Give Away and small knitted hat tutorial
I have been making little ornaments for gifts and thought I would share my super simple knitted hat pattern with you. (please use it for personal use and gifts only! Thanks folks).
The little wooden blank dolls are from Winterwood but you can get loads on etsy from sellers such as Goose Greese Undone or Gemmielou. The head diameter of the ones I use is about 2cm.
I use 4 ply sock wool and I like using the variegated stuff (is that what a yarn buff would call it? the Patons stuff is called “Patonyle”) so that I get spontaneous stripes and patterns. My needles are size 2 3/4 (that’s 12 English size and 2 US size apparently!).
So; make a cup of tea, crack out the gingerbread, wield your long skinny needles and…
Cast on 20 stitches
Row 1: Knit 2, purl 2 and repeat until the end of the row
Repeat for two more rows to make the ribbing.
Next row: Knit row
Next row: Purl row
Next row: You will now begin to decrease to make the pointed hat. Knit 2 together and then knit to the end of the row.
Next row: Purl 2 together and then purl to the end of the row.
Repeat until you have one stitch left on your needle. Cast off.
Turn right sides together and sew sides together using row ends, leaving the bottom of the hat open. Turn inside out, using a chop stick or a knitting needle head to push the tip through. Embelish with sequins and beads or with simple embroidered details. Glue it to your little doll’s head.
And now the give away part – I will be making three of these little christmas ornaments to hang on the tree and will give them away to three lucky commenters. All you need to do is leave a (one only) comment (of the creative and eloquent kind – natch!) on this post and I will draw three random numbers out of the hat next week. Comments will be closed on Monday 14th December 2009 7am Australian EST. Thanks! xx
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Edit to say: Comments now closed! Thank you. I will draw three winners later today.
Responses
11th December 2009 at 12:30 pm
Oh they are the most adorable little things! Thanks for sharing the hat tute. Will have to add it to my long list of christmas decorations I’d like to make 
11th December 2009 at 12:34 pm
Oh, Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
With dollies dressed in knitted wear,
Would dress my tree; it is so bare!
Oh Loobylu, oh, Loobyu!
How lovely are your ornaments!
I cannot knit, I wish I could,
I’ll have to start to end up good,
Oh, Loobylu, Oh, Loobylu,
How lovely are your patterns!
11th December 2009 at 12:59 pm
Very sweet!
11th December 2009 at 1:05 pm
^^ i vote for her! anyways – re: your pattern, it’s fine, and sock yarn which has been machine dyed to pattern a particular way is usually called self patterning or self striping. but hey…variegated works just fine for me too!
11th December 2009 at 1:16 pm
oh, too cute claire!
i’m off to find some teeny tiny needles & start knitting!
11th December 2009 at 1:20 pm
hey claire, ‘natch’ – you are so street! just looked up the meaning and now I am feeling part of the gang too! (I am trying to hide my embarrassment of not knowing the meaning beforehand)
merry merry joy joy
11th December 2009 at 2:13 pm
Wish I’d had this lovely tut a couple years ago when I was trying to puzzle out how to knit tiny hats for little chickens in a book I was illustrating! I started out knitting on shish-kabob skewers until I discovered they actually make skinny, skinny needles. I love the expressions on your little people – so much personality.
11th December 2009 at 2:23 pm
Oh how precious they are! I can’t knit to save myself, but I sure do LOVE to crochet!!! 
I just don’t know how to transfer said knitting directions into a crochetted masterpiece.
Sigh… Oh well. I guess I can set my heart on winning these little treasures and all my chrissie dreams just might come true!!
Thanks for sharing your creativity!
x
11th December 2009 at 2:25 pm
First, thanks for your comment about the Texas snow on my blog. I’m guessing snow is pretty rare in Austrailia where you are too?
Your dolls remind me of some that my mom had that I used to play with as a child when they would come out during Christmas. Fond memories.
Oh, and if the winner is based on creative talent, I vote for Erica! Love that!
11th December 2009 at 2:39 pm
Merry Christmas to all! I don’t know if I could convince my daughter to keep these ornaments on the tree, but they are mighty lovely.
11th December 2009 at 2:46 pm
Lovely ornaments and a great pattern; makes me want to put down the regular sized hat (that’s gone quite terribly wrong and is supposed to be for Christmas) and knit up a cute little one instead. My girls would love these for their “guys”. Thank you Loobylu!
11th December 2009 at 3:04 pm
They are so sweet.Love their little faces that are so Loobylu.Must learn to knit one day.
11th December 2009 at 3:12 pm
Since I can’t knit to save my life I will draw lots of gorgeous inspiration off these and make some felty ones. So lovely of you to have a giveaway too
11th December 2009 at 3:16 pm
absolutely the cutest! and now I’ve found a use for self-striping yarn…I fear socks, but envy my friend who makes them with this amazing yarn. Now I’ll be making teeny hats for everyone…
11th December 2009 at 3:21 pm
Oh. How. Cute.
I don’t “do” knitting.
I’ve tried many times, I have, really, but I give up all too soon, annoyed with my dull garter stitch or when I realise I DO NOT need another scarf.
I do need one of those ornaments though… I do!
11th December 2009 at 3:33 pm
Oh Claire,
This is a comment from your harshest critic: the little dolls quite made me gasp…they are so good. I like the button and bobbles and the little one standing on her bobbles is perfect!
11th December 2009 at 3:36 pm
They are ridiculously cute. My daughter (2.5 yo) is very interested in ornaments this year, and I know she’d be overly excited about something like this. The addition of the hat makes them just about perfect!
11th December 2009 at 3:40 pm
aah – I have been thinking about crocheting little hats for sack dolls – your wooden ones look wonderful and if I won them I would be released from crochet duty which at this point is seeming unlikely anway!
