Free machine knit pattern for a baby Santa hat

Pretty much done with gifts, done knitting the annual order for Minnetonka Ski Team hats, finished with other holiday preparations, so I thought I'd knit a baby Santa hat for my grandson. The fish hat I thought about doing will have to wait. This hat is really soft---although it doesn't look like it in the picture.

Here's the pattern if you are interested.

Machine: Standard gauge (no ribber required)
Gauge of stockinette part: 7 st x 10 r = 1” at T 7
Yarn: Tamm Sky or yarn that will knit to gauge (a couple of ounces) white for brim and red for hat, and white Lion Brand Fun Fur (1/4 skein)for brim
Finished sizes: 0-3 months (6-9 months in parenthesis)—about 13.5” (15”) circumference unstretched at brim.

DIRECTIONS
Cast on with waste yarn over 101 (109) needles, every other needle. (I did every other needle to accommodate the doubled yarn of the brim then changed to single strand for the body of the hat.) Knit about an inch of waste yarn. Change to the strand of white and fun fur run separately through the mast and joined at the carriage. Yank the knitting down after every row to make sure the fur doesn’t get hung up on the gate pegs. Knit 20 rows at T 9, or twice the depth you want the brim. Hang a hem and knit one row to seal. Cut the two yarns leaving ends long enough to weave in later. Change to red, single strand, put the in- between needles into work and changing to T 7, RC 000, knit 44 (54) rows. Remove on waste yarn or garter bar and decrease every 8 stitches across. Knit 6 rows. Remove on waste yarn or garter bar and decrease every 7 stitches across, Knit 6 rows. Continue in this manner until you are decreasing every 4 stitches across, then knit 10 rows. After decreasing every 3 stitches across, knit 20 rows. Decrease every 2 stitches across and knit 10 rows. Continue decreasing evenly across until you have 4 or 5 stitches left. Change to I cord setting---consult your manual, but for Brother, push in one part button. Knit I cord for 20 rows and bind off.

TIE- knit a 4 stitch I cord 270 rows at T 7 and bind off.

FINISHING: Remove the waste yarn from the start of the hem. Seam the side of the hat leaving about 1 ½ inches open at the bottom. That is, leave the white part and a little of the red open. I did this because the doubled yarn of the brim wasn’t as stretchy as normal, and I thought I needed to allow for a larger head size. The tie can make the adjustment if necessary. (Baby not available right now for a fitting!) Run the I cord through the hem and make pom poms with the red yarn for the ends of the tie. Make one larger pom pom of the fun fur and white yarn for the tip of the hat. Hide all yarn ends. Brush the fun fur a little to make it move to the right side. Ho ho ho, really cute, don’t you think?

Side opening to adjust for size:


Note: On Ravelry I've seen some darling ones that have a much longer tip--- some that drape all the way to the ground. I opted to make a shorter one to avoid all thoughts of the possibility of the end being wrapped around the baby's neck. If you were using the hat just for a picture and wanted the longer end, just increase the number of plain rows between decreases to get the desired length.

And...... here's my cutie. I took some stills from a little video, hence the numbers at the bottom. I just thought his expressions were so sweet.

Yes, I'm besotted.

Beautiful Machine Knit Fingerless Gloves

Some people are "naturals" I think. I received this email from Mattie who needed just a tiny bit of clarification about the fingerless mitts pattern on my blog here and off she went. Aren't they handsome? She used Red Heart Gemstone yarn. I love the colors in it. She said:

Thank you for the instructions. I finally finished making a pair. It turned out really nice. Now to make a few more. These gloves were a great start for me, as I just bought the Silver Reed 860 mid gauge a couple of weeks ago and finally had the courage to use it, instead of just admiring it.
Thanks again,
Mattie

If you're interested in making this pattern, scroll down on the right side to the picture, click on it and you'll be taken to the free pattern.

I'm gratified that someone else could make the mitts from my pattern! Mattie is to be congratulated on a job well done!!!

And, here's another job well done... the new grandson. He's 2 1/2 months old. You sure can't tell he was early. He's growing like a weed. Every now and then I stop and marvel at how lucky we are to have him.

Free Machine Knit Pattern for a Baby Bee Hat

I've been trying to get back into the swing of knitting. I always seem to be able to muster up the energy to make something for the new grandson, even when there are other things I should be finishing.

