I have made a lot of hats, but not many lately and I forget things. :oops: Do you guys use a smaller needle when you do the ribbing of a hat (like you do for a sweater) or do you usually use the same size needle throughout? I’m talking about a basic hat that starts as ribbing and goes to stockinette for the top.
What is your opinion on this? What works for you? Thanks for input.
Most patterns suggest using a smaller size; sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.
If you are starting out with ribbing and then going to stockinette, I would definitely recommend a smaller size for the ribbing and the next larger size for the stockinette. I think that it doesn’t hugely matter for hats that are all ribbing, but with the combination of the two, I’ve had issues with hats that I didn’t switch needles on. The fit was all wonky.
I made this hat - http://delcroissant.blogspot.com/2007/01/and-first-fo-of-2007.html for my son and just used the same needle for the ribbing and the hat. Because the slip stitch rib in the hat is a little looser, that worked out fine.
I usually use the same needle for both. If you want the rib a little tighter, you can always always knit in the back loop of the first k st in each group.
Thanks everyone for the input.