How to knit a quick, simple hat (on circular knitting needles)

I call this my "5-hour Hat" because it is very quick and easy to make.

You may be able to knit it faster than that- but I'm an amateur knitter.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Yarn
• Circular Knitting Needles in a size of your choice (I used big #14 needles on a 15" cord for this example)

1. Choose your yarn and some circular knitting needles-
   
   Circular knitting needles are two needles connected by a cord or cable. Bigger needles will make bigger stitches, and knit a complete project faster than skinny yarn on skinny needles will, but will probably look funny if you are using a very thin yarn, so use common sense in choosing a size you are comfortable with.
   
   Shorter cords are better than longer cords for hats, because that how big around your hat will be. As a general rule, make sure your cord length is smaller than the diameter of the head that will wear the hat.
   
   I used a thick wool yarn on #15 needles with a 14" cord for the example-hat I've used for this how-to.
   
   If you are making this as a gift but are short on cash, acrylic multi-color yarn will make a nice-looking hat (and the yarn is very inexpensive). Worsted weight and mohair yarns are also good choices for making hats with.

2. 
    
   a yarn ball

   Make a yarn ball-
   
   If you need help, I wrote another how-to on this, at: http://www.ehow.com/how_4498313_ball-yarn.html

3. 
    
   a slip knot

   Make a slip knot-
   
   Knitting is basically a long series of interlinked slip-knots. So, to make your first row, you start with a slip knot.
   
   *Since this is not an article on how to knit, beginners should stop here and seek out instructions on how to cast on stitches, and how to do a simple knit stitch and a simple purl stitch.
   
   Don't be intimidated, it is very easy to learn and to do- and then you can come back and finish your hat! If you decide you need to practice a little more, try a making scarf first, and then a hat to match.

4. 
    
   casting on the first stitch

   Decide how many stitches to cast on-
   
   There are two things to think about when deciding how many stitches you'll need- how big you want your hat, and how wide you want the ribbing to be.
   
   First, multiply the number of stitches per inch that you will knit by the number of inches around you want the finished hat to be.
   
   Guessing is OK if you aren't picky or don't care about the final size- after all, if it's a little small it will stretch, and if it's a little big you can roll up the brim (or shrink it, if it's wool). You can also gift it to someone with a smaller or larger head.
   
   (If you are unsure or nervous, knit a small square (about 4" x 4") and measure it to determine your average "gauge" - stitches per inch - and use that number for your calculations).
   
   For the example hat, I used a thick yarn and big needles, so I estimated I'd knit 3 stitches per inch. Doing the math (16" x 3 stitches per inch), I estimated I'd need *about* 48 stitches for a hat 16" in diameter.
   
   Now, you'll have to figure out how many stitches you will need to make the brim come out even.
   
   In a standard "2 knit stitch, 2 purl stitch" ridge pattern, the number of stitches per repetition of the pattern will be 4. So the exact number of stitches in first row would also need to be evenly divisible by 4 for the pattern to line up, so that you can join the knitted ridge at the start of your row to the purled dip at the end of your row and turn your "row" into a circle (and later a tube, and finally a hat).
   
   If you divide 48 (my size estimate) by 4 (my pattern width), you get 12- a whole number. Success!
   
   If you also got a whole number, you can skip the rest of this step.
   
   *If the result was not a whole number, you have to add or remove a few stitches from your estimate to make your pattern come out even. You can do this by rounding the result to the nearest whole number, then multiplying by the number of stitches per repetition of the pattern, to get the final number of stitches you need to cast on.
   
   For example, if I'd wanted to make a 15 inch hat, using the same 4-stitch wide pattern and assuming the same gauge of 3 stitches per inch, my *estimated* hat size would have been 45 stitches (15 inches x 3 stitches per inch = 45 stitches in a 15" hat). However, 45 stitches divided by my 4-stitch wide pattern is 11.25 repetitions- to make the pattern come out even, I would need to round my result to 11 reps, then multiply by 4 stitches per rep, to get a final hat size of

5. 
    
   knit your hat from the brim, up

   Knit-
   
   Once you've cast all your stitches onto your left needle, flip your knitting over so the empty needle is on the left and the stitches (and the non-tail end of the yarn) is on your right.
   
   The first stitch of this new row will join the non-tail end of the yarn (that is now on the right side) with the original slipknot (now the first stitch on the left needle). That stitch will close the loop and turn the row into a circle.
   
   Continue knitting around the circle until you reach the end of the row, again.
   
   Your next stitch will start another circle. With a row-circle of cast-on stitches and a second row circle-row of knit stitches as your base, you can now knit the first ridge in your ribbed pattern.
   
   After knitting the "ridge," bring the non-tail end of the yarn over the top of your knitting (between the needles) and knit the dip using "backwards," or "purl," stitches. Then, send the yarn back over to the back side of the hat, and knit a ridge. Flip the yarn over to the front, and knit a dip. Keep going until you've been around the hat a few times.
   
   Soon, you'll have a short tube of knitted yarn. That's your brim. You can make it as long or short as you like.
   
   When it's long enough for you, finish the circle you are on and switch to regular knit (or, "stockinette") stitches, knitting around and around your tube in a long spiral until it is long enough to cover the head to be hatted.

6. 
    
   begin decreasing when the tube is long enough to cover the area from your crown to your ears

   Decreasing is just like knitting, except you knit two or more stitches together with one stitch, which will gradually (or not so gradually) decrease the number of stitches in the row.
   
   You can do whatever feels best for you, but here's what I did in the example- I knit together the two stitches at the top of the columns that rose from each of "ribs," then knit the next two stitches (from the "dip" columns) normally. I did this for one "row" (aka: once circle around the hat).
   
   On the next row, I knit together the "dip" column stitches and knit the combined "rib" stitches normally.
   
   On the third decrease row, I knit each "rib" stitch to a "dip" stitch.
   
   This was about where things will get a little wonky- your cable will eventually be too long for the decreased circumference of your hat. If you want to, you can switch to a prickly array of double sided needles at this point... but, for the 5 Hour Hat, I just pull some of the cable out between the stitches and keep working. It will look strange, but it's easier and you won't drop stitches.
   
   For my second to last row, I knit 3 stitches together at a time and ended up with 4 stitches.
   
   Finally, I cut the non-tail end of the yarn free of the yarn-ball, threaded it in a spiral through those stitches, and tucked it through to the underside of the hat, where I looped it around the inside of a stitch and secured it with a knot.

7. Finishing Touches-
   
   Tuck the tail-end from that first slip-knot through a few stitches on the inside of the hat to hide it, and secure with a knot if desired.
   
   If you want to get fancy, you can make a pom-pom, or a tassel, with any leftover yarn, and attach it to the top.
   
   Or, you can leave it the way it is.
   
   These hats are simple, warm, and cozy. You'll find even the humblest hat will earn many admiring remarks from others, who will envy your mad hatter skillz.
   
   Enjoy the compliments- you earned them.
   
   Or, make good on your investment in needles and yarn by making more hats for your friends!

Tips & Warnings

• Bright colors, work really well and highlight the handmade aspect- you don't want to look like you are wearing something from a store when you wear a handmade hat, so use colors that draw attention to it.
• Multicolor yarns work especially well, because each hat you make will look very different.
• Don't use cotton yarn- always use yarn made of wool or acrylic materials. Cotton will not keep anyone's head warm if it gets wet.

Resources

• How to cast on knitting stitches
• How to knit and purl
• How to knit two stitches together