Saturdays with Shauna: Knitting!

Now that the weather is getting cooler here in Middle Tennessee, there’s nothing more relaxing to me than curling up under my favorite blanket with a steaming cup of hot chocolate next to me and a quick knitting project in my hands!  I discovered a love for knitting several years ago.  For me, it is calming and I get a sense of accomplishment when I can finish a quick project in a few hours’ time.

One of my favorite projects is a simple knit hat, which can be finished in one sitting if you have a few hours to spare.  Even if you don’t know how to knit, this is a great starter project and I’ve posted links along the way to help you learn!  A great resource for learning the basics is knittinghelp.com. There you can find free videos that show you how to do everything from cast on, knit, purl, cast off and everything in between.  So if you don’t understand something, search for a video on knittinghelp.com or check their message boards.

Now, let’s get started! 🙂

 Simple Knit Hat (adult size)

This is me sporting one of these hats I made last fall

 You will need: 

Size 13 knitting needles – 16” circular 

Size 13 double pointed knitting needles (set of 5)

One skein of Lion Brand “Hometown USA” Super Bulky yarn (weight 6) in your choice of color (or about 5 oz/81 yards of any other super bulky weight yarn of your choice, I just prefer to use Hometown USA because it’s inexpensive – $2.79/per skein on amazon.com — and comes in a variety of great colors for fall)

A large-eyed tapestry needle

A stitch marker 

A tape measure

To start, cast on 48 stitches using the circular needles.  If you are unsure how to cast on, see this video:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/long-tail-cast-on

Row 1:  Knit and join together, being careful not to twist.  Knit the entire row, marking the beginning of the row with a stitch marker.  To see how to join and make sure not to twist, see this video:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/circular-needle

And to learn the “knit” stitch:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/the-knit-stitch-english-english  And here is some information on using stitch markers:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99967

Knit every row until your work measures 8” long.

After you’ve got 8” knitted, you’re going to K2tog (knit two together) all the way across the next row.  Here is a video on how to K2tog:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/knit-2-together-english

Knit the next row.

Switch your work to the double pointed needles.  At this point, you should have 24 stitches, so just slip each stitch onto a double pointed needle – 6 stitches on each of the 4 needles.  Use the 5^th needle in the set to work with.  Here is a video about working on double pointed needles (DPNs):  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/double-pointed-needles

K2tog across the next row.

Knit the next row.

Now you’re ready to finish!  Cut your yarn and leave a 6” tail.  Thread this into your large-eyed tapestry needle and carefully transfer the remaining stitches off of the DPNs and thread your needle through them.  Pull the yarn tightly to gather the top of the hat.  Then stick your needle through to the inside of the hat and turn the hat inside out so you can weave in the end of the yarn on the inside where it won’t be seen.  Here is a post that talks about weaving in ends:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109276

Basically, you’re just going to work the yarn tail through a few stitches inside the hat (make sure you’re not going all the way through!  You don’t want to be able to see it on the right side of the hat) so that it doesn’t unravel.  After you feel like it’s tucked in there good and won’t come out, you can cut off any remaining length of your tail.

Guess what?  You’re DONE!  And you have a cute hat that you made to show off to all your friends!  It was fast and inexpensive too!  You could whip out a few of these for Christmas presents and bless everyone you know!  And as you learn more about knitting, you can add your own variations such as stripes in different colors or incorporating the purl stitch to make your hat look different.  I’d love to see your hats and hear about your projects, so please leave a comment below!  I hope you enjoy making many hats in the future and if you’re new to knitting, I hope this tutorial has sparked your interest in the craft!  Happy Knitting!

<3 Shauna

You can visit Shauna Jared’s personal blog, Work Home Play, for more crafts, DIY projects, and recipes!

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