How to knit
A Big Hat
How to Knit a Big Hat (Step-by-Step) - Part 1
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Hello, I'm Davina from Sheep & Stitch.com and today we're knitting a big hat from start
to finish. Now this big hat is a free knitting pattern that you can get from SheepandStitch.com
or you can click the link in the description box below. The Big Hat is perfect beginners.
If you have mastered the cast-on, the cast-off, the knit and purl, then you are ready for
the Big Hat. This pattern uses all of those techniques, adds a few new ones like knitting
in around, knitting with double pointed needles, decreasing and, making a pompom.
That might sound scary, but don’t worry, I'll be here guiding you through all these
techniques in the video. Now, one of the things I love about this pattern is that it knits
up quick. And that's because it's made with super bulky yarn. So once you get the hang
of this pattern, you'll be popping out Big Hats in two and a half or three hours. Basically
the time it takes to watch the Lord of the Rings or the Godfather or a Mad Men marathon,
so a really quick knit. Alright, enough talking from me, if I've convinced you, then let's
get started. Okay, so now let's talk about what you'll
need to make the Big Hat. Alright, so if you’ve got your pattern handy, let's go through the
materials list together. So first thing that you're going to need is some super bulky weight
yarn, and this yarn I've got here is Cascade Yarns Magnum and you'll need about 90 yards
of it. Alright, next thing on our list is a pair of circular needles. Now these needle
need to be 16 inches in length, so from here to here 16 inches. And the size of the needle
needs to be 10 millimetres or US size 15. Alright, next up is double pointed needles.
Now these also need to be 10 millimetres or US size 15. Alright, moving on, we will need
some stitch markers. Now a stitch marker is basically like a little ring that you can
put onto your needle and it will mark the beginning and the end of your round. Now,
if you don’t have stitch markers handy, no problem, you can use a ring, like an actual
ring that you put onto your finger. No problem. Now, if you don’t have a ring of a stitch
marker, you can use a hair tie or a rubber band. Basically, anything that is ring like,
you can turn into a stitch marker. Alright, next up is a pair of scissors. And
we're going to use these to make our pom pom. Another thing we're going to use to make our
pom pom is some scrap cardboard. So a box like this is totally fine or even the cardboard
on the back of a notebook. Alright, so the last thing that we're going to need is a tape
measure or a ruler. Alright, so let's move on to some of the optional things that we
may need. First optional thing is a tapestry needle. Now, a tapestry needle basically looks
like a giant sewing needle and the eye of the needle is going to be large enough to
accommodate a thread of yarn or in our case a thread of super bulky yarn.
So that will make our life a little bit easier but it's not totally necessary. Now, another
thing that you may want to have around is a tin or a jar that measures 3.5 inches in
width. So this is going to help us trace out our circle when we're making our pom pom.
But it's not totally necessary, it's just a nice to have. Another thing that's nice
to have is a pop bottle top. So something like this that measures about one inch across
and we're also going to use this as a tracing tool. But if you don’t have these around,
no problem, we can just use our tape measure or our ruler.
Alright, now if you’ve got these things handy, then we are ready to make the Big Hat.
So let's get started. So now we're ready to cast on 44 stitches with the long tail cast-on.
So the long tail cast-on is different from our easy cast-on from our previous video in
that the long tail cast-on gives us a stretchier edge. And this is great for our Big Hat. So
if you look at the Big Hat, this is actually going to be our cast-on edge. So you can see
why you'd want this edge to be quite stretchy because it's actually the beginning of your
hat. So if you fold it up like this, you’ll want
the edge to be quite loose and not bunched up and pulling in. It will also help you accommodate
a larger head if you have a larger head and that's totally cool. Alright, so let's get
started. What you'll need is your super bulky weight yarn and you'll need to measure about
70 inches or about six feet in from the edge of your yarn. So you'll just measure it out
like this. I've actually measured it already. And once you’ve got to the 70 inch point,
we're going to make a slip knot. So, as with our easy cast-on, we'll just make a little
loop like this and then we'll take our yarn end that is the long tail right here and we'll
move it to the back of our loop. And then we're just going to take this yarn
tail and pull it in through the loop so that we've got a really giant slipknot. Now, of
course your slipknot doesn’t need to be this giant but just for illustration purposes,
I've made it huge. So now with our circular needle, we're going to push it through the
slip knot and then we're going to tighten it up like so. So here is our first cast-on
stitch. Alright, so you'll notice that the cast-on stitch has two yarn threads coming
off of it. Now we want the yarn thread that is facing us, so this one to actually be our
long tail. Right now our long tail edge is in the back.
So how we're going to do this is we're going to take our stitch and just move it right
off the needle, turn it around and place it back on the needle, just like that. So now
you'll notice that the yarn in front is actually my long tail and that's exactly what I want.
