Knitting projects – Page 25 – New England's Narrow Road

Simple Hand-knit Unisex Hats For Beginners

Hats are one of the best things to knit, whether you are a beginner or advanced. All types of stitches can be used to create intricate designs, or do simple knits all the way around. My collection of unisex hat designs on this page are some I have recently knit. They are all fairly easy to create, and men and women alike can wear them by simply changing the colors. Some of the patterns are free, so what do you have to lose?

Useful info: Hats generally take less than a skein of yarn to knit! You will need a set of 16 inch long needles in the size suggested with double-pointed needles in the same size for the crown decreases. Find a stretchy cast-on to use – I like the Old Norwegian / German Twisted cast on. Youtube has videos, and it is simple once you learn.

Northward Hat

The Northward Hat is a free downloadable pattern by Tin Can Knits and has chunky cables. If you’ve never knit cables, this hat will help you learn. I knit this pattern using bulky “Franca” yarn by Manos del Uruguay, and I knit it in one day! This yarn is also washable, so it’s good for gifting purposes.

Northward cable hat hand-knit — Chunky one day hat

Two by Two Hat – Free Download

Blue, 2×2 ribbed watch cap. I honestly can’t remember what pattern I followed for this hat, but it’s obviously a k2, p2 ribbing all the way up to the decreases at the crown. I may not have used a pattern – wait, here it is – the Two by Two pattern. Hats like this are quite easy to knit once you know how many stitches to cast on for what weight yarn. Your own knitting experience will tell you that number.

Blue yarn is Miss Bab’s Madison which is an Aran weight and knits up fast. It’s also 100% Superwash Merino wool. I made this one for my son who will never hand-wash a hat!

2x2 rib boys hat — Blue hat in 2×2 rib using Miss Bab’s Madison yarn

Churchmouse Ribbed Watch Cap

This brown hat is a Churchmouse pattern Ribbed Watch Cap. See my notes on knitting this one. It is knit inside out. I used another washable yarn from Lorna’s Laces. This pattern takes some time as smaller needles are used so there are more stitches to deal with. The decreases are odd as well – to me anyway. It also comes as a Beanie, which might be the place to start.

finished watchcap hand knit — Finished watchcap

The Colorado Chic(k) Beanie is a free download and it mimics the popular hats of it’s name. This one is very simple, and especially if you leave off the double brim, as I did. I was using up some Miss Bab’s Madison yarn in aran weight, so this was finished fast. I think I would like it better in a solid color.

Finished knitting the Colorado Chic beanie — Colorado Chic hat knit in Miss Bab’s Madison “Mad Hatter” colorway

All of these hats can be found on the Ravelry site where you will see more colors used. It’s a great place to find ideas for yarn types and finished projects in colors you may be considering.

Knitting Colorwork Hats

Turkish Patterned cap knit twice — Knitting and fixing the Turkish Patterned cap

Knitting the Turkish Patterned Cap

Katie's Kep Fair Isle hat — Katie’s Kep Fair Isle hat begins with a corrugated rib around the brim.

Triple patterned watchcap small — Triple-patterned Watchcap

Second Time’s A Charm Knitting the Turkish Patterned Cap

Because my first Turkish Patterned Cap came out so pretty, not counting the trouble I had with the crown, I began knitting another one. Well, the second time’s a charm, but I felt cursed when I got to the crown.

I knew that my first attempt at knitting this hat was a fail when it came to the colorwork at the crown. I hadn’t even noticed that my troubles began not with the star, but way back at the first decrease row….! Now that I look closely at the blue hat, I see how off the patterning is at the top, before I got to the star.

Blue and brown versions of the hand-knit caps — Hat #1 and hat #2

hat knitting colorwork star at top of hat — Perfect “star” this time around

I began to make the same mistake once again, but caught myself on the second row of the crown. Originally, I thought the goof up was my fault, but it turned out to be the pattern. I had to painstakingly “tink” (knit backwards) or un-knit 1 1/2 rows and begin again. Do not simply follow the graph, or this will happen.…

Reading charts is not my specialty and I can’t do lace or cable charts well, but hat charts are usually easy. In this instance, a slip1, k2tog, psso decrease is located at the beginning of the row, BUT if you do it there, the whole row of colors is off – that is because it uses the last stitch of the previous row along with the first stitch in the graph. Another knitter mentioned this as well, so it’s the pattern, not me.

