A Hat to Knit in a Hurry

Because it’s panic time for gift knitters, or the time of year when you just might want some simple, quick knitting patterns to ease the stress of the season, I’ve been looking around for some quick to knit projects.

I was looking for a fast-knit hat and I found this cute one, the Sideways Garter Hat from Classic Elite Yarns.

It’s worked in bulky yarn from side to side and uses short rows to give it a sweet pixie shape. It’s an easy way to learn short rows because in Garter Stitch you don’t have to use wraps to cover up the holes.

It looks like a hat that’s enough fun and worked with big enough yarn that you could finish it in a day or two if you still need to knit a gift or want to keep your own ears warm.

It was designed by Susan Mills and can be downloaded from Ravelry.

[Photo: Classic Elite Yarns.]

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Sometimes I feel like knitters get intimidated to try new things because they think they need to start with a big project. Your first time working in the round doesn’t need to be a sock, and your first colorwork doesn’t need to be a sweater, for example. You can find little projects that use the skills you want to learn to build your confidence before you move on to something that requires more time commitment.

This adorable knit bunny, for example.

The colorwork bunny from Knit Picks was designed by Amy Munson and is a kind of bowling pin shaped bunny complete with a knit hat, contrasting inner ears and a little stranded colorwork on its body. Note that the ears are attached the the hat not the bunny, but you could stitch them to the bunny if you’d rather.

It’s worked from the bottom up and also has a tiny pompom tail you can’t see in the picture but it’s a really cute touch. There are a variety of little fair isle patterns to choose from to make the best bunny for you.

The bunny comes out about 8 inches tall (or just over 20 cm) and use several colors to complete the colorwork, depending on the design you choose.

You can purchase the pattern by itself from Knit Picks, or make a kit that includes sport weight yarn in all the colors you need for your creation. There are gray and brown options for the main body of the bunny, but of course if you’re using your own yarn you can make it whatever color you like.

Once you’ve tried colorwork (maybe also working in the round and shaping if those are skills you haven’t used before) in a little project like this you’ll be ready to take on something bigger in no time.

Check out the pattern on Knit Picks.

[Photo: Knit Picks]

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