# Hats for Jesse and Hayden



## kimmyz (May 9, 2011)

I recently knitted these two warm hats for my nephew, Jesse (age 21) and his son, Hayden (age 1). They live up in Whidbey Island, WA which can be even wetter and colder than Seattle. I was pleased when Jesse emailed to thank me for his hat, and amused when he told me that he sometimes even sleeps in it when it gets really cold. The yarn I used for Jesses hat is as soft as alpaca, though its a blend of wool and acrylic. (See pattern for details.)

Haydens hat is also my own very simple pattern. I call it the Hat for All Ages, because its done with all ribbing stitch which stretches greatly. If he takes good care of his hat, hell still be able to wear it when hes 21 years old. Check out my pattern, and youll see what I mean. You can download both patterns by clicking on the links below.


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## speni (Nov 9, 2012)

very nice, the little one looks very happy to wear it


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## laurelarts (Jul 31, 2011)

Those are wonderful and what a beautiful family. I see where they get their looks!!!!


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## jmcret05 (Oct 24, 2011)

Lovely picture of you--and the hats! Happy Thanksgiving.


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## PearlofGreatPrice (Oct 21, 2011)

Thank you so much for sharing your patterns. I haven't yet worked with self striping yarn but after seeing all the pictures of the beautiful colors in your hats, I can't wait to try some. The colors you've chosen are all beautiful and work so well with your patterns.

TY

Pearl


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## rozzi80 (Mar 29, 2011)

Very nice hat! VERY CUTE baby!


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## Nanny Mon (May 24, 2011)

Kimmy

Your hats are wonderful. I always save your patterns.

Your nephews look great in their hats and look happy to be wearing them. The hat looks great on you too.

Thank you for sharing.


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## Naneast (Jun 12, 2011)

Very nice work! Kimmy, what a handsome family...


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## KnitnNat (Nov 17, 2012)

I love these hats! thanks for sending the patterns, will try them


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## me2memeinVT (Mar 5, 2011)

Your hats are great on these handsome fellows! and pretty Kimmy!!


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## Pocahontas (Apr 15, 2011)

Wonderful photos! The father/son pics are great - in one they are both showing their great smiles, in the other one, they both look serious. And they look fabulous in their Kimmyz hats. How sweet that Jesse emailed you a 'thank you'.
Very interesting that the hat 'grows' with you.


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## Colorado knits (Jul 6, 2011)

Great hats, pictures, and patterns, Kimmy. Thank you for posting them.


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## Homeshppr (Feb 28, 2011)

Great pattern!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: And your guys look so handsome and happy in their wonderful hats.


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## fibernut (Jun 5, 2011)

I love your hair!!! It is truely beartiful.


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## fibernut (Jun 5, 2011)

Sorry, it is so early here, I meant BEAUTIFUL hair! haha


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## inishowen (May 28, 2011)

Lovely boys in their hats. I have a nephew called Jesse. It's quite an unusual name in UK.


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## Windbeam (Jul 31, 2011)

Great looking family. Nice work on the hats!


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## AmyKnits (Aug 20, 2011)

Thanks for sharing. Such a cutie pie.... he looks wonderful in your hat and beautiful sweater. Your hair IS beautiful... I agree.


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## brenK (Dec 25, 2011)

Love the hats! I've been looking for a good fitting hat pattern for all the guys in the fam, and I think this is it! Just knowing it will fit the various head sizes is plenty of incentive for this gray haired! Thanks for sharing!


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## sharmend (Feb 14, 2012)

Adorable hats and lovely family pictures - including you!


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## minniemo (Apr 23, 2011)

Many thanks kimmy


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## SharAnn (Aug 14, 2011)

Thank you Kimmy for sharing your beautiful work and patterns. The downloads are far better than most that I have purchased. So many great pictures and easy to follow directions.


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## sharmend (Feb 14, 2012)

SharAnn said:


> Thank you Kimmy for sharing your beautiful work and patterns. The downloads are far better than most that I have purchased. So many great pictures and easy to follow directions.


