This turned out too cute not to share right away. A friend sent me a picture of a baby wearing a crocheted turkey hat and asked if I could make something similar. It was adorable, so I quickly agreed. I decided to knit the hat instead of crocheting it since the knit hat would be much stretchier. I didn’t have the baby with me to try the hat on. I looked online, but none of the patterns I found were quite what I wanted. Below is the pattern I made up. It turned out soooooo cute!
Materials:
- 5 US Size 6 double pointed knitting needles
- Extra needle or stitch holder
- Stitch markers
- Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice Yarn in Honey and White
- Polyester filling
- Tapestry needle
- Crochet hook (optional)
Stitches:
- Knit (K)
- Pearl (P)
- Slip (S)
- Knit Two Together (K2tog)
- Slip Slip Knit (SSK)
- Knit Front and Back (KFB)
- Bobble
Hat Instructions:
With Honey, cast on 72 stitches and distribute them evenly on four double pointed needles.
Join in round (being careful not to twist!) and knit each round until the piece is 5 inches long. The brim of the hat will be rolled. Unroll it to measure your 5 inches.
Crown:
R1: K21, K and place marker on next stitch, K50 (72 stitches)
R2: K72
R3: K48, K and place marker on next stitch, K23 (72 stitches)
R4-7: K72
R8: (K4, K2tog, SSK, K4) 6 times (60 stitches)
R9: K60
R10: (K3, K2tog, SSK, K3) 6 times (48 stitches)
R11: K48
R12: (K2, K2tog, SSK, K2) 6 times (36 stitches)
R13: K36
R14: (K, K2tog, SSK, K) 6 times (24 stitches)
R15: K24
R16: (K2tog, SSK) 6 times (12 stitches)
Cut the yarn with several spare inches. Thread a tapestry needle and pull yarn through all 12 stitches on needles. Work in ends.
Leg Instructions:
The tricky part of the leg is getting started. You will need to pick up 16 stitches from the hat. At the first marker, they should be picked up using Honey as shown in the figure below. The number 1 corresponds to the first marked stitch on the hat. Pick up the stitches in numerical order. I find it easier to pick up the stitches using a crochet hook. Place stitches 1 and 2 on the first needle, 3-6 on the second needle, 7-10 on the third needle, 11-14 on the forth needle, and 15-16 on an extra needle or stitch holder. A picture of the stitch placement is also shown below.
After completing the first leg (see pattern below), pick up stitches for the second leg using the same method, but starting in a different place. The number 1 in the figure below corresponds to the second marked stitch.
Once the stitches are picked up, you are ready to knit! The piece is worked back and forth for several rows and then worked in a round. The pattern is the same for both legs once the stitches are picked up.
R1: Starting with the marked stitch, K4, turn
R2: S1, P4, turn
R3: S1, K1, KFB twice, K2, turn
R4: S1, P8, turn
R5: S1, K1, KFB, K, KFB twice, K, KFB, K2, turn
R6: S1, P14 turn
R7: S1, K1, (KFB, K1) three times, (K1, KFB) three times, K2, turn
R8: S1, P22, turn
R9: S1, K1, (KFB, K) four times, K5, (KFB, K) four times, K3
R10: Continuing in round, K36
R11-14: K36
R15: K6, K2tog, SSK, K4, K2tog, SSK, K2tog, SSK, K4, K2tog, SSK, K6 (28 stitches)
R16: K5, K2tog, SSK, K2, K2tog, K2, SSK, K2, K2tog, SSK, K5 (22 stitches)
R17: K4, K2tog, SSK, K2tog, K2, SSK, K2tog, SSK, K4 (16 stitches),
(Place polyester filling in leg)
R18: (K2tog, SSK) four times (8 stitches)
R19-23: K8
R24: Break Honey and start knitting with White, K8
R25: (K1, K2tog, K1) twice (6 stitches)
R26: K1, Bobble, K2, Bobble, K1
Place more polyester filling in the leg if you wish. Bind off. I used the Kitchener stitch to bind off.
Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult
Time Required: 4 Movies
Overall Experience: Excellent
Hilarious. Very funny. You made my day! Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you SO much for the excellent instructions and for making this pattern free!!
The holiday being over and done now, I plan to create at least one of these for next year,
Thank you! I hope you can make it next year. The hats turn out really cute!
I’m having a hard time picking up the stitches for the leg. Do you have a video of how you started it? Is it easier to knit it separately then attach?
I couldn’t pick up my stitches with my knitting needles. I used a crochet hook. I don’t have a video available. I’ll try to explain the process. I slid the hook under the “base” stitch where I was going to pick up a new stitch, wrapped the yarn around the hook, and pulled up a loop. I placed that loop on my needle. I repeated the process for the next stitch. I haven’t tried making the legs separate and sewing them on. The shaping might turn out a little funky. If you have other questions or would like a video, please let me know.
Okay another question. It looks like the legs just sit on either side just below the seams of the crown, is that right? My pm’s fell out!!:(
Sent from my iPhone
>
You should be able to count your rows and figure out where your markers should have been. First, flatten your hat so you have a front and back. On the right side of the fold, you should be able to see where you began decreasing. Count down six rows and left four stitches from your first decrease. Place a marker. On the left side, find where you began decreasing. Count down four rows and right six stitches. Place a marker. I hope this helps!
I think I found them…:) Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone >
I am having some difficulty determining exactly how to do this – know how to pick up stitches along an edge but am not certain how to do this away from the edge. I am a bit confused on how to get the working yarn to the right side after picking up the stitches (working yarn on the wrong side). Should I “pull” the working yarn to the right side after picking up stitches from the wrong side? Thanks so much! Adorable pattern!
Love this little hat! Making it for my grand baby’s first Thanksgiving. On the legs, the instruction is KFB twice-do you mean do in the same stitch twice or the next two stitches?
I’m glad you like the hat! When I say KFB twice I mean to KFB in the next two stitches.
Love the hat, in the process of making one. However I need help. Up to R8 I’m good then for R9 no matter what I only have 34sts. What am I doing wrong.