This pattern actually wasn't my original idea. A hand knit version of the hat was shown at one of the knit clubs I go to and I thought it was adorable. So, since it wasn't my own design, I thought I should share it with you rather than selling the pattern. If you want to save the pattern, highlight what you want and copy it, then paste into a word processing program.

Machine knit Baby Bee Hat by Mar Heck
Machine standard gauge (no ribber required)
Gauge 7 st x 10 r = 4" (10 cm) T 7
Yarn Small amounts that will knit to gauge. Black and gold. I used Mary Lou Solo.
Finished sizes 0-3 months (6-9 months in parenthesis); About 13 1/2" (15") circumference unstretched.
Directions
Cast on with waste yarn over 95 (105) needles. Knit a few rows. Knit one row ravel cord left to right. Change to black. T 5, knit 9 rows. Knit one row T 8. T6, knit 9 rows. Hang a hem from the ravel cord. Change to T 7 and knit one row.
RC 000.From here on out, knit 4 rows gold, 4 rows black. Carry unused yarn up the side. Don't snip the yarn when you change colors. Knit 44 (54 rows). Begin decreases. Remove on waste yarn or garter bar if you have one. Decrease every 8 stitches across. (Double up stitches 7 and 8 with no empty needles.) Knit 2 rows, remembering to keep to the color sequence. Decrease every 7 stitches across (double up stitches 6 and 7 across). Knit 2 rows. Continue in this manner until you have decreased every 5 stitches across (doubling up stitch 4 and 5). Decrease the tension to T 5, Knit 2 rows. Take off on 12" piece of yarn and cinch up tightly. Remove the ravel cord and waste yarn. Mattress stitch the seam, being careful to keep the stripes going nicely across the seam.

I cord Antennae: Make 2. With black yarn, bring out 5 needles. (Yup, 5 to make a fatter antenna.) Set machine to slip one way, knit the other. Ewrap onto the 5 needles. RC 000. T 3, Knit 30 rows and bind off, leaving a 3" end to secure the antennae to the inside of the hat. Make tiny pom pom for the end of each antenna and fasten on securely. Put both antennae (the un-pom pommed ends) into the hole at the top of the hat, making them even in length. Turn the hat inside out and tack the ends of the antennae securely with the 3" end you left on. Hide the ends. DONE!

I have the hem turned up, but it could go either way--folded up or not. If you wanted to make a larger hat, just use one of your tried and true patterns to get the dimensions right and follow the bee-themed idea. Would work on any other machine too once you get the dimensions you want. I'm selling the finished hat in my Etsy shop too if you are interested in just buying the hat!

Now I'm thinking of knitting a baby fish hat.
The hand knit pattern is on Knitty. http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTfishy.php The description: Do you smell something fishy? No, of course you don’t! Don’t worry that bad smells will scare people away when you wear this hat. This 100% odorless fish will attract people to you instead.

I think it would be easy to convert to mk. Oh, the patterning possibilities. I'm thinking red lips, scales, snowflakes??? Stay tuned.

Baby No-Scratch Mittens

Made three versions of a no-scratch mitten. I just eye-balled what I thought would be a newborn size. They might be a little large. One is out of T shirt cotton, not very warm. The second is out of fleece, a little warmer. And, warmest yet is a lined one. Might be way too hot for California, but it does get cold at night in the winter. This little guy I've been making things for is an October baby.

Sewing kept me busy for a day so I could stay inside in the air conditioning. It's 97 degrees here with a heat index of 115 degrees because of the humidity. I can't imagine what it would be like trying to survive this heat without the air. After our beastly awful winter, it's hard to complain.

If you would like to make some of these you could print out my pattern. You'd want to adjust your printer so that the mitt piece is the dimensions on my diagram.

You can right click on the picture, select copy and then paste it into your paint program. Print from there.

Hmmm. What shall I make next? Any suggestions?

Baby Snuggle Bag

Not sure what to call this. It's like a sleeping bag for newborns. Cuddle sack? Bunting? If you search on Ravelry, you'll find lots of them. The newborns have their arms inside, older babies have the sack pulled up to their armpits. Anyway, what could be easier to knit? It's just a long rectangle folded and seamed at the sides.

