Welcome to 2021! It feels like it’s been a loooong time coming. I know the difficulties of 2020 aren’t totally behind us yet, but I’m hopeful that we can make this a positive year.
For my first post of the new year, I’m sharing the Christmas hats that I made for the boys this year. Little Bear is really into ninjas (that’s his current what-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up), so I wanted to make him a ninja mask. All the masks I’ve seen in stores are the cheap plastic kind, but I wanted his to be a fabric mask, more like an actual ninja. But I didn’t want to knit a full balaclava, because that’s not a practical hat to wear unless you’re in the arctic or robbing a bank. And I couldn’t picture him wearing a hood with fabric wrapped around his face. I wanted it to be something he could actually wear outside on an ordinary day. So I decided to knit it in pieces: a hat, and a mask. For simplicity’s sake, I made the mask as a basic cowl that he could pull over his face.
Now he can be a ninja if he wants to be, but he can also just wear a hat to keep his head warm or a cowl to keep his neck warm. (It’s also great for those freezing days when he needs something to warm his nose and cheeks.)
Munchkin doesn’t love ninjas as much as Little Bear, but he loves playing with his brother, and he would feel left out if he didn’t have a ninja hat, so he got one too. His mask/cowl is a little shorter than Little Bear’s (I almost ran out of his green yarn, and he’s smaller, so it worked out), but the pattern is written for the longer cowl in taupe.
I knit their cowls with the same number of stitches as the hats, but they’re a bit loose, so I cut some stitches in the written pattern so that they’re a little more snug.
If you’re looking for a simple hat and cowl set, or if you have a ninja in the family, give it a try!
Disclaimer: This cowl pattern is not designed to protect anyone from COVID-19 or any other virus. It is only intended to keep the wearer’s face warm and enable them to pretend to be a ninja.
Pattern notes: I cast on the same number of stitches for my sample cowl as for the hat, but when Little Bear tried it on it was a bit loose. I adjusted the stitch counts here in the pattern to make it a little more snug, as seen in the Final Measurements below.
Needle: US size 8 (5mm), 16” circular; US size 8 (5mm), set of 4 double-pointed needles, or whatever size needed to obtain gauge.
Yarns used: Loops and Threads Impeccable (worsted (4); 100% acrylic; 277 yards/127.5 grams), 1 skein of taupe. (Second hat is made using the same yarn in the color Fern.)
Yardage: 277 yards.
Gauge: 4 stitches and 6 rows = 1 inch (2.5 cm).
Other Notions: 1 stitch marker, yarn needle for finishing.
Final Measurements: This pattern is written in sizes Toddler (Child, Adult, Large Adult). Hat circumferences are 18 (20, 22, 24) inches or 45.7 (50.8, 55.9, 61) cm. Cowl circumferences are 17 (19, 21, 23) inches or 43.2 (48.26, 53.3, 58.4) cm.
Stitch Abbreviations:
k = knit
p = purl
k2tog = purl two together
Hat:
Using circular needles, cast on 72 (80, 88, 96) stitches. Join into a round, being careful not to twist your stitches. Place marker at the beginning of the round.
First 6 (6, 6, 9) rounds: k1, p1, repeat to end.
Next 24 (24, 29, 32) rounds: knit.
Decreases:
Optional: Switch to double-pointed needles whenever the stitches feel too tight on your circular needles. To switch, knit 1/3 of stitches from the next round onto first dpn, knit 1/3 of stitches onto second dpn, and knit final 1/3 onto third dpn. Continue decrease instructions using dpns.
Round 1: k7 (8, 9, 10), k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 2: knit.
Round 3: k6 (7, 8, 9), k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 4: knit.
Round 5: k5 (6, 7, 8), k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 6: knit.
Round 7 (all sizes EXCEPT Toddler): k–(5, 6, 7), k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 8 (all sizes EXCEPT Toddler): knit.
Round 9 (Large Adult ONLY): k6, k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 10 (Large Adult ONLY): knit.
Round 11 (all sizes): k4 (4, 5, 5), k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 12: k3 (3, 4, 4), k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 13: k2 (2, 3, 3), k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 14: k1 (1, 2, 2), k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 15 (Toddler and Child sizes): k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 16 (Adult and Large Adult sizes): k1, k2tog, repeat to end.
Round 17 (Adult and Large Adult sizes): k2tog, repeat to end.
Cut yarn about 6 inches from last stitch, thread through remaining stitches. Sew all ends under.
Cowl:
Using circular needles, cast on 68 (76, 84, 92) stitches. Join into a round, being careful not to twist your stitches. Place marker at the beginning of the round.
First 6 (6, 6, 9) rounds: k1, p1, repeat to end.
Next 20 (25, 30, 35) rounds: knit.
Next 6 (6, 6, 9) rounds: k1, p1, repeat to end.
Bind off. Sew all ends under.
Did you ever want to be a ninja when you grew up?
