A college friend of mine had a baby recently and upon seeing the facebook announcement my thoughts went something like: "Oh how exciting, he's so cute! What can I knit for him? Wait, what's his name? Oh, they chose a good one. ...Baby booties would be adorable, but who actually uses those? I hope he's healthy... Oh, maybe a teensy hat!" Clearly my priorities are a bit muddled but they did result in the cutest thing on this blog yet... or maybe ever in its future existence. The hat itself is a breeze to knit and works up quickly using bulky yarn. The hardest thing is stitching the ears on so they stand out symmetrically and don't flop too much.
Since I didn't have a readily available newborn baby, I modeled the hat on a ball of yarn which I approximate to be the size of a baby's head. That ball of yarn gets cuter the longer I stare at that picture. The pattern is available for free after the jump!
Baby Yoda Knit Hat
Materials:
Yarn: Approx. 35 grams or 48 yards bulky weight yarn (I used KnitPicks Brava Bulky in "Avocado", a 100% acrylic yarn for easy care)
Needles: US Size 10 needles (circular) and US Size 4 needles (circular or straight)
Other: Yarn Needle for stitching ears onto the hat
Gauge:
3 stitches = 1 inch
Finished measurements:
15 inches in circumference around the brim; 5 inches tall (with the bottom edge slightly curled, which it will do naturally)
Abbreviations:
K - knit
K2tog - knit two together
Kfb - knit through front and back of loop
Pattern for the Hat:
CO 40 stitches and join to work in the round, making sure the stitches are not twisted
Work in stockinette stitch until the hat measures 4 inches, then start decreasing as follows:
K2tog, K6, rep. until end of row
K2tog, K5, rep. until end of row
K2tog, K4, rep. until end of row
K2tog, K3, rep. until end of row
K2tog, K2, rep. until end of row
K2tog, K1, rep. until end of row
Cut off your trailing yarn, leaving a 4 inch tail. Thread the yarn tail through the remaining stitches, pull tight, then secure the tail by knotting on the inside of the hat.
Pattern for the ears (make 2):
Switch to your US Size 4 needles (this will produce a tighter weave so the ears are less likely to droop)
CO 8 stitches (leave a 12 inch long tail which you can use later to stitch the ears onto the hat)
Row 1 & 2: K8
Row 3: K4, Kfb, K3 (9 stitches)
Row 4: K4, Kfb, K4 (10 stitches)
Row 5 - 10: K10
Row 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23: K1, K2tog, K to end
Row 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24: K all stitches
Row 25: K1, K2tog
Cut off your trailing yarn, leaving a 4 inch tail. Thread the yarn tail through the remaining stitches, secure with a knot, and weave in.
Stitch the ears onto the sides of the hat. If you fold down the curved portion of the ears and stitch them onto the hat that way, they will be less floppy and have a more authentic Yoda look.
