Hunter's Hat

Way back in the spring, I designed a simple baby hat for a class... the idea was to teach knitting in the round with a project more manageable for beginners than socks.

It's a good hat, kinda cute, and a nice demonstration of the magic of circular knitting -- not a single purl stitch. It knits up incredibly quickly, too.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine produced a baby. The skein of yarn chosen for this hat design has sufficient to make two hats -- one remains at the shop as a sample, the other went to my friend.

I don't know why this sort of thing continues to surprise me, but my friend reported to me that the hat is terrific -- fits well but isn't too tight, is warm but not scratchy, and looks very fetching on Hunter's little noggin.

The pattern has forthwith been renamed "Hunter's Hat". The yarn is an excellent organic wool/cotton blend that comes in yummy, baby-appropriate ice creamy sorts of colours. Substitute any worsted weight yarn.

Materials
1 50 gm skein O Wool Balance - one skein makes two hats
OR 1 50 gm ball Mission Falls 1824 wool -- one ball of this makes one hat
4mm needles – long double-pointed needles; optional – a 12”/30cm or 16”/40cm circular
stitch marker

Size
Fits 0-6 months - 36cm/14 inches circumference

Gauge
20 stitches and 28 rows over 10cm/4 inches square in the round using 4mm needles.

Method
Cast on 72 stitches.

Join for working in the round. If you’re working on a circular needle, place a marker to indicate the beginning of the round.

Work in stocking stitch -- that is, knitting every round -- until hat measures 10cm/4 inches from lower edge. Don't unroll it to measure!

Decrease for crown:
Round 1: *K2tog, k10; repeat from * to end of round. 66 stitches.
Round 2: *K2tog, k9; repeat from * to end of round. 60 stitches.
Round 3: *K2tog, k8; repeat from * to end of round. 54 stitches.
Round 4: *K2tog, k7; repeat from * to end of round. 48 stitches.
Round 5: *K2tog, k6; repeat from * to end of round. 42 stitches.
Round 6: *K2tog, k5; repeat from * to end of round. 36 stitches.
Round 7: *K2tog, k4; repeat from * to end of round. 30 stitches.
Round 8: *K2tog, k3; repeat from * to end of round. 24 stitches.
Round 9: *K2tog, k2; repeat from * to end of round. 18 stitches.
Round 10: *K2tog, k1; repeat from * to end of round. 12 stitches.
Round 11: *K2tog; repeat from * to end of round. 6 stitches.
Round 12: *K2tog; repeat from * to end of round. 3 stitches.

Break yarn and pull through final stitches to close. Weave in ends to finish.