You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to figure out how to fix this!

Crown star on Turkish Patterned cap — Blue star is a mess, white one is knitted correctly

Ever Had Your Needle Break Mid-knit?

Then, just as I thought I knew what to do to alter the pattern, my 16 inch circular needle came apart…! The needle tip just snapped off the cord….. time to freak out, but I remained surprisingly calm. Stitches were dropping off as there was no longer a needle holding them. I carefully laid all the work down and ran to get a new needle. Fortunately I managed to pick up all the stitches without much problem, but it could have been a big disaster.

broken knitting needle white knitting — Broken needle in the middle of knitting the crown! Knitter’s Pride – not happy!

The needle that broke was Knitter’s Pride brand. I liked that brand for the matching colors of the DPN’s and other needles, but to have the needle snap off the cord in mid-knit – sorry, won’t buy this brand again. I couldn’t have had this needle for more than a couple of years.

How I Altered the Pattern to Knit the Crown Correctly

Row 23 – first decrease round – Ignore the first Sl1, k2tog, psso decrease stitch (which begins the repeat) and simply knit it normally along with 3 more stitches in the same color, which would be the Main Color.
Continue on and do the colorwork for that first section of row 23 to align with the previous row to the end of the section.
The missing stitches at the beginning and end of the sections are used to make the decrease, so now – beginning on the 2nd repeat – do the decreases as marked.
If stitch markers were used during the colorwork body part of the hat, they will need to be moved back one, or removed.
Then, the end of the Row 23 round, do the decrease which should have been done in the beginning (per the pattern) – even though it goes into the next row.
Knit the non-decrease rows as directed, but do the same as Row 23 for every decrease row up the crown.
As long as you watch the colors on the chart and make them line up and do all the decreases (with the very first one coming last), you should be fine.

While knitting this hat, the braid at the cuff will curl. Once it is washed the brim lays flat. Mine was knit in DK yarn, but the pattern calls for worsted. I personally would go down a size – to a Medium – if using worsted.

Turkish Patterned Cap number two — Fresh off the needles! Time for a wash

Needle Size and Yarn

Needle size: 4US – Yarn: Miss Babs Kunlun in color “Naked”, and Wound Up Fiber Arts handspun variegated brown and purple. I began with pink but changed because it was too pink.

I had purchased the white yarn on sale from Miss Babs and had no idea what I would use it for. I’ll tell you it is a wonderful yarn. It’s made up of wool, cashmere and silk and is therefore very soft.

Wound Up Fiber Arts does not often have their handspun yarn for sale, but if I can ever come across it in new colors, I would buy more. I feel fortunate that I own the four skeins I have. I began with the variegated pink, but it was too pink for my liking, so I alternated with the brown for a few rows and then went totally brown. But the brown is variegated with purple, and a golden color. It’s such an interesting yarn.

Although I used the same type of yarn for hat #2, for some reason the brown hat seems a bit larger, but I don’t know why. These are the softest hats I’ve made and they will both be gifts to some young women I love.

Both Turkish Patterned caps hand knit with handspun — Hat one in blue, and hat two in brown and pink

I need to get myself a head form to dry my hats. In this instance I am using a tall votive candle holder covered with bubble wrap – hence the odd shape!

Knitting a Bohemian Version of the Marshland Sweater

This is my bohemian version of the Marshland sweater pattern by Tin Can Knits. The pattern is in their book “Strange Brew”.

Once again I am knitting with yarn I really don’t like all that much. I purchased this yellow Arranmore yarn when the color was on sale because it is / was discontinued. I planned to use it to make a different sweater (Big Love) and when that never happened, I had all these skeins of yellow yarn hanging around.

Body of Marshland completed and on to the sleeves

Since I am not crazy about this yarn, and generally I don’t like a pullover, I was knitting this for practice and to use up some yarn.

