Garter Stitch Hat

Directions:

This hat was designed to go with the "Shape-It" scarf in Sally Melville's "The Knit Stitch". This hat is somewhat more advanced than the scarf, however, because it is knit in the round on double-pointed needles and circular needles, and uses purl as well as knit stitches.

Yarn: 2 skeins Gefrida "Fashion Trend", color #4533

Gauge: 8.5 st./2"

Needles: 1 16" circular needle, 1 set of 5 dpns, in size to get gauge. (I knit very loosely, so these were knitted on a size 6, but you will probably want to try a size 8 or 9.)

Center-out Knitting Instructions*:

Cast on 5 st. Purl back. 

Knit, increasing by knitting a loop from below after each stitch to get 8 st.

Divide evenly among 4 needles; join. Place marker at end of rnd.

Increase 1 stitch randomly per needle every rnd until you have 25 stitches on each needle.

Switch to circular needle in same size as dpns, placing marker at end of rnd.

Knit in garter stitch (knit 1 rnd, purl 1 rnd) for 9".

Bind off. Weave in ends, sewing hole at crown of hat shut if necessary; block.

Brim-up Knitting Instructions:

Cast 100 stitches onto circular needle in size needed to get gauge. Join, placing marker at beginning of round. Knit in garter stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) for 9".

Divide rnd into 4 sections of 25 st each, placing markers. Decrease 1 st. randomly per section every rnd. (Switch to dpns when it becomes difficult to knit using the circular needle.)

When there are only 4 st left, break yarn, pass through remaining st and bind off. Weave in ends.