Baby Bear Hat

Is there anything cuter than a baby in a bear hat? Maybe, but I’m not convinced.

We have a couple new babies on the way among our friends and family, and not all of them will need handmade blankets. (When the baby’s grandmother, great-grandmother, aunts, and great-aunts all knit, you can imagine how well stocked with blankets the child will be.)

Enter the baby bear hat. It’s part of a set of small, make-it-in-a-day-or-less baby items I’m putting together as a gift for one of those blanket-blessed children.

(Believe it or not, I don’t make many baby hats. I found the head circumference and number of stitches needed for a basic baby hat in the book Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B.Anderson.)

 

 

Things you need:

• Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn from Michaels in Taupe—You can use any worsted weight yarn. This hat uses less than 100 yards (a lot less).
• Size 8 double pointed needles (dpn)—You could use 9” circular needles for the hat, but you’d still need dpns for the ears, so I think it’s easier just to use one set of needles for the whole thing.

 

Skills you need:

• Knitting on double-pointed needles
• Casting on
• The knit stitch
• Knit two together (k2tog)

 

 

 

Size: Infant (0-3 months)

Gauge: 4 stitches per inch

This pattern is also available as an inexpensive, printable, ad-free PDF from Ravelry.

 

Hat:

Cast on 56 stitches. Join into a circle.

First 5 rounds: k1, p1, repeat to end

Next 16 rounds: knit all stitches

 

Shape crown:

Round 1: k6, k2tog, repeat to end

Round 2: knit

Round 3: k5, k2tog, repeat to end

Round 4: knit

Round 5: k4, k2tog, repeat to end

Round 6: knit

Round 7: k3, k2tog, repeat to end

Round 8: k2, k2tog, repeat to end

Round 9: k1, k2tog, repeat to end

Round 10: k2tog, repeat to end

Cut the tail about 6 inches from the end. Sew tail through the remaining 7 stitches, pull snug. Sew ends under.

 

Ears (Make 2):

Cast on 12 stitches. (It’s easiest if you use the long-tail method because you’ll use the tail to sew the ears to the hat.) Join into a circle.

First 3 rounds: knit all stitches

Round 4: k2tog, repeat to end (6 stitches left)

Round 5: k2tog, repeat to end (3 stitches left)

Cut tail and sew through the last 3 stitches like you did with the top of the hat. Sew top tail under.

 

 

Lay hat flat. Position ears on either side of hat so that there is about 1.5” between the side of the ear and the top center of the hat.

 

 

Use tails left from casting on to sew ears to hat. Finish by sewing ends under.