Finally! Something has finally been created in this house. Oh how that sets things to right! Or at least on the way to "right"!
When unpacking and sorting all the winter gear I noticed a lack in the hat department for the littles. Well...that's not entirely true. They have hats. I won't deny that. But some of those hats are several seasons old and everyone loves a new winter hat! The material point though is that I have been positively itching to knit something. Hats were the answer! With a remarkably quick time on the needles they are the perfect opportunity to try all sorts of fun things. I paid quite a few visits to ravelry...such an awesome resource...and have lots of exciting patterns to put on the needles. The firs to make it off the needles however, is the perfect little beanie for a perfect little beanie of a boy. I added a visor to the brim for a bit of fun and just love it! (More on how to do that in just a minute!) It sure feels wonderful to have something off the needles and onto a little head. It sort of got the momentum going, and it sure is nice to be creating again. On the needles now...another perfect visored beanie...this one in
purples and pinks, and a flower embellishment. Oh boy have we entered the phase of "only fancy clothes mama"...!
It's actually remarkably simple to add visor to a folded brim beanie. Simple enough that it makes it very very difficult to resist going a bit nutsy with this super cute hat feature. Here's how I did it!
Materials: Beanie with a folded brim
Yarn needle and yarn to match the hat
Paper, scissors, and a pencil
Plastic...the weight of a flexible binder cover, plastic needle point canvas, etc.
Step 1. Knit or acquire a beanie with a folded brim.
Step 2. Draw a visor shape on a folded piece of paper. Measure first on your intended hat wearer to make sure the visor is the size you'd like. For me, I measured temple to temple....then drew half of a banana shape.
Step 3. Cut out your visor shape and check it out on your wearer. Make any adjustments.
Step 4. Trace and cut out your shapes onto your plastic sheet. I was using a sheet of plastic stiffener from the bottom of a reusable shopping bag which was a bit lighter weight than I wanted so I cut out two and stacked them. (It's what I had on hand and I couldn't bear digging through the studio boxes for needle point canvas, or loading everyone up for a trip to a store that I haven't even located yet!!)
Step 5. Unfold the brim of the beanie and lay the visor on top of it so that the center of the inside of the curve meets the topmost edge of the brim. For this hat the brim is knit with a k2p2 ribbing, and the rest of the hat with a k6p2 pattern so it was easy to distinguish.
Step 6. Fold the brim over the visor and pin. Continue to fold the brim around the visor, stretching the knitting, and pinning as you go. You may have to reposition it a few times to get it just the way you'd like.
Step 7. Thread your yarn needle with yarn that matches the brim of your hat and stitch the visor in. Stitch close to the edge of the visor to hold it in place securely. I know it's hard but forget about common finishing techniques and split those threads to make sure that visor stays put.
Step 8. Place the hat on a little head, give them a kiss on the cheek and a little squeeze and send them out to play!
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