Savannah Hat
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally Designs Fits 18-inch dolls such as the American Girl Dolls Works with sport weight and light worsted yarns with 5 to 6 stitches per inch. Details for the hats shown:
Cascade 220, needle size 5, 5 spi in seed stitch (purple) Plymouth Dream Baby DK, needle size 4, 6 spi in seed stitch (yellow) It is hard to say how much yarn is needed. I have never frogged a completed hat to measure. I just use scraps for these hats. I figure that if I do run out of yarn making one of these tiny hats, I have not invested a lot of time. Knitted by the "Magic Loop" method with a circular needle at least 36 inches long. These directions assume that you already know how to knit by the magic loop method. I learned from this book: http://www.fibertrends.com/product/0/ML//Magic Loop_Booklet. Two stitch markers and a tapestry/yarn needle will also be needed. 1.Cast on 52. 2.Knit two rows (flat). Alternatively, you can start in the round by knitting round 1 and purling round 2 and skipping, step 3. However, I find it easier to start magic loop projects by first knitting a row or two flat. 3. Pull out loop between stitches 26 and 27 and begin knitting in the round. There will be a small gap that you can sew up with the tail. Hint: make sure that you end up with the pretty side out and the ugly side in when you begin knitting in the round. pretty side note: no gap between rows ugly side note: has cast on, gap, then one row
4. Round 1: (k1, p1) repeat to the end of the round 5. Round 2: (p1, k1) repeat to the end of the round 6. Alternate these two rounds (steps 4 and 5) until the total length of the hat is 2.75 inches\*. You really don't have to pay attention to which round you are on. Just knit the purls and purl the knits (seed stitch). \*You will need to place a stitch marker in the middle of each needle by the time you get to step 7. I usually add them just as I am getting close to 2.75 inches. The decreases below will form an "x" shape on the crown. The knit stitches in steps 7 and 8 are necessary to keep the decrease area from becoming too bumpy. Just remember to pick back up in seed stitch where indicated, even that means doing two or three knit stitches in a row. 7. k2tog, k1, seed stitch until 3 stitches before the marker, k1, k2tog, slip marker k2tog, k1, seed stitch until 3 stitches left on needle 1, k1, t2tog repeat for needle 2 8. k2, seed stitch until 2 stitches before the marker, k2, slip marker k2, seed stitch until 2 stitches left on needle 1, k2 repeat for needle 2 Alternate steps 7 and 8 until you have 10 stitches per needle, ending with a round 7. The last time that you do round 7, most of your stitches will be knits. 9. k2tog, repeat to the end of the round, removing stitch markers. 10. Break yarn and use a tapestry or yarn needle to thread tail through the remaining loops. Pull tight and weave the end on the wrong side. For the optional brim, use the cap peak directions in Deb Debinar's free Newsboy Cap pattern at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/newsboy-cap-for-american-girl-dolls (linked by permission). Use the same needle size you used for the hat. This is a great hat to knit. For those of us who prefer knitting in the round, the Newsboy Cap pattern is easy to convert to the magic loop method. The brim is knitted flat and sewn on the cap. This hat is named the Savannah Hat because it was inspired by a hat worn by a young lady in our church youth group named (you guessed it) Savannah. @ 2011 Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally Designs. Knitting is all about putting together skills you know, so I struggle with when the concept of copyright is appropriate. Seriously, you can't copyright "knit two together." However, I believe that this combination of techniques and directions is unique to me and therefore entitles me to a copyright. I ask that you honor that and not publish my work or sell it to anyone. Permission is granted to make items from this pattern free of charge for your personal use, gifts, or for sale in a cottage industry type setting. Contact me at kelly@auntsally.us if you have any questions about using my pattern.