Alright, so now we're going to move on to actually putting some of this yarn on to our
needle with the long tail cast-on. So now we've got our first cast-on stitch on our
needle and we're going to put more onto our needle with the long tail cast-on.
So what you're going to do is you're going to take your left hand and we're going to
need these two fingers first, so these two fingers. And what we're going to do with our
two fingers on our left hand is we're going to clamp down on these two yarn threads. Alright,
so we're going to use these two fingers, clamp down on our yarn threads like this and then
we're going to use our thumb and this finger here, forefinger, I'm not sure what it's called.
Your yarn or your thumb and this finger to push open the yarn threads like this. So let's
do that again. We're going to use these two fingers, clamp
down on our two yarn threads and we're going to use our thumb and the finger right beside
our thumb to open up the yarn threads like this. So I call this the clamp and open sesame.
Don’t ask me why, it just sort of came to me. So how it works again is two fingers on
your left hand, clamp down on these two yarn threads with your thumb and with this finger,
we're going to open sesame. And you see a little bit of a diamond shape like this, right,
a diamond shape. And so I want you to try and do that a few
times and get comfortable with it. Do a clamp and then open sesame. And move your hand around
like this a few times just to get comfortable with it because when we actually do our cast-on,
we're going to be moving our hands around like that a lot. Also, when you're doing this,
you can keep a finger clamped down on your actual first stitch so it doesn’t move around.
You can keep it sturdy. Alright, so let's try that one more time. With these two fingers,
clamp down on our two threads. With our thumb and with this finger, we're
going to push into our two threads and do an open sesame like this. So clamp, open sesame.
And move your hand around back and forth. Alright, so practice that a few times and
then I promise we're going to start putting some stitches on this needle. Alright, so
now you are an expert at the clamp and open sesame. Hopefully, you’ve done some practices
and we're comfortable clamping and opening sesame and moving your hand back and forth
like that. Alright, so if that's you, then we can start putting some stitches on this
needle. So how we start is of course the clamp and
the open sesame. So what we're going to do is we're going to move our hand to the left
like this so that you can see the two-yarn threads flowing through my fingers. You want
your hand like this and not like this. So like this and then we're going to take our
needle and we're going to touch it to our thumb and then we're going to push our needle
through this loop that our thumb has made. And then we're going to turn our hand like
this and we're going to put our needle through the second loop here and then we're going
to turn our hand again. And our needle is going to go through that
first loop that our thumb made and we're going to pull down. So here is our second cast-on
stitch with the long tail cast-on. Alright, so if that looks kind of crazy and kind of
confusing, don’t worry, we're going to do it a few more times. Okay, so again, we're
going to do our clamp, our open sesame like this and then we're going to move our hand
to the left so that the two threads are facing us. So again, not like this but like this.
And then we're going to take our needle, touch it to our thumb.
Move it into the loop and then we're going to move our hand to the front and then we're
going to put our needle through the second loop and then back through our original loop
on our thumb and we're going to pull through. Alright, so now we've got three cast-on stitches,
pretty cool. Alright, let's do it again. So, clamp, open sesame, move our hand to the left,
touch our needle to our thumb, go through the loop, turn our hand, go through the second
loop and bring it back home through our loop on our thumb and pull through.
Let's do it again. Clamp, open sesame, move our hand touch our thumb, go through the loop,
turn our hand, go through the second loop and then go through our original loop on our
thumb and pull down. Alright, so now we've got five stitches on our needles and we need
44 stitches, so we've got 39 more of these to go. So don’t worry, if this is making
you nervous, just try it a couple of times, watch really closely and you'll be fine. Alright,
so again clamp, open sesame, move our hand to the front so that the two-yarn threads
are facing us. Bring our needle down, touch your thumb, move
it into the loop, turn our hand again, go through the second loop here, turn our hand
yet again and move it through this original loop on our thumb and just pull through. Alright,
so once you get the hang of it, you can go pretty fast and you can get a rhythm on it.
See how fast I did that and once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to go just as fast,
like this. Alright, so just practice this a few times. Go slow if you want, you can
say the words out loud if that helps you clamp, open sesame, see the two threads, touch your
thumb, go through the loop, through the second loop and then back to the original loop and
pull down, okay? So do this until you’ve got 44 stitches
on your needle, at which point we're going to join it in the round so we can start knitting
our hat. Alright, so now we've got 44 stitches cast-on
to your circular needle. That is awesome. Alright, so before we can join, we need to
make sure that all of our stitches are facing the right direction. We have to make sure
that they're not twisted. Don’t get them twisted. Alright, so now you can see that
these bumps here are all facing inwards and that's good. We want that. If your stitches
are twisted, they’ll look a little bit like this.
