How to Knit a Toboggan With Regular Needles
Toboggan hats are simple knit ribbed caps that fit snuggly over the head and extend just over the ears. Often a cuff is turned up at the bottom edge of the hat. Some hat patterns are knit in the round, which uses circular or double-pointed needles to work the hat in a continuous circle rather than in back-and-forth rows. However, it is possible to knit a toboggan hat using straight needles. Knit the hat flat from the bottom edge to the top, and finish by seaming the edges up the back.
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Instructions
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Cast on 120 stitches. To cast on, make a slipknot around one needle and tighten. Make a backward loop with the working yarn so that the working yarn extends between the loop and the needle. Slip the backward loop onto the needle and tighten it around the needle. Continue this process until you have 120 stitches, including the slipknot.
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Work knit-two-purl-two ribbing until the piece measures 7 inches from the cast on edge. Work the ribbing by knitting two stitches and then purling two stitches. Alternate K2 and P2 across the row. On the wrong side rows, purl two and then knit two. Alternate P2 and K2 across the row. End with a wrong side row.
Make knit stitches by holding the yarn behind the work and inserting the needle into the stitch from front to back. Make purl stitches by holding the yarn in front of the work and inserting the needle into the stitch from back to front. Complete both knit and purl stitches by wrapping the yarn around the right needle and drawing a loop through the stitch on the left needle. Drop the worked stitch off the left needle.
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Begin decreasing to create the crown of the hat. Knit two, purl two, knit two and then purl two together. Repeat this sequence across the row. Knit into the knit stitches and purl into the purl stitches for the next three rows.
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Knit two, purl two together, knit two, purl one across the next row. Then knit into the knit stitches and purl into the purl stitches for three rows.
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Knit two, purl one, knit two together, purl one across the next row. Knit into the knit stitches and purl into the purl stitches for the next three rows.
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Knit two together, purl one, knit one, purl one across the next row. Knit into the knit stitches and purl into the purl stitches for the next three rows.
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Knit one, purl one, knit two together across the next row. Knit into the knit stitches and purl into the purl stitches for the next three rows.
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Knit two together, knit one across the next row. Purl across the next row.
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Knit two together across the row and the purl across the next row.
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Knit one. Knit two together across the row. Purl across the next row.
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Knit two together across the next row. You should have four stitches remaining on your needle.
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Cut the yarn, leaving an 18-inch tail, and thread the tail through the remaining loops. Pull the yarn tightly to secure. Knot the tail yarn to a stitch in the last row if necessary to further secure the yarn. Do not cut the yarn.
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Thread the tail yarn onto a tapestry needle. Sew the edges of the hat together using the tail yarn. Insert the tapestry needle into half of each stitch on both edges and pull tight to close. Continue until the edges are joined from top to bottom all the way down the back of the hat. Turn the hat to the wrong side and weave in the loose end through several stitches to secure.
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Tips & Warnings
This pattern will make a hat for an average adult head. Cast on fewer stitches for a smaller hat, or cast on additional stitches for a larger hat. You can also adjust the length by knitting more or fewer rows before beginning the decrease rows.
The ribbing creates a stretchy fabric. If you want a tighter cap, reduce the number of cast-on stitches by a multiple of eight.
Adjust the ribbing to suit your tastes. You can do knit-one-purl-one ribbing for narrower columns or knit-three-purl-three ribbing for wider columns. Embellish your hat with a pom-pom sewn to the top if desired.
References
Resources
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