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Hand-Painted Preemie Hat

I love buying hand-painted yarn, but then I’m inevitably disappointed when I knit it up. The gorgeous, vibrant colours suddenly pool or stripe in weird ways that make the ugliest little hats. But when I use a textural stitch, like seed stitch, suddenly the yarn regains its charm and the hat becomes delightful!

You can see how the stitches break up the lines of colour and give it an almost tweedy effect.

Top view

I’ve worked out the top decreases in the seed stitch pattern to keep the effect going right up to the top. I’ve tried decreasing in seed stitch a couple different ways over the years, but this pattern uses my favourite. I hope you like it, too.

The pattern for these little hats includes sizes from micropreemie up to a full-term newborn. You’ll need size 2 US needles for working in the round. I prefer using two circs, but any technique will do.

You can grab the free download here:
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Leafalicious Hat Pattern

Here it is, in all its glory:

Leafalicious Hat

Knit in bulky-weight yarn (shown here in hand-spun, hand-dyed yarn that a friend sent me — isn’t she nice?) with size 9 US (5.5mm) circular needles, the Leafalicious hat is knit in the round from the top down. You’ll use interesting stitches like Judy’s Magic Cast On, LRinc, kfb, seed stitch, and a lace repeat. But with the bulky yarn, it still ends up being a fairly quick knit.

I had a blast watching the colours move in zig zags through the Leafalicious stitch pattern, and I can only imagine how cool this would look in a fall colourway to really imitate the changing of the seasons. If you knit one up, be sure to send me a picture or post it on Ravelry where I can see it! 🙂

You’ll need two size 9 US circular needles, stitch markers, and one skein of a fabulous bulky yarn. The pattern is available for $5 as a Ravelry download, or by clicking the link below. Watch for the matching Leafalicious Mitten/Fingerless Mitten Pattern, which is almost ready for publication.

Happy knitting!

Leafalicious on my kitchen table
Leafalicious -- back & top view