Bear Ears Hat Knitting Pattern

I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to resist the cuteness of a hat with animal ears on it. Whether for little ones or even adults, adding ears to a hat just ramps up the cuteness factor, and it’s really not any more difficult and doesn’t take much longer to add ears to the top of a hat.

>>> While you are here, check out these 10 Teddy Bear patterns for Valentine’s day. <<<

When my kid was younger I made hats that looks like bears, cats and bunnies (and of course I made a version of a cat hat for adults, too). Ears are a great little detail that makes a plain hat that much cuter. And there’s something about little kids in hats with ears that seems to make both the kid and the hat extra cute.

This bear ears hat knitting pattern from Fox & Pine Stitches uses super bulky yarn and is sized for newborns, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-3 years and 4-12 years (though the same size hat would fit a 4 year old and a 12 year old quite differently; check the head measurement against the child you’re knitting for to make sure it will fit).

This little hat would be so cute to knit for a pregnancy announcement and to use in a newborn photo shoot, or make them for all the kids in your family for super cute holiday photos. And of course you could add the same style of ears to a bulky hat for any age to make coordinating head gear for everyone in the family.

The pattern is available for free from Fox & Pine Stitches.

Looking for more cute projects for baby? Check out my collection of easy baby blanket knitting patterns and a more recent list of baby blanket knitting patterns. (Baby blankets are my favorites, but hats are great to knit for babies, too, and you can always make both for a super sweet and thoughtful gift!)

[Photo: Fox & Pine Stitches]

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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