The Marshland is knit top down, with the ribbing at the neck added last. There is a long colorwork area on the yoke and chest that carries over to the sleeves. I changed it up a bit and tried to use up some stash yarn.

Picking up stitches is not something I am all that good at and when it came to doing so for the sleeves, I had to pick up and knit in pattern! I had changed the colorwork pattern, so had to follow my own changes to continue onto the sleeves.

Colorwork pullover sweater Marshland pattern — Before washing

What I Learned From Knitting the Marshland Pattern

This pattern is fairly easy to follow, but it needs short rows to raise the back. It seems there really is no front or back. The design seems to be meant as a knit for men. For that reason it is not super comfortable. I may add onto the neck.

Marshland pullover — Wearing my Marshland on a cool Florida day

I chose this pattern because of my yarn weight, but it’s not the prettiest pattern in the book – it’s manly. That is one reason I changed the colorwork.

The Arranmore yarn is also very strange. I have washed the sweater and I think it will take days to dry. I would not buy this yarn again, and it is discontinued I believe. No wonder.

In the end, the sweater fits, but I don’t like the bottom ribbing or the fact that the colorwork at the bottom of the body tends to pull in. It may block out.

I had trouble with the yoke increases and they still seem to be creating a lumpy row of stitches. That could block out too. On my first try, I added too many increases and had to rip out many rows.

This one is a “never knit again” but it’s mostly due to my yarn and the masculine look. I did not enjoy knitting three colors in one round either. I love Tin Can Knits and will try another pattern from the book one day.

Photos of My Turtle Dove Sweater / Poncho

The Turtle Dove sweater pattern was at the time, a free pattern from Espace Tricot. The company has since begun to charge for their patterns.

I knit mine using bulky Brooklyn Tweed Quarry yarn because it was on hand.

Turtle Dove hand-knit sweater in Quarry yarn — The front

The Size

Even though I knit the size Medium, it came out huge! But really, that is okay because now it is my sweater / poncho. My yarn was thicker than the pattern calls for and my needle size was larger. I expected it to be big.

I used about 1,000 yards of yarn, or 5 skeins. I had to frog the Oxbow cardigan, which is why I bought this yarn to begin with.

The color used for the back ribbing is Granite. I changed the color at that part of the knitting so I could easily tell the back from the front. There are short rows near the neck cuff for the back, so even though it may not look it, there is a Back and Front to this thing. Having a different color hem in the back just makes things easy.

Turtle Dove hand-knit sweater in Quarry yarn, color Geode — I chose the split hem option

The pattern offers two types of bottom hem options. I knit the split hem version. Although I planned to have 3/4 sleeves as the pattern is written, they ended up long.

The Pattern – Good for Beginners

The Turtle Dove pattern is one of many free patterns (no longer free) offered by Espace Tricot, a Canadian yarn shop. The link here goes the pattern on Ravelry.

I also just want to mention that as I began this pattern I had a hard time figuring out where the back, front and sleeve sections were located. I’d never knit a raglan sleeve sweater. I wrote a blog post about that, just in case other’s have this problem.

Once I got past that, the pattern was very easy to follow. I would say it really would be good for any beginner knitter to try.

The Yarn

I loved working with the Quarry yarn. I had no problem with it pulling apart, and came across one knot where I cut the yarn. Because the needles were size 11 and the yarn is bulky, the sweater worked up quickly.

Brooklyn Tweed Quarry yarn in color Geode — Quarry yarn leftover

The one personal problem I had was that as the project grew, it became hot in my lap. It was summer in Florida as I knit this, and even with the AC on, it became uncomfortable to knit.

I washed the finished sweater in my kitchen sink with Eucalan wool wash that doesn’t need to be rinsed out. I wrapped it in a towel to remove excess water and put it in the spare bedroom, on a queen size bed, to dry. It could almost be a bedspread… LOL. This yarn dries fast.

Turtle Dove sweater drying — The sweater was dry in about a day’s time

I bought my yarn at Wool and Company when it was on sale. I like to order from this place because shipping (US) is free always, no matter the amount you buy, and they will wind skeins for free also. I’ve never found any other company who does that. They have a great selection of yarn as well.