sadiekate please!

[Brandi]

Oh please can I have the patern for that hate minus the colors?

[SadieKate]

Brandi,

Thanks for the compliment.

There are lots of free hat patterns available on the web. A couple of places to look are:
http://www.woolworks.org/
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/index.html

Knitty also has a forum where you might get helpful tips.

I buy lots of books and magazines, and then use the patterns for inspiration and to create my own. Hats are a piece of cake to create. Measure the circumference of the head, subtract 10-15% (depending on how snug you want the hat) and use your gauge swatch to determine the number of stitches for the brim.

You’ll get the details on this in Ann Budd’s Grand Plan book which is excellent for basic hat patterns that you can use with any gauge yarn. You could get the hat patterns only by finding the original article in a back issue of Interweave Knits.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193...Fencoding=UTF8

My dad’s hat probably came from one of Jil Eaton’s Wee Knits book, but was re-sized to an adult so the pattern is only chickenscratches.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/se...380959-3228033

If you want colorful hat ideas, also check the books from Mags Kandis at Mission Falls:
http://www.missionfalls.com/patterns.php

Have fun and let the creative spirit soar.

[SadieKate]

LionBrand Yarn also has a bunch of free patterns. As long as you understand gauge, you can resize almost any hat pattern to fit the wearer's head.

http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/patternFinder.fcgi

[Brandi]

Thanks! What guage did you use for your dad's hat and how many stiches did you cast on?

[SadieKate]

Brandi, knit a swatch with your yarn of choice and do the math. Everybody's head is a different size, yarn comes in different weights and everyone knits at a different tension.

http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring03/FEATswatchout.html

You can find more info and ask lots of questions in the forum at www.knitty.com.

[Brandi]

I am all over this! Thank you again.

[pkq]

As long as you understand gauge

Huh?? The only gauge I understand is wire gauge for amperage loading. Yarn gauge is much too technical for my pea brain.

[SadieKate]

Do I have the book for you! You can even watch DIY Network on 3/2 and learn all about it.

http://www.interweave.com/knit/books/wire.asp

SK

PS - gauge in knitting is the stitches per inch you achieve with a certain weight yarn (or wire) and needle size.

[Lise]

That is amazing. Knitting with wire. Amazing and strangely appealing.

I learned to knit when I was an exchange student in Lima, Peru, in 1977. I learned to knit in Spanish. I made some beautiful baby clothes. I never learned how to do it in English, and now my hands don't remember how to do it, either! That website is enticing...pick up the knitting again...? L.