January Pattern Reviews

Knit Hats

I have been experimenting more with knitting hats.  I have tried out 3 different patterns thus far, all have used 8.00mm 16” circular knitting needles, as well as 8.00mm double pointed needles.  All of these patterns I found on Ravelry and I got all of them as free downloads.  All of these patterns were easy to follow and with the use of bulky yarn they worked up quickly. The hats I made from the Chunky Beanie and Chunky Monkey Beanie patterns I will be donating to a hats for the homeless charity in Minnesota.  When I make hats for donation I like to use black wool ease thick & quick lion brand yarn.

First, I made Hat : Unity by Brome Fields.  I love the way the resulting hat looks, it is super cute and turned out amazing.  I started and finished this project in one evening, so it worked up fast, the pattern was easy to follow through a free pdf download.  If you know how to knit in the round, can knit and purl stitches, and decrease stitches then this is a pattern you can follow. Made with a 3x2 rib, then alternating 2 rows of knit stitches and 2 rows of 1 knit and 2 purl stitches, it fits me perfectly and I love the domed look the decreases give this hat. I give this pattern a rating of 5/5.

Next, I made Chunky Beanie by NatHipKnits. This was also a free download.  The hat is dense, which will keep your ears quite warm in cold weather.  I am not quite as happy with how the hat looked at the end, but I did use solid black yarn and I did not add a pompom on top, whereas the example pattern is with a variegated yarn and a pom pom.  I am not a huge fan of the point at the top of the hat from the way it was decreased, but it looks fine on a head. This was also an easy pattern to follow, starting with a 2x2 rib, then knitting every round, and then alternating rows of decrease stitches and rows of all knit stitches. I give this pattern a rating of 3/5.

Then, I made Chunky Monkey Beanie by Suzee Knits.  This also made a super cute hat that I am really happy with.  A free download and easy to follow pattern has made this a breeze.  It does use both 8mm and 9mm circular needles.  Beginning with a 1x1 rib, then a simple mock rib pattern, and then decreasing with both knit stitches together and purl stitches together. I think the hat I made is really cute, but a little bit on the big side, though not unwearable. This is most likely due to the yarn that I used, if I use this pattern again I would probably use a size 5 bulky yarn instead of a size 6 super bulky yarn. Or I might cast on fewer stitches if I use the same yarn. I give this pattern a rating of 4/5.

Later on I made: Landon by Ahleybah, this is a free downloadable pdf pattern on Ravelry. For this hat I used the yarn wool ease worsted weight yarn in the color black. This pattern called for size 4.5mm circular or double pointed needles. It has an 8 row repeat for the main body of the hat, it worked up easily, although with the use of smaller needles and thicker yarn it took me a bit longer than the other hats I made with super bulky yarn and thicker needles. This hat did turn out on the larger side, but as the pattern notes "It's the perfect simple hat suitable for guys with big heads and cold ears!" I am planning to donate this hat and am sure that it will fit someone nicely. I give this pattern a rating of 4/5.