Baby Jester Hat

I love Woolly Wormhead's hats. She has really clever ideas. She designs very wearable hats, very cute hats, and some that are just plain wacky and off the wall. I've made a few of her designs now, and I'm always pleased with the result.

I had some leftover Knit Picks Imagination yarn that I thought would make a great baby hat. I had about 400 yards of it, which would have been enough for an adult hat, but I knew it would be totally obnoxious and I'd never wear it.

The Baby Jester Hat is a free pattern, and I just happen to know people who are having babies... so I figured why not? Imagination is fingering, and this pattern calls for worsted, so since I had enough yarn, I just held it doubled, and it was perfect.

Even Casey approves.

The pattern did not have the tassles. Those were my addition. They're awfully cute. I almost want to add little bells to it, but that would be a bit... much.

The pattern is easy to memorize, and I knit it during our road trip, on the day we went to Drumheller. I finished all but the grafting that day. The hardest part was grafting the crown. It takes forever! A year ago, I would not have attempted this hat, because I didn't have the hang of Kitchener stitch, but now that I have a few pair of socks under my proverbial belt, I'm good to go.

For the record, I don't like doing my Kitchener stitch with a tapestry needle. I find that my tension is always bad, and it feels unnatural somehow. This video is long, but it shows (more or less) how I do it. These are the instructions I used to learn the technique.