Hat size

Hi all,

I am making a hat from Jorid Linvik’s Big Christmas Book. The hat is called Bullfinches. It is for a child but I thought I’d use dk weight wool to achieve an adult size. I cast on 140 stitches and used 4.5mm needles. The hat came out huge. So I tried 3.25mm and it was still too big. I used drops Lima wool. What am I doing wrong? Should I go down a needle?

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/jorid-linviks-big-book-of-christmas-knits-over-70-scandinavian-holiday-patterns/patterns?set=&_rfoff=1
Here’s a handy table for yarn weights and stitch number that may help. The table is about 1/3 of the way down the page.
https://www.allfreeknitting.com/Knitting-Tutorials/Knitting-Hat-Size-Chart

This chart from CYC recommends US 5-7 or there abouts depending on how tightly or loosely you knit.
https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/yarn-weight-system

1 Like

That’s really helpful thank you so much. So Jorid is saying 140 stitches but that is because she is using a sport weight wool for a child. So I’m going to need to alter the pattern to make it 120 stitches for DK weight yarn.

That sounds about right. You may want to fiddle with needle sizes to give you the knit fabric that you want especially if this involves stranded colorwork. See also if the book has an adult hat in DK weight to use a model.
(I’ve made Jorid’s Christmas Heart mittens and the pattern was excellent.)
Let us know how it’s going.

2 Likes