See, what I don't get is

My hat question/confusion:

I saw some of the patterns on here for a hat, and I understand the pattern.

Cast On: Check
Knit: Check
Purl: Check
Knit 2 together: Check

I see that you can use a round knitting needle: Check.

What I don’t quite get is “[B][I]how does it get joined together[/I][/B]?” [B][I]How does it turn from just lines of knitted rows to a hat? [/I][/B][B][I]Where and how does it get joined?[/I][/B]

Some hats you knit in the round - either on double pointed needles or on a circular needle. There are great videos in the videos link above on circular knitting. The biggest difference from knitting flat, is that instead of knitting your last cast on stitch first, you knit the first cast on stitch first.

Other hats, you knit “flat” then seam (sew) up the back after you’re done knitting.

here’s the link to joining for circular knitting

http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/advanced-techniques