Cuddly Critter Ear Flap Hat

I designed this cuddly critter hat for a friend of mine who was having a baby earlier this spring.  It came out so cute that I wanted to share the pattern.  Although I made mine in 2 colors, it would also look cute in a solid color, or even stripes!  Right now, the pattern is only written for a size small (14″ circumference) which should fit a 3-6 month old.  I plan to revise the pattern at some point in the future with size medium (16″), large (18″), and x-large (20″).  Of course, you can vary the size by playing around with yarn gauge and needles size.

Materials:

• Worsted weight yarn (I used Debbie Stoller Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe)
• Size 6 circular needles
• Size 6 dp needles
• Size G crochet hook (for ears)

Guage

• 5 stitches to the inch

First Earflap

• CO 5 stitches
• Row 1: K1, P1, K1, P1, K1
• Row 2: K1, K into F/B, K1, K into F/B, K1 (7 stitches)
• Row 3: K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1
• Row 4: K1, K into F/B, K1, P1, K1, K into F/B, K1 (9 stitches)
• Row 5: (K1, P1) 4 times, K1
• Row 6: K1, K into F/B, K1, P1 (2 times) K1, K into F/B, K1 (11 stitches)
• Row 7: (K1, P1) 5 times, K1
• Row 8: K1, K into F/B, K1, P1 (3 times) K1, K into F/B, K1 (13 stitches)
• Row 9: (K1, P1) 6 times, K1
• Row 10: K1, K into F/B, K1, P1 (4 times) K1, K into F/B, K1 (15 stitches)
• Row 11: (K1, P1) 7 times, K1
• Repeat row 11 4 times; place onto stitch holder

Second Earflap

• Follow instructions for first earflap up through row 11.
• Repeat row 11 5 times (rather than 4)
• Leave second earflap on working needles

Body of Hat

• With second earflap on needles, CO 16 stitches (this will become the back of the hat)
• Knit first earflap off the stitch holder onto the working needles
• CO 24 stitches (this will become the front of the hat)
• Place marker and join in the round (70 stitches)
• Row 1: (K1, P1) 35 times
• Row 2 (P1, K1) 35 times (establish seed stitch pattern)
• Repeat rows 1 & 2 until hat measures 1 inch
• Switch color (optional)
• Continue in stockinette (knit all stitches) until hat measures 4 inches tall

Shape Crown

• Row 1: (K12, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 2: (K11, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 3: (K10, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 4: (K9, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 5: (K8, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 6: (K7, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 7: (K6, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 8: (K5, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 9: (K4, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 10: (K3, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 11: (K2, K2tog) 5 times
• Row 12: (K1, K2tog) 5 times (10 stitches remaining)
• Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches

Critter Ears (optional)

• Using color A, make a ‘magic loop’
• Row 1: sc into loop 5 times, ch1, turn
• Row 2: skip 1^st stitch, 2sc into each stitch (8 stitches), ch1, turn
• Row 3:  skip 1^st stitch, 2sc into each stitch (14 stitches), ch1 turn
• Row 4:  skip 1^st stitch, (2sc, 1 sc) repeat 6 times, switch to color B, ch1, turn
• Row 5: sc into each stitch; tie off

Ties (each side)

• Pick up 4 stitches on bottom of first earflap (right side facing you)
• Work in I-cord until desired length is reached
• Bind off and tie a decorative knot at the end

If you decided to make your own, please post a link to a pic!

Side View of the Critter Hat

I’ve been a fan of Debbie Stoller’s Stitch and Bitch books for years.  Stitch and Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker was the very first crochet book that I bought when I first started crocheting about 8 years ago.

Felted Pansy and Fingerless Mitten

The patterns were fun & funky and the instructions were straightforward.  When I started knitting last year, I ran out and bought Stitch and Bitch: A Knitters Handbook.  So, of course, when I heard Debbie Stoller was coming out with a line of yarn, I couldn’t wait to test drive some myself.  Earlier this week, I grabbed a few of my Joann’s coupons and bought 4 skeins of the new Debbie Stoller Stitch Nation Yarn.   The new line features 3 kinds of yarn — Full o’Sheep, which is 100% wool, Bamboo Ewe which is a bamboo/wool blend, and Alpaca Love which is a wool/alpaca blend.  I started off with Full o’Sheep in Passionfruit, Plummy, Honeycomb and Thyme.

My take on the new yarn?  At $4.99 for 159 yards, it is a pretty good buy, especially if you use the ever forthcoming Joann’s coupons.   The colors are wonderful!  They are vibrant and super-saturated without coming off as brassy or ‘fakey’.  I love the colors!  The yarn is single-ply, which I’m not used to, but it has a nice feel to it, so I think I’ll like using it.  For my first quick project, I made a felted pansy, which you can see in the photo.  I only ran the flower through the wash once for felting.  The colors look great, but I think if I were making a bag or something bigger, I would run it through the wash once more for tighter felting.  I also used some of Honeycomb and Thyme to embroider details and trim on the fingerless mitten that’s in the picture.  (The base of the mitten is actually a recycled sweater).

Bottom line – this yarn is a big hit, and I can’t wait to try the alpaca and bamboo blends.  Now, if I can just find where I put the rest of those coupons that I printed out…