Time flies

Today is my oldest’s 13th birthday. Really not sure how that went by so fast. I took a walk down memory lane looking at photos of both my kiddos as babies.

Babies are so much fun, especially when they belong to friends and extended family.  I really like crocheting wearable gifts for them because they are quick to make. It’s that nearly instant gratification aspect.

If you don’t have a baby to crochet for check with your local hospital to see if they have a program for accepting donated hats for little noggins.

I was asked by my friends at the Longmont Yarn Shoppe to crochet a baby hat for a sample recently and this is the little hat I made. I used my Little Bitty Noggin Cap pattern from my November 2010 blog post. I actually had enough yarn left over that I could have made some booties to go along with it. It took less than 1/2 a 50g ball of yarn.

The yarn I used was Plymouth Yarns “Dreambaby DK; Paintpot”. I started with a G (4mm) hook, but felt the fabric was coming out too stiff, so I pulled it all out and switched to my 7 (4.5mm) hook. The fabric still came out solid, but had a bit more stretch to it and a softer feel.

I made this hat a little bigger than the hat in my “Little Noggins” blog post. But essentially I used the same instructions. I made the flat circle for the crown larger by repeating the increase instructions for 8 rounds (instead of 6), I worked 10 more rounds without increases and then 2 rounds of ribbing.  I wanted this hat to be ideal for a brand new baby, which is typically 14 – 15 inch head circumference.

The half double crochet stitch has nice stretch to it and babies tend to have silky hair, so I made this hat to be a little snug by aiming for a circumference in the 13.5 inch range.

If you would rather have a hat that is bigger, work your increase rounds until your crown diameter is just over 5 inches. That will give a hat that is a tad large for most newborns, but they grow very fast and will likely fit it in just a few short weeks.

I also changed how I work the ribbing at the brim for my hats. In the original pattern I had you step down the continuous spiral and then work the brim in joined rounds. I’ve since discovered that I can go right into the back post/front post ribbing without stepping down and it isn’t really all that obvious. Then I work the step down at the end of the ribbing rounds. Much easier that way.

I hope you have fun making some hats for the little noggins in your life.

I’m off to San Diego for the TNNA Winter Show. Hope to have some fun new yarns and products to show you all when I get back. My next post may not happen until Wednesday morning. So thanks for your patience.