Out with 2010, in with 2011!

I keep vowing to update more often, then I'm pretty good at it for a few days or a few weeks and then I go back to forgetting to update on a consistent basis! I make no promises that this won't happen in the future, it's just how I roll.

So 2010 is over. And with a new year, you get a new start! I really do plan on looking for a new job as I currently am in hate with the one I have. The only upside to my current job is that I'm usually home by 3:30pm at the latest which gives me lots of time to myself at home which means plenty of time to craft. I also sold the most commissioned pieces this year as well! Hopefully this trend continues into the new year.

I knit my fist hat back in December as a Christmas present for my sister's boyfriend. It was the most simplest of knit hat pattern that are knit on straight needles. Cast on 84 stitches, do a 2 x 2 rib knit until the fabric is 6 inches long and then start to decrease until crown. Easy? Yes. It felt pretty good as up until then, the only thing I had knit was a couple of scarves. So I posted a picture of the knit hat and a friend asked if I could do one similar to it but with a brim. I thought, sure, why not! So I figured it out on my own.





Rib knit hat with brim

Cast on 84 sts
Row 1: (K2, P2) across
Repeat this row until the piece measures 8.5 inches from the beginning
Next Row: (K2, P2, K2 tog, P2, K2, P2 tog) across the row
Next Row: K the K sts and P the P sts
Next Row: K the K sts and P the P sts
Next Row: (K1, P2, K2 tog, P1, K2, P2 tog) across the row
Next Row: K the K sts and P the P sts
Next Row: K the K sts and P the P sts
Next Row: K1, P2 tog (K1, P1, K2 tog, P1, K1, P2 tog) to the last stitch. P1
Next Row: K the K sts and P the P sts
Next Row: K the K sts and P the P sts
Next Row: (K1, K2 tog) across
Next Row: (K2 tog) across
Next Row: (K2 tog) across

To finish the hat, cut the yarn, leaving a long tail to use as thread to sew up the seam along the back. Put the yarn on a needle and thread through the remaining loops on the knitting needle and pull shut. With the hat inside out, sew the seam up the back.

Now cut a piece of plastic in the shape of a brim. I actually had a hat in the house that had a brim about the same size of what I wanted so I just traced it. With the hat inside out, fold the bottom brim up about 2.5 inches and place plastic brim inside of fold. Using a thread and needle, sew up the edge of the hat. To sew the brim in place, I used my sewing machine to do a tight stitch along the edge of it. Tada! Completed hat.
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