I’ve been making hats for O since he was a tiny baby and last year we made it through the whole winter with just one hat. It’s looking a little raggedy now though and it was getting a bit small too, so this past weekend, I made him a quick new hat to get us through at Fall and early Winter.
His coat this year is dark gray with black and blue so I picked some soft heathered gray yarn and bright blue, both leftover from other projects. The pattern is basically the same as my Baby Bear and Apple hats, just a larger size for a giant three year old head. And of course there’s a pom pom because they are adorable on little kids!
Easy Pom Pom Winter Hat (3 year old size)
You need:
worsted weight yarn, one skein gray, a small amount of bright blue.
US size 7 16 inch circular needles
set of US size 7 double pointed needles
(If you need help, my favorite knitting reference book for everyone from beginners to advanced knitters is THIS ONE!)
Using long-tail cast on, cast on 88 stitches with the blue yarn onto your circular needles. Join to knit in the round and knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches in a rib stitch for 1 inch. Switch to the gray yarn and then knit all stitches until the entire hat is about 6.5 inches long.
Decrease:
Round 1: Knit 6, Knit 2 stitches together and repeat to the end of the round.
Round 2: Knit all stitches
Round 3: Knit 5, Knit 2 stitches together and repeat to the end of the round.
Round 4: Knit all stitches
Round 5: Knit directly onto 3 of the double pointed needles:
- Needle 1: Knit 4, Knit 2 stitches together, repeat four times.
- Needle 2: Knit 4, Knit 2 stitches together, repeat four times.
- Needle 3: Knit 4, Knit 2 stitches together, repeat three times.
Round 6: Use the fourth double pointed needle to knit all stitches to the end of the round.
Round 7: Knit 3 stitches, Knit 2 stitches together and repeat to the end of the round.
Round 8: Knit all stitches to the end of the round
Round 9: Knit 2 stitches, Knit 2 stitches together and repeat to the end of the round.
Round 10: Knit all stitches to the end of the round
Round 11: Knit 1 stitch, Knit 2 stitches together and repeat to the end of the round.
Round 12: Knit all stitches to the end of the round
Round 13: Knit 2 stitches together and repeat to the end of the round.
Cut your yarn, thread it onto a needle and thread it through the remaining stitches, pulling tightly to close. Weave in your ends.
To make the Pom Pom:
Find a piece of stiff cardboard that is about 2 inches wide. Using the blue yarn, wind the yarn around and around the cardboard about 40-50 times.
Slide the yarn off the cardboard and tie it around the middle very tightly with a piece of yarn that is about 12 inches long.
Cut through all the loops with sharp scissors to “release” the pom pom
it will look kind of terrible at first so then trim the ends carefully until it is a sphere.
Use the one long end of that the yarn you used to tie the pom pom to firmly stitch it to the top of the hat. Weave in all your ends.
(we’re in the either super goofy “cheese!” smile or completely refuse to smile at all phase of preschoolerhood… Good thing he’s so cute!)
If you liked this, you may like some of my other posts…
- Gingerbread House and Gingerbread Man Knitting Patterns - December 13, 2024
- Peppermint Candy Cane Wreath Knitting Pattern - December 9, 2024
- Gingerbread Wreath Knitting Pattern - December 9, 2024
Aly Hansen says
I’m using this pattern to make a hat for my twelve-year-old sister. How many stitches would you recommend casting on?
Cassie May says
You can increase the pattern in multiples of 8, I guess it would really depend on the size of her head, the thickness of your yarn, your tension etc. This hat was for my 3 year old and he has a pretty large head. You could start by casting on 96 or 104 and seeing if that fits?
Missy Homemaker says
Your pattern was pinned to the Family Fridays Link-Up Party Pinterest Board. Thank you for linking up 🙂