How to Long Knit a Hat

Knitting a long hat is fun and it makes a very warm hat.

A long-knitted hat is sometimes called a stocking cap, because they used to be made out of ladies' thigh-length stockings. You can still knit a long hat that you can fold up several times over your ears, to make it also a very warm hat. This version is a variant of the Swedish dubbelmossa, as elucidated by Elizabeth Zimmerman back in the 1990s.

Things You'll Need

• Knitting yarn in several colors, in sport or DK weight
• 16-inch circular needle, about size 3 to 5, to give a gauge of 6 stitches per inch
• Double pointed needles, size 3 to 5
• Yarn darning needle

Instructions

1. Cast 128 stitches onto the circular needle. Join, being careful not to twist. Place a marker to mark the beginning of the round. Knit two, purl two about 1 inch or so.

2. Knit eight, make one around. You can make one by making a backward loop over the right needle or use any other increase method you like. Now, you have 144 stitches. You can begin to knit some Fair Isle-style color patterns now, making sure that the number of stitches in each repeat is evenly divisible into 144 stitches. Or, you can simply knit stripes.

3. Knit straight until the body of the hat is about three times the length of the wearer's hand. Then, knit one decrease round, decreasing by four stitches, evenly spaced around the hat. You can do this on a plain round where only one color is carried, by knitting two together for one decrease. Knit another 3 inches or so and make another decrease round, decreasing by two stitches. Knit two rounds plain.

4. Divide the remaining 128 stitches into four sections. Place a marker at the end of each section. Knit to within two stitches of the marker; knit two together. Continue in this manner, decreasing by four stitches every round until there are only eight stitches left.

5. Break off the yarn, thread it through the darning needle and draw it through the eight stitches. Pull it tight. Weave the tail in on the wrong side of the hat.

Tips & Warnings

• To wear this hat, fold the bottom half of the hat up inside the top half. Now, fold up the bottom 2 inches or so, for a double layer over the ears. This is the way to wear it on very cold days. On warmer days, you can wear it as a long double hat, without the brim folded up, or in a single layer for a long stocking cap. You can also close up both ends with a point, but then you can't wear the hat in a single layer.

References

• Wool Gathering; Swedish Dubbelmossa and Scarf; Elizabeth Zimmerman and Meg Swansen; 1991
• PineBasket; Create a Dubbelmossa; M.L. Arnoldussen; 2011
• Ravelry: Dubbelmossa; Meg Swansen; 1991