Yes, I agree - great pattern and instructions and very nice of you to share.


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## tookie (Jan 30, 2012)

Wonderful hats and patterns. Thanks for sharing.


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## mmMardi (Jun 26, 2012)

Thank you for the patterns! I downloaded them both.


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## heloro (Nov 4, 2011)

unable to open download


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## Jane in New Jersey (Sep 22, 2011)

Great hats, great pictures, lovely designs. Thanks so much for sharing.


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## kdb (Aug 29, 2012)

Love the hats,and the baby is so adorable.


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## julietinboots (Feb 19, 2011)

That is one cute little one. Great pictures and the hats are great too.


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## brenK (Dec 25, 2011)

Hi kimmy, I'd love to knit the smaller hat for my grandson..age 1 1/2. Would you recommend using the boutique yarn for the smaller hat? Id like to use that, since its readily available, and i could make matching hats for him and his Dad. If so, what size needles would you suggest? My grandson lives far away, and I'm still trying to grasp "gauge"! Thanks for your patterns, and input!


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## janneygirl (Jul 6, 2011)

Really like Jesse and Hayden's hats! They are both VERY handsome guys (can see where they get their looks from, Kimmyz --- you are just as cute as you can be with "their" hats - hair and all, wonderful! you are blessed!).

Don't know why all of a sudden I'm not able to upload/download stuff... but that IS the case. Will keep trying to figure it out, though, cause I WANT those patterns!


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## crafty jeanie (Apr 1, 2011)

Very nice and I like the colors you used


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## playsbridge (Nov 18, 2011)

Hi,

Wonderful hats. Would love both patterns, but I was unable to download them. Can you send the patterns directly to me?

Thanks.
Doreen (aka "playsbridge")


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## Cali (Apr 9, 2012)

Thank you for the great patterns. It is a great idea to include a picture of the label information!!!


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## wadeallie (Feb 1, 2011)

Kimmy: Thanks for sharing this pattern. I have to knit some hats for kids charity and these will work perfectly!!


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## MelissaC (May 27, 2012)

Thanks for sharing! With 3 "men" in my house (my husband and 2 little boys) I find I can never have too many hats around. It's nice to find easy patterns that are good for many sizes.


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## CalifJane (Jul 28, 2011)

Great patterns. My daughter just asked for a non-slouchy hat in autumn color. This will be perfect. Thank you!


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## BSharbuno (Jun 7, 2012)

Thank you for sharing your two patterns. I've been looking for a basic watch cap type for my grandson and your's looks perfect.
I especially like that it is so stretchie and he won't out grow it so fast. He's 3 and I can't keep up with his growth spurts.


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## soneka (Feb 8, 2011)

Thanks so much. Always looking for a great hat pattern, and Hayden's fits this criteria! What a nice family!


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## heloro (Nov 4, 2011)

I would love to have the patterns but for some unknown reason I haven't been able to download them.


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## kimmiesmom (Sep 12, 2012)

Beautiful family and beautiful hats, kimmy! Thanks for sharing the pics and patterns.


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## janneygirl (Jul 6, 2011)

thanks Tammy for the beautiful patterns. finally figured out that i needed to right click on the "download" and select "open in new window" to pull it up and then "save as". had all but given up hope. don't know why my brain is not as quick as it once was!!! anyway... just in time for Christmas... who sez their 'ain't a Santa Claus!!!


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## heloro (Nov 4, 2011)

after someone else said to right click on download button and it worked for me also. Thank you so much for the patterns


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## kimmyz (May 9, 2011)

brenK said:


> Hi kimmy, I'd love to knit the smaller hat for my grandson..age 1 1/2. Would you recommend using the boutique yarn for the smaller hat? Id like to use that, since its readily available, and i could make matching hats for him and his Dad. If so, what size needles would you suggest? My grandson lives far away, and I'm still trying to grasp "gauge"! Thanks for your patterns, and input!


