Hoppin' Hat

I always see the cutest hats around the internet. I see loads upon loads of ideas that I couldn't even hope to attempt them all. My Ravelry queue is packed and I have a whole file full of ideas. This one, however made it out of the to-do box and onto my faithful model, Jasmine.

It also made it onto an actual baby. This picture was taken by Stefanie at BP Studios. If you in the metro Detroit area check her out here!

I used size 10 needles and worsted weight yarn. Cast on 52 stiches. Work in a 2x2 rib pattern for about an inch. Then switch to pink yarn. Knit only in the round for about an inch and a quarter in the pink. Switch back to gray for the next inch. Then switch to blue and knit for an inch and a quarter.

Now here is the trickiest part of this whole hat. take half your stitches and put them onto a spare needles or a scrap of yarn. Then you join the first set of stitches into a round. Switch into the gray yarn and knit about 5 rounds. Switch to your dark pink and knit for five rows. Switch back to gray and knit about five rows. Then switch back to green. Here I just knit until I felt like the ears were long enough. Then I decreased as following:

- *knit 3 k2tg* till last set of 5 stitches. this one I knit one then k2tg twice

- knit a round

- *k2, k2tg* till end of round

- knit a round

- *k1, k2tg* till end of round

Take remaining stitches and tie them off.

Then do the other ear in the exact manner.

To get this hat to scrunch up like that all you need to do it take some scrap yarn and a plastic needle. I just slid the yarn through the hat until I achieved the desired effect.

Then your hat will look at fabulous as this...

Oh Jasmine, my ever faithful model. I wish her head was a tiny bit bigger, but for now she will have to do. I think I just need one of my married friends to have a baby I can outfit in all this stuff!