It is not only the time for pumpkin eating in our house, but it is also the perfect time for pumpkin knitting. I decided to whip up a few of these wee pumpkin hats for a few special newborns for the fall season. My pattern came from a book that I have in my knitting library, but I wanted to round up a few free pumpkin hat patterns you can use to create the same thing for free, if you don’t have my book.
Are you my friend on Ravelry? If not, I would love to be friends! My username is momadvice on there and I am always looking for new friends to knit with and share project ideas!
Wee Pumpkin Hats
Pattern: Little Pumpkin by Susan B. Anderson from Itty-Bitty Baby Hats
Needle Size: US 6 (for smaller hat), US & for slightly larger hat (12″ circulars)
Yarn: Loops & Threads Impeccable Solids (in Pumpkin, Lush, & Chocolate)
Notes: This knitted up quickly, but also a bit bigger than I was expecting. I decided to do this with a needle size down (to a US 6) which helped alleviate the larger sizing issue. The pattern is so easy to follow and I absolutely love the chocolate stem and sweet leaf on top. This would make a wonderful baby gift for an autumn baby!
Here are a few free options that are available to you, if you would like a free pattern:
Kürbis* Baby Hat
Eat Your Veggies Baby Hat
Pumpkin Hats by Sarah Hood (free Ravelry download for members)
Punkin Head
**************************************
If you are just beginning the world of hats, these are the three things that really helped me have success getting comfortable with double-pointed needles and knitting in the round.
3 Things That Helped Me With Making Wee Baby Hats
1.Bamboo 12″ circulars– Here is the honest truth. If you are super coordinated with double pointed needles, you can skip buying these and knit the wee baby hats in the round. I have found that knitting baby hats in the round was more of a challenge than I expected, and my mother-in-law recommended purchasing 12″ circulars so the hats do not have to be started on the DPN’s. These were a lifesaver and I will always use these for starting my hats. They do require a bit of coordination since they are shorter & smaller than your normal circulars, but they are worth the effort. I applied my Swagbucks towards Amazon gift cards to help reduce the cost on these.
2. Bamboo 9″ Double Pointed Needles– Again, these are an off-brand needle and they were extremely rough so they held my stitches really well. As a beginner on these, these rough double pointed needles were key for me to get the hang of it without dropping stitches. It was a lot cheaper to buy these as a set and I did apply my Swagbucks towards the Amazon gift cards so I didn’t have to dip in my pocket to pay for them. You could go with a different length on these, but I opted for these 9″ ones and they still work great for the baby hats as well as the adult hats I knit.
3. A Good Ring Marker- I was using the kind that you just slipped over the needles and was finding that I was losing my starting stitch marker for knitting in the round. Look for ones that will slip onto the yarn and put that at the beginning of my round. It will really help you not lose your pace and keep you on track with your knitting.
*******************
Disclosure: The links to books and supplies are affiliate links and are provided so you can locate what you need quickly and easily. Feel free to order a book, but we encourage utilizing the library system and buying me some yarn instead. Wouldn’t that just be so much more lovely?
What craft projects have you been working on? Feel free to share any links to what you are working on and be sure to friend me on Ravelry if you happen to be a knitter too! Access all of our craft fun on MomAdvice by visiting our Craft Section. Happy crafting, friends!