First of all, thanks to everone for all the wonderful compliments! I'm so happy that many will try these easy patterns. I wouldn't use the Boutique Treasure yarn with the "Hat for All Ages" pattern - at least not as written. It would come out ENORMOUS. If you look at the pattern, I cast on 100 stitches. So you would have to use a fine yarn like the King Cole Riot DK for that many stitches (and the recommended smaller needles). You can certainly make a rib stitch hat with the bulky Red Heart yarn. But you'd have to drastically reduce the number of cast on stitches. The label for the Boutique Treasure yarn recommends size 10 (US) needles [6 mm] for this gauge: 16 sts x 24 rows=4 inches [10 cm]. So, assuming you can get this gauge with your OWN knitting, measure the head and multiply this by 4 (4 sts=1 inch). E.G. small adult head = 20" x 4 = 80 sts. Then deduct 2 inches for a snug fit (2 x 4 = 8 sts less). Subtract 8 from 80 = 72 sts. So for a 20-inch head cast on 72 sts if you're using the Boutique Treasure yarn and size 10 [6 mm] needles. Keep in mind that if you're doing the rib stitch, it's very stretchy so you might be able to get by with even fewer stitches. But this will be a guideline for how to determine the number of cast on stitches for a hat for anyone.


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## mcronan (Sep 14, 2011)

Cute hat and great models!  I have two questions...What length circular needles do you recommend, and do you think Deborah Norville alpaca yarn would work for either hat? I thought about knitting in two strands. (?)


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## kimmyz (May 9, 2011)

mcronan said:


> Cute hat and great models!  I have two questions...What length circular needles do you recommend, and do you think Deborah Norville alpaca yarn would work for either hat? I thought about knitting in two strands. (?)


I assume you're talking about Alpaca Dance by Premier yarns? This is an Aran weight yarn, so it would work for Jesse's Hat which was knit with an Aran weight. For Hayden's hat, I used a much finer yarn - King Cole Riot DK. Although the latter is classified as "DK", I find it to be considerably finer - anywhere from sport to fingering weight. It's a roving type, single-ply yarn with thick and thin sections, but nothing heavier than sport weight. If you use an Aran weight yarn with Jesse's pattern it would turn out much too large, but you can always cut down on the number of cast-on stitches and go from there. Hope this helps.


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## kimmyz (May 9, 2011)

mcronan said:


> Cute hat and great models!  I have two questions...What length circular needles do you recommend, and do you think Deborah Norville alpaca yarn would work for either hat? I thought about knitting in two strands. (?)


I forgot to answer your question about the needle length in my previous post. When I knit in the round, I use TWO circular needles. Both needles are 29 inches long. I use this method for almost all circular knitting, large or small. I rarely use DPNs or magic loop. But this is a matter of personal preference. If you'd like to learn how to knit with TWO circular needles, you can view Cat Bordhi's videos:
















Try it. You might like it. It certainly works for me, and I use this method for hats, socks, sweaters, nearly everything. One benefit of this method is that you never have to worry about your work slipping off the needles between knitting sessions. No point protectors required. And you always know when you get to the end of the round (when you finish knitting all the stitches on the second needle).

Occasionally, I get out my Addi Turbo Click Interchangeables for larger projects like sweaters and jackets. For example, on my current (top-down) project, I started out with two 29-inch circulars at the neck, then switched to one 47-inch needle, then one 60-inch needle (to go over the shoulders), then back to one 47-inch needle for the body under the arms. This allows me to try on the sweater as I knit it. This is the beauty of interchangeable needles. You can keep changing the cable length as your project grows or decreases.

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/kimmyz/climb-every-mountain

Some people like using a single 16-inch needle for hats knit in the round, but if you do that, at some point, you'll have to switch to DPNs when you get toward the crown. Again, I prefer knitting with TWO 29-inch circulars for the entire hat.


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## Knittingkitty (Sep 25, 2011)

Adorable baby, love both hats! Thank you so much for sharing the patterns!


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