I used a midgauge machine (Silver Reed 860 with ribber), Tension 3 for the stockinette and tension 3/3 for the ribs. I didn't do the rib very tightly because I didn't want it to pull in. The gauge before washing was 5.25 st x 7.75 rows. After laundering 6 st x 8.25 rows. It's Conshohoken 100% cotton. Really soft. I have machine washed and dried it and so it shrank an inch both directions. The finished dimensions are 10.5" wide x 15 inches long with the ribbing folded over 5". No doubt you have different yarn than I have, so if you want to make it, figure out your gauge and calculate so that you have the finished dimensions of approximately 10.5" x 15", good for a newborn. Do about 5" of ribbing, 30" of stockinette and another 5" of ribbing.

For mine, I cast on 63 stitches, knit 36 rows in 1 x 1 rib, changed to stockinette. RC 000, knit to Row 240. Then transferred for rib and knit the 36 rows of ribbing. Seamed, ends worked in and laundered...done.

I think it's probably good for up to 4-5 months before the baby starts to roll around too much. The large ribbing gives some lee-way as far as length is concerned. Might embroider a little something on it to jazz it up a bit. Still have one in the works with sleeves. Need to finish that.

Knit a Baby Rib Warmer

Here's an easy pattern for you to knit. I think I could have done a better job with the pocket, but oh well. Next time.

Machine: Standard Gauge 4.5 mm with ribber or garter carriage
Yarn: Tamm Bebe; three 3/8" buttons needed.
Gauge: at T 7 7 st x 10 r = 1”
Finished size: newborn
Cute boy or girl vest to be worn with a T shirt or onesie and jeans or pants. Super simple to make.

DIRECTIONS
Pocket: Cast on 26 st. At T 7 knit 20 rows. Transfer for 2 x 2 rib. Knit 8 rows. Knit one loose row right to left. Transfer rib stitches to main bed. Chain cast off. Set aside.
Body Back: Reserve a 24" piece of yarn to bind off center neck stitches. Ewrap cast on for 2 x 2 rib (or whatever cast on you like) over 71 stitches. Knit 14 rows T 8/8. Transfer rib stitches to main bed, change to main carriage. I used a large tension so the rib wouldn’t pull in so much. RC 000. Change to T 7, Knit stockinette to RC 42. Bind off 5 stitches. RC 43 bind off 5 stitches. Decrease one stitch full fashioned both sides every 2 rows 6 X. On row 58 with 51 stitches left, transfer for 2 x 2 rib. Knit to RC 77. Transfer 27 center rib stitches to main bed and bind off around the gate pegs with the reserved yarn. Carefully pull the stitches off the gate pegs. Put left side in hold (stitches are still in rib pattern). Knit right strap, still in rib, to RC 82 and bind off these 12 stitches. Return left 12 strap stitches to work. Knit to RC 87. Make two button holes evenly spaced by transferring a rib stitch to main bed. Leave needle in work. Knit 5 more rows. Transfer stitches to main bed and bind off.
Body Front: Reserve a 24" piece of yarn for binding off neck stitches. Knit the same as the back except begin 4 x 4 rib at RC 51. Knit in rib to RC 66. Transfer 27 center st to main bed and bind off as you did the back. Put one strap to hold and knit other strap to RC 82. Bind off. Return other strap to work and knit to RC 82. Bind off.
FINISHING
Sew two small buttons on the strap that matches the tabbed strap. Seam the other shoulder. Mattress stitch the side seams. Steam lightly. I needed to steam flat the front neck rib a little. Sew on the patch pocket. Add a matching button if desired. Run in all yarn ends, of course.

Did you know?

I thought I'd put in a short post about navigating my blog. Someone wrote to me and asked how to find the free patterns on my blog. There are a few ways. One, you could read all the entries (long, but terribly exciting). Click on Older Posts at the bottom of your scren to get back in time. Two, you could scroll down on the right side of the blog and look at the pictures. When you click on one, you're taken to the post that contains the pattern. Three, you can click on the free patterns topic and all of them are put together in a long string. Four, you can do a search in the search box and whatever you are searching for comes up.

I guess that's enough ways, no?

On the baby front, I'm knitting a sleep sac with sleeves. The popular ones these days are just bags ---some fancier than others--made to "swaddle" the baby. I was thinking that all would stay in place better if the sac had arms. I think the old fashioned name for such a thing is "bunting". It's 100% cotton, so I need to wash and preshrink it. Right now it looks like it would fit a 6 month old. I 'spect it will shrink down to newborn size. Lovely soft Conshohocken yarn. Wish they were still in business. Sigh...