although i am never one to complain about all of the little balls of wool that fill up my stash… this is what others might call a stash busting hat. i wrote this playful little pattern down as a toast – in celebration of life in a new place, a space for all of my wool, and a hopeful business expansion. but seriously, little balls of wool in many colors organized and ready to be matched up together in interesting ways? how could i resist? plus, it’s autumn and that is the beginning of hat weather. yay!
scrap-happy celebration hat
needles: size 7 US (4.5 mm) 16 in. circular and double-pointeds or just the dpns
yarn: 5 balls of worstedish weight in small quantities
-in this one i used two mountain colors mill ends, cascade 220, lamb’s pride and some of my hand dyed recycled sweater wool.
size: 18 mo. – 4 yr.
gauge: mine varies from 4 ¾ to 5 ¼ stitches per inch
not sure if you have enough yarn in one ball? no biggie. the purl ridges of this pattern easily hide any small discrepancies in the width of the stripes. i sometimes vary them on purpose to cover it up more and to use yarns i really think need to be in the hat but i have less of. smaller stripes work too, like on this hat. i also have been known to just knit until i run out of wool and then move on to the next color.
your goal height for this hat is 7 ¼-7½ in. (18.4-19.1 cm), that means that on this version each stripe is approximately 1 ½ in. (3.8 cm) wide. width-wise, the goal is 9 ½-10 in. this hat tends to fit around the head as opposed to beanie-like tight to the head. for that reason, if you want to up the hat size (4 yr old to adult small – approx 21 in. head), you can keep the cast on number the same and increase your height goal to by about an inch. if you want a smaller size (6-18 mo. – approx 18 in. head), you’ll need to subtract 8 stitches from all totals and make it about an inch shorter.
CO 96 stitches
join, being careful not to twist
k3, p1 for a bit over an inch
switch to stockingnet stitch until the entire piece measures 1 ½ in.
at this point and every 1 ½ in. hereafter, break the previous yarn and change to a new yarn
work a purl row
switch to stockingnet stitch and knit until the entire piece measures 1 ½ in. more than before (1 ½ , 3, 4 ½, 6, 7 ½)
in the midst of the fourth color section, when the entire piece measures 5 ¾ in, start working the decrease rows.
decrease rows:
-keep working in pattern
-if you’re using a circular needle, switch to double-pointed needles when it becomes uncomfortable
-if a decrease round falls on your last purl ridge, work purls instead of the knits (for instance, p5, p2tog instead of k5, k2tog)
round 1 – *k6, k2tog*
round 2 – knit (84 st.)
*k5, k2tog*
k (72 st.)
*k4, k2tog*
k (60 st.)
*k3, k2tog*
k (48 st.)
*k2, k2tog*
k (36 st.)
*k1, k2tog*
k (24 st.)
*k2tog* (12 st.)
*k2tog* (6 st.)
when you have 6 stitches left, cut a 6-8 in. tail, thread the tail onto a tapestry needle and pull through the live stitches. pull inside of the hat, knot and sew in the end to secure it. sew in the rest of the ends and you’re in business!
