Newbie needs help with a hat

#1

Hello everybody.
I’m pretty new at this, i only knit 1/4 of a scarf so far (then i got lazy and stitched it together, so it’s more a collar than a scarf, but looks cool though). I did it in series of knits and purls one after another, and in reverse order in a second row, so it looks like a chess board.

Now I want to make a matching hat in the same technique, and I found this pattern: http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/kpatt05.htm

I did the sample and 60 stitches match my head, though they are a bit looser than those on the pattern. I think my circular needles are size 6, I’m not sure about the yarn, but it’s way thinner than the needle.

Do you think decreases on the pattern are gonna do it for me? Since the circumference is the same.

(i know it’s gonna mess up the pattern, but i’m gonna deal with it on the go, now i’m only concerned about general shape)

thanks in advance.

P.S. sorry about my English, it’s my third language.

#2

If the 60 sts are your head size, you may want a few less; hats should be about an inch or two smaller to stay snug on your head. All yarns should be thinner than the needle you knit them with or you’ll have very tight sts and a stiff item.

Since the 60 sts are a little loose, I’d say to cast on 54 sts and knit the pattern to where you want the decs to begin, then start them with row 3 of the dec instructions (because that row begins with 54 sts). Then follow the rest of the decrease rows and see if that works.

#3

thanks! I’ll try that :smiley:

#4

This is how it looks:

I’m pretty satisfied, this being the second item I ever knitted.

I cheated a bit and made the first row in crochet chain of 90 (had some trouble casting on, tried 3 times and was always too tight), and the second row in crochet but wrapping 2 out of 3 chains around the needle, so I got 61 stitches. Then I continued in seed pattern.

I’m so proud of myself.
:woohoo: