Leftovers Hats

You know how things are when kids are little... Life is not easy!  It is blessed, that for sure, but it can get quite complicated, especially with 2 babies (my second son was born when my first was 18 months old)...  So we didn't think of holidays much back in those days, I have to be honest...

But a couple of years ago, my husband and I decided our boys were big enough to travel comfortably, so we started travelling as a family.  Oh, what wonderful times we've had together!

We have always gone to cities where it is really cold, so as I looked through our photographs, I noticed that we always look the same!  Cause we wear our jackets all the time, in our pictures we are always wearing the same clothes... So I thought that if I made new hats for everyone, 2 or 3 for each, then we can rotate them, and we won't look like all our pictures were taken the same day.

If you have travelled as a group, you might know that it is important not to loose your group, so I decided to use bright leftovers to make matching hats for the whole family.

I am making these using straight needles and knitting them flat.  Once I am done knitting the hat, I sew them and weave in ends, though I must confess I am totally postponing the weaving part :)
Also I'd love to add a neon yellow pompom to each of them, so that I can locate the kids easily in the crowds, but the boys are not too happy with the idea (although they are really tempted by anything neon).  The neon yellow I am using is Tosh DK in Edison's Bulb colorway.

How do I make them?
I CO a certain amount of stitches, I am not being to precise with these.  For the kids' ones, I CO 86 st for the ribbing, and then I worked 4 rows in 1 color and 4 rows in another.  Then I switched to stockinette, increasing about a 20% percent of the stitches (increased to 102).  The stripes are not random, actually they go in a sequence: 4 rows, 2 rows, 6 rows, 4 rows...  when the hat measured 6 inches, I worked decreases for the crown.  I divided the stitches in groups of 10 (I left out 1 stitch for each seam), and I decreased a stitch from each group  every 2 rows.  Then I drew the yarn through the remaining stitches (10) and seamed the body.

As you can see, their hats are done, but now that I've made a couple, I am dreaming of new projects, so my husband's one is currently in this state, and it looks like it's going to stay this way for some time...  I am going through a terrible "startitis" crisis!

Here in Buenos Aires winter is already leaving, and we are having warmer, longer days...  However I always, always dream of new sweaters... I have some Arroyo yarn from Malabrigo that's been calling me for a long time... Long time no Mal on my needles!  I'll have to remedy that soon.

Hope you have a great week!!

~Joji