’t care! I remember knitting these in October 2018 because my hands were so cramped and sore. I was still a beginner knitter and I didn’t understand how important relaxed hands and posture are when you are knitting.

When I started my Christmas gift knitting, I took ventured into some new knitting skills. I knit some lacework (which was much easier than I expected) when I made this Pennyroyal Hat. A free pattern on Ravelry, this simple hat was enjoyable to knit and turned out very beautiful. I made two versions of this hat but one of them was immediately claimed by my oldest son. This green version was a gift for my daughter using some Knit Crate yarn I received last year. I would recommend this free pattern to someone who wants to learn to knit lace.

The last of the beginner knitting patterns I started with is the Christian’s Hat pattern, another free pattern on Ravelry. Simple comprised of knits and purls, this pattern has a lot of texture and is a very close fitting beanie. If I make this pattern again, I would do one or two more repeats of the pattern to ensure the hat goes all the way down over the recipients ears. I made two of these hats as gifts at Christmas time. For both, I used Shepherds Wool worsted yarn that is extremely soft and squishy. I would definitely recommend the pattern and the yarn to a beginner knitter or someone looking for a simple but stylish hat pattern.

I knit all of these patterns last fall and have begun to dig into more complicated knitting patterns since then. Short rows, cables, colorwork, OH MY! So much more knitting techniques to explore. I hope to share some more of those finished projects on my Knit Diary soon!

Thanks for reading, If you want to check out my sewing, knitting, and other hobbies, feel free to find me on Instagram @makerheart.