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Garter-stitch hat with short row shaping

This pattern creates a baby hat that is super stretchy and will grow with baby’s head.

Yarn: Worsted Weight (i.e. Plymouth Encore, Plymouth Jelli Beenz (used in green hat above) - less than one ball of either of those yarns)
Gauge: 8 garter stitch ridges (16 rows) = 1.5 inches
Needles: US7 (4.5 mm)
Finished size:
Hat Diameter at bottom = 6-inches, unstretched
Hat Circumfrance at bottom = 12 inches, unstretched

Stitches:
w&t = Wrap and Turn. Slip next stitch to right needle as if to purl, bring yarn to front between the needles (do not bring yarn over the needle), return slipped st to left needle, turn work.)

kwtog – Knit Wrap and Wrapped Stitch Together. Insert tip of right needle under the wrap as if to knit, then into the wrapped stitch (the stitch on left needle), and knit both loops together (the wrap and the stitch).

Pattern:

Cast on 25 stitches (your non-working tail of yarn will end up being at the top of the hat)
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K24, w&t (wrap and turn)
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: K23, w&t (wrap and turn)
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: K22, w&t (wrap and turn)
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: K21, w&t (wrap and turn)
Row 9: Knit
Row 10: K20, w&t (wrap and turn)
Row 11: Knit
Row 12: K20, kwtog 5 times (last 5 stitches)

Repeat Row 1 to Row 12 (7 more times). Sequence repeated a total of 8 times.

One way to finish:
Bind off all stitches and weave in ends.
Seam up the hat (cast on row to bound off row) using mattress stitch.

Another way to finish:
Use the 2nd needle and pick up 25 stitches from the cast on edge and do a 3-needle bindoff (see this article for how-to). It makes a less bulky seam on the inside of the hat.

There will be a hole at the top of the hat. Finish as you’d like (one method given below).

Top of the hat:
Pick up 8 stitches on 2 dpns
knit in round for 2 rounds
K2TOG all the way around until 4 st remain
Combine onto one dpn
Create I-Cord with these 4 stitches - long enough to tie in a knot, or shorter if you just want a little point. Bind off and weave in the end. Voila!