Alright, so not too pretty, a little bit obvious. Some of the stitches will be facing inwards
and some of them will be facing outwards. And it's also got this little twist here and
that's how you know your stitches are twisted. So don’t get them twisted. Get them laying
flat and all facing the same direction like this. So once your stitches are straight,
then we are seriously ready to join in the round. Okay, so what you're going to need
is your stitch marker. We're going to take our stitch marker and we're going to place
it onto our right needle. Now, remember your right needle is going to
have the yarn coming out of it and you're going to hold it in your right hand. Alright,
so with our right needle and our working yarn, we're going to knit one stitch into our left-hand
needle. Okay, so we're going to go from bottom to top into the stitch and then we're going
to go from back to front with our working yarn and we're going to pull through, and
there is our first stitch. So, now you'll notice that our row is connected in a circle.
So we have successfully joined in the round. Awesome job.
Alright, so let's move on. Now you'll notice in our pattern, it says that we need to knit
2x2 rib until the piece measures 2.5 inches from the cast-on edge. Now the 2x2 rib is
basically a knit two, purl two and that's repeated all the way around the round. So
now I've just done my first knit stitch. So let's complete the 2x2 rib. I've done one
knit and I'm going to do a second knit. So knit one, knit two, there we go and then we're
going to purl two. So bring our yarn up to the front and then we're going to purl one.
There we go, purl one and then we're going to purl two and there we go.
So now we have just completed the 2x2 rib stitch, which is a knit two, purl two. So
now we're just going to keep going, keep going all the way around the round doing a knit
two, purl two until we reach the very end, at which point we will slip the stitch marker
from our left needle back to our right needle and then we'll just do the process all over
again. Alright, so let's do that together. We'll do a knit two, so a knit two and a purl
two. Okay, and so we'll just do that all the way around.
And if you look at the finished Big Hat, you'll see right here this is what we're actually
knitting up, a knit two and a purl two. A knit two and a purl two all the way around,
so that's basically what we're going to be knitting. Alright, so let's knit this 2x2
rib stitch together. Let's do it. Alright, so you have knit two and a half inches
of the 2x2 rib. Nice job. Now it's really starting to look like a hat. Alright, so let's
measure this just to make sure we've got two and a half inches. Alright, so here we go
and yup, there we are two and a half. Awesome. So now we can move on to the next step of
our pattern. So, our pattern says that we need to knit stockinette stitch for six and
a half inches, and that is awesome because on circular needles, knitting stockinette
basically means that you are knitting every single round. Alright, so now we just knit
and we're going to knit another one and on our third stitch, we are going to keep on
knitting. Awesome. Isn’t this easy? So basically you're just going to be knitting every one
of your stitches for six and a half inches. Pretty relaxing, right? So you can watch your
favorite show or listen to your favorite podcast and have some tea and do whatever you like
because it's going to be pretty smooth sailing from here on out until you have six and a
half inches of stockinette stitch. So, you probably already know what stockinette
stitch looks like because you’ve seen the Big Hat. But in case you want a reminder,
it looks like this. Here we go: lovely stockinette stitch. Alright, so this is what it looks
like, and you're going to knit six and a half inches until we hit the point where we need
to decrease. And that's where the double pointed needles come in, but you don’t have to worry
about that for now. For now you are going to knit every stitch and every round.
Alright, so just keep on knitting. And once you get six and a half inches of stockinette
stitch or nine inches from the cast-on edge, then we can start decreasing. So keep on knitting,
have a great time, relax, put up your feet and I'll see you in a little bit.
Alright, so now you’ve knit six and a half inches of stockinette stitch. That is so awesome.
Look at all of that stockinette stitch. Now our hat is really starting to look like a
hat. Awesome. Alright, so now let's do a quick measurement to see that we are on the right
track. So let's see, let's measure this out. Six and a half. Perfect. For a total of nine
inches. Six and a half plus two and a half of rib
is nine inches. Perfect. Alright, so now let's move on to our decrease round. Now, our hat
is looking very tube-like,like a giant tube. So we want to narrow in this tube so that
it reaches a little point, a crown, if you will, so that it will be a real hat and not
a giant tube. And we'll get that by decreasing. So let's look at our first decrease round.
What we need to do is knit two, knit two together, to end. So what that means is that we're going
to knit two stitches like this. So one and two and we're going to knit two
together and that's exactly what it sounds like. Instead of knitting one stitch, we're
going to knit two stitches. So one, two, so we'll slide our needle into two stitches and
we'll just knit them as if they were one stitch. So there we go. Two stitches are now one stitch.
So we have now decreased one stitch. And we'll just do that again. We'll do that repeat throughout
the entire round. So we will do a knit two - one, two - and then we're going to knit
two together. Here is two stitches, and we're just going
to knit them together like that. Cool. So now we've just done two repeats of the decrease.
So now we'll do it again: knit two, and knit two together. Here we go, so repeat this throughout
the whole round, all the way around until your reach the beginning of the round, and
then we'll just knit one row plain. Alright, so meet me back here when you’ve done that
and we'll move on to row three of our decrease round.
