The Top Down Hat for Beginner's Handspun - with a seam* (See note for how to
make it seamless)
If you only knit back and forth on straight needles the hat will be in garter
stitch, with a seam up the back. If you knit one side and purl the other
consistently, it will be in stockinette. Play with knits and purls to make other
patterns.
Cast on 8 stitches (leaving a 12” to 24” tail for later sewing,
depending on how long you expect to make the hat.)
1. and all odd numbered rows: Knit. (If you purl, you'll get stockinette
stitch).
2. K1, k1b. (16 stitches)
4. k1, k1b, k1 (24 stitches).
6. k1, yo, k2 (32 stitches)
8. k1, yo, k3 (40 stitches)
10. k1, yo, k4 (48 stitches)
Continue in this way, with alternate increase rows and plain knitting rows, increasing at eight increase points evenly spaced around (you could use ring markers to remind you) until the depth of the knitting measures 3” to 3 1/2” from the cast on row to the needles. (If this were a circle, 3 1/2” would be the radius and the circumference would be pretty close to 22”.) At 3 1/2” or so, quit increasing and just knit every row plain, and work straight down the hat until it's anywhere from 10” long to 12” long from the cast on row, or until you run out of yarn. ( If you run out way too soon to suit you, you can use another yarn with a similar thickness and keep going.) When you have 4 or 5 yards left of the last color of yarn and the hat is long enough to suit you, you can start to bind off. If you (or I ) miscalculated how much yarn is needed for the bind off, you can unknit (not rip - un-knit - stitch by stitch) the unsuccessful bind off and th e last row of knitting to have enough to bind off with. Bind off using a needle 2 sizes larger than the needle you knit the hat with to make sure you have a nice soft stretchy edge. If it still isn't soft and stretchy, turn it up as a cuff on the hat.
Sew up the seam: Thread the long tail you left at the beginning of the cast on onto a large yarn needle. Start by drawing the center 8 cast on stitches together in a circle. Sew the circle closed and continue sewing down the edges in a back and forth seam, called a mattress stitch. Hold the right side of the work facing you as you knit so you can see that it is neat. Don't worry about whether the wrong side of the work is neat.. Work in the loose ends when you're done, and wear it proudly.
*If you want a seamless one, do the same thing starting on double point needles, and switching to a 16” circular when the piece is big enough. When knitting in the round, you have to alternate knit rows and purl rows to get garter stitch, but just keep knitting forever to get stockinette stitch.
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Modified: 2006-02-07
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