A Hat Knitting Pattern for Big Hair

Most knit hats are made for what you might call “standard” sized heads, which don’t account for having a lot of hair. Whether because you have lots of curly hair, wear locs, have braids, etc., you might find that standard hat knitting patterns just don’t fit with your style.

Fatimah Hinds discovered she had this problem, and the Big Hair Much Care hat was born. She says she found that most knit hats are too short to cover her ears once they’ve covered her head, or if they’re meant to be “slouchy” they end up being loose and uncomfortable and just not very warm.

Her design is completely customizable based on what you need for optimal head comfort. The brim is deep, but it’s also worked flat and not seamed so you can wear it open at the back if you need to and it will still keep your ears warm. If you don’t need as much space you can pin the brim together, giving you an opportunity to use a pretty pin or a fun button on your hat.

It can be styled with hair tucked into the hat or not, depending on your preference.

The top of the hat is worked in the round and the pattern has information on how to customize it to fit your hair.

The hat is worked with two strands of fingering weight yarn held double for extra warmth, and can be worked with two colors or using up your leftover yarn from other projects. Or try a DK weight yarn instead if you can get gauge that way.

You can get this pattern from Ravelry.

[Photo: Fatimah Hinds.]

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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