Baby Hats! Day 63 of Crafting 365

Final version of hat, originally uploaded by homemadeoriginals.

I was excited to make my first grandbaby hat. I chose the "Umbilical Cord Hat" pattern from Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller. The pattern says Infant to 6 months and my version turned out pretty close to the the finished circumference (16") of the pattern. Even though it was adorable, I could tell it was way too big for a new baby. A few minutes of research later and I found that the average newborn's head circumference is 13.8".

So, I switched to a sport weight yarn, reduced the number of stitches by 8 (this pattern works in repeats of 8 stitches when you start decreasing) and improvised a bit to get it to all turn out. Voila, a finished hat that I hope will fit my new grandchild, due in early August.

Below, you can see the comparison between the two versions of the hat.



And here is yesterday's project (day 62), still somewhat unfinished but nonetheless satisfactory, my knitting basket made from a recylced sweater. I love the way the cabled design looks on the felted basket. I made the photo large so you can see the stitch detail.