Revised Hat

I have been working on a hat in the midst of all the other knitting I have been doing. This one will be for a gift when it eventually gets cold again. I asked JE about the pattern we call Matthew's Blue Hat. Many times when we knit something we name the piece after the person we knit it for to have easy hunting next time we want the pattern. The hat is knit out of Lion Brand Homespun yarn. I started on the pattern.  JE knit several hats adapting the pattern to what she wanted. Once I reached the main part of the hat with a K2, P2 I did not like the little holes that seemed to appear when the yarn was moved back to front. I tried knitting tighter but they were still there. I decided to just knit the whole thing. Here is what I came up with.

I like a hat that covers the ears. I am sure this little pattern is everywhere so if you come across something similar on a website, well there are really no new ideas under the sun, just adapted ones.

The yarns are Lion Brand's Homespun in #200 Starlight and #301B Shaker. The yarn worked up easy with this pattern. Also another good reason to buy this particular yarn, it has an American flag on it and the statement Made in USA. It is machine wash and dry for easy care. Good if you have kids or maybe just a messy person in your house. This yarn also washes so well becoming even softer with every wash. The pattern is below. Feel free to use it for easy knitting gifts or to whip up a few and send to www.operationgratitute.com . This wonderful group sends care packages to our soldiers serving outside the US but also can use these for soldiers recovering in hospitals stateside. Check out their website.

Matthew's Blue Hat Revised

Homespun yarn of your choice

Size 13 and size 10 knitting needles

Size 10 double point knitting needles

Cast on  52 stitches with 13's. Transfer to size 10's

Place marker at beginning of first row

Knit 4 rows white

Knit 33 rows in color of choice

Decr:

1) *K2, K2tog, cont fr * around

2) *K2tog, K1, cont fr * around

3) Knit 1 row

4) K2tog around

Cut yarn and close top

I knit on circular needles so I do not have to sew the hat up. Also Homespun does ravel so I always put a little knot at the end of the yarn so it does not fray out. Just cut it off when you go to finish the top of the hat. I also have made a hat out of one color. With that just cast on and knit. JE likes a little contrast with the white yarn. If anything is unclear let me know. Writing down a pattern is a little like telling someone how to make a peanut butter sandwich. What you do automatically someone else might need a little more info on. Enjoy!