11th December 2009 at 3:48 pm
They are lovely. How will you hang them on the tree?
11th December 2009 at 3:53 pm
Oh, how I wish I could knit! They are absolutely lovely!
11th December 2009 at 3:59 pm
LOVE these little hats, thanks so much for the tutorial! And so appreciate the chance to win, the holidays are my favorite time of year!
♥♥♥
11th December 2009 at 4:25 pm
I have ummm 2 ornaments so another one would be so welcome, especially a cute loobylu one! I am a huge Winterwood fan, I will have to order some wooden blank dolls now.
11th December 2009 at 4:25 pm
I am sure those little lovelies that you have dolled up OH SO beautifully, would look just darling hanging in our Christmas tree next to the spiders and earwigs, that keep appearing from nowhere!!! Ooooo!
P.S. one question…
does your talent ever end?
P.P.S.
i vote oh-christmas tree chicka too
11th December 2009 at 4:35 pm
Their expressions look as if they’re hiding a secret… a nice one. A bit how the kids look when they’ve come home after buying presents.
11th December 2009 at 4:38 pm
How cute! Makes me wish I hadn’t given up knitting after that first knobbly square.
11th December 2009 at 4:38 pm
A little Christmas angel to nestle in my tree
Her woolly hat from Loobylu….
How lovely it would be….
Please pick me… pretty please !!
11th December 2009 at 5:18 pm
Oh gorgeous! I can see some princesses with knitted hats in my future. Thank you so much for sharing the hat pattern.
11th December 2009 at 5:24 pm
They look like they’re about to sail away in those ‘giant geese’….. Gorgeous! (pick me, pick me…)
11th December 2009 at 5:37 pm
they are adorable and my girls would welcome them up here in Brisbane, but know that Mommy will never knit those tiny hats LOL. they are amazed enough that i have taken up sewing and embroidery…
11th December 2009 at 5:44 pm
Thanks for the super quick and easy hats…my kind of knitting project!
11th December 2009 at 5:48 pm
Beautiful. Now if you could kindly jump on a plane to the UK, catch a train out to Clacton on Sea, and help me with my HUGE list of pre-Christmas tasks, I might be able to find the spare 6-7 hours it would take me to knit one of these hats!(Knitting being one of my s l o w e r talents!)
Merry Christmas!
11th December 2009 at 6:13 pm
well, I have learnt a new word too. One can never have too many new words! natch.
Glad you are doing the knitting not me but I might be tempted to try that tute because the knitting bit doesnt look too big- 20 stitches- surely I could manage that. thanks for such a lovely giveaway.
11th December 2009 at 6:41 pm
These are very loobylu! I have been crocheting holly, and next are christmas beetles from crotchetroo. I would love to knit some pine cones and robins but knitting is a black art that lies slightly beyond my grasp. I tried to knit a pig once and it turned into a dugong, but this is probably because I love dugongs.
11th December 2009 at 7:03 pm
Super cute! I’ve just been making christmas hats but will have to try some smaller ones
11th December 2009 at 7:30 pm
so cute!
they remind me of a hand knitted elf and santa given to me by my sister when my first two children were born
gill x
11th December 2009 at 7:48 pm
they are so sweet! the addition of knitting always makes for a great ornament in my opinion, and the little faces are unmistakably loobylu!
11th December 2009 at 8:27 pm
Creative AND eloquent? I’m in a fluster and now all I can think of is poo, bum and wee jokes. 
11th December 2009 at 8:56 pm
These are so cute!! They would be a beautiful on my little christmas tree. Thank you
11th December 2009 at 8:57 pm
thank you for sharing, love your blog.
11th December 2009 at 9:05 pm
Now that is something I could knit. I might actually finish one by Christmas as the rate I knit! I started making a nappy cover for my eldest to fit a 6 month old. He’s now two and it’s not finished.
I lose concentration halfway through every line and forget if I’m knitting or purling…
They are gorgeous ornaments! I love little wooden ornaments – they remind me of our childhood tree. 
11th December 2009 at 11:32 pm
These are the cutest dolls/ ornaments ever!
11th December 2009 at 11:39 pm
Wow! My daughter would totally flip for one of those ornaments!
11th December 2009 at 11:41 pm
How adorable.
11th December 2009 at 11:46 pm
they’re so cute and perfect for our Christmas tree. I would love to try the knitting pattern, but I have a deadline to finish here. husband’s Christmas sweater, only two more weeks to go! eek…
12th December 2009 at 12:00 am
Thank you for sharing this. They are beautiful in any time of the year!
12th December 2009 at 12:01 am
Ah these are so cute! I am going to forward this pattern on to my sister who is the knitter : ) Oh also I don’t think I commented on it at the time but I have been thinking a lot about that Seinfeld ‘not breaking the chain’ article that you linked to a while back. I just wanted to say thanks – it was heplful! : )
12th December 2009 at 12:24 am
Adorable. I don’t think I’ll be busting out my knitting needles before the holidays, since I have exams and such, but my daughter would love some little people to play with, so maybe this will be a post-holiday project!
12th December 2009 at 12:37 am
Eeep, creative and eloquent? It’s too early in the morning for creative and eloquent, so I’ll have to settle for Squeeeeee, terribly cute Christmas ornaments! Actually, if I were to win it would be my first Christmas ornament too.
12th December 2009 at 1:09 am
Oh my goodness…those are the cutest little things I have seen this holiday season! I think that your little knitted hat might be just my speed…a knitting project I could actually finish! Hooray!
12th December 2009 at 2:10 am
I’m loving the idea of handmade Christmas decorations! These are so sweet! Thanks for sharing the tutorial too.
Arