I was going to knit a hat I saw, but couldn’t find the yarn I needed and didn’t feel like altering the pattern as much as I needed to in order to get the features I wanted. I LOVE the Baby Bonnet in Last Minute Knitted Gifts(the planned bonnet). I love PurlSoho (http://www.purlsoho.com), so if you’ve never visited, you must see their site. Knitting, sewing and crochet HEAVEN!

Anyway, I selected the colors based on their baby bonnet, as I’d planned to knit it and just scale it for an older child. To make a long story short, I wanted to change a number of things, so I needed to just make up my own pattern.

Features I wanted:
1) Seamless with minimal finishing: Why sew when I can knit in the round? I didn’t want to sew seams when I finished. I know, it wouldn’t have been much of a seam, but you know, when you have many gifts to make in a short time, time matters.

2)I-Cord ties and edging, aka, detached and attached I-Cord: Love this feature on the bonnet I had planned to knit, so this feature stayed. The only difference: longer cords.

3)No or minimal flare out at the back of the neck: I wanted a pattern that pulls in at the back of the neck instead of flaring or being open. I wanted it to hug the neck. Love the look of the traditional sewn prairie type bonnet, but didn’t want air coming in at the back of the neck.

4) Spiral crown decreases: I like this traditional feature found in many vintage patterns.

5) I wanted a solid neck edge that is sturdy and robust; The original hat has a similar finish.

6) I wanted a pattern that was straightforward enough that I could watch t.v. while knitting it.

7) I wanted the body to be very plain so it could be easily customized with a favorite stitch pattern.
There are no edge stitches during the knitting of the hat. It is just good old plain stocking stitch. No row counts are given for most of the hat. You knit until the piece is a certain length.

I am glad to say that this pattern is user friendly, fast, and easily customized. Gotta love that! I believe the pattern is in the style of a vintage baby bonnet.

This bonnet reminds me of the hats my mother in law knit for my daughter when she was born. Those hats she made are long gone and the memory of how to construct them is locked away in her mind, which unfortunately, has been irreparably damaged by a stroke.

Please read the pattern thoroughly before beginning. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Note: The model is 9 months old and has lots of room in the crown. Even with lots of room, the hat hugs the back of the head, so no air gets in through the back.

Happy Knitting!