Celebrate autumn with a good-enough-to-eat pumpkin hat—an absolute essential for any Halloween party wardrobe. The hat is knitted in a lovely soft yarn with a touch of alpaca.
Yarn
Rowan Felted Tweed (50% merino wool, 25% alpaca, 25% viscose) light worsted (DK) weight yarn, 191yd (175m) per 1¾oz (50g) ball
2 balls in Peach 212 (orange) (A)
Schachenmayr Bravo (100% acrylic) light worsted (DK) weight yarn, 145yd (133m) per 1¾oz (50g) ball
1 ball in 0891 Farn (green) (B)
Needles and equipment
US 9 (5.5mm) knitting needles
US 6 (4mm) knitting needles
Yarn sewing needle
Gauge (tension)
12 sts and 14 rows in stockinette (stocking) stitch to a 4-in (10-cm) square on US 9 (5.5mm) needles, using yarn A doubled.
Measurements
The finished hat measures approx. 16in (40cm) circumference and 7in (18cm) high excluding stalk. It should fi t an average-size child of 5–10 years.
For the hat
Using US 9 (5.5mm) needles and A, cast on 63 sts using the yarn double.
Row 1: K3, [p1, k3] to end.
Row 2: K1, p1, [k3, p1] to last st, k1.
Rep rows 1–2, 9 times more.
Row 21: K2, [sl2, k1, p2sso, k2, p1, k2] to last 5 sts, sl2, k1, p2sso, k2. (47 sts)
Row 22: K1, [p1, k1, p1, k3] to last 4 sts, [p1, k1] twice.
Row 23: K4, [sl2, k1, p2sso, k3] to last st, k1. (33 sts)
Row 24: K1, [p1, k1] to end.
Row 25: K1, [k2togtbl] to end. (17 sts)
Row 26: [P2tog] to last st, p1. (9 sts)
Break A and join in B for the stalk, using the yarn double.
Beg with a k row, work 8 rows in st st.
Bind (cast) off.
Leaf
Make 2
The leaves are knitted from the tip to the base.
Using US 9 (5.5mm) needles and B, cast on 2 sts.
Row 1: Inc, k1. (3 sts)
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: [Inc] twice, k1. (5 sts)
Row 4: Purl.
Row 5: Inc, k2, inc, k1. (7 sts)
Beg with a p row, work 5 rows in st st.
Row 11: K1, ssk, k1, k2tog, k1. (5 sts)
Row 12: P2tog, p1, p2tog. (3 sts)
Row 13: Sk2po. (1 st)
Break yarn and pull it through rem st.
Tendril
Make 1
Using US 6 (4mm) needles, cast on 40 sts in B, keeping your gauge (tension) loose.
Bind (cast) off tightly, so that the tendril twists naturally.
To make up
Sew the back seam of the main hat using flat stitch (see page 121) and the seam of the stalk using mattress stitch (see page 120), using matching yarns.
Sew the leaves and tendrils in place at the base of the stalk.
Weave in all loose ends.
This project is from Beanies and Other Knitted Hats by Fiona Goble. To get more blog posts like this one - direct to your inbox - be sure to sign up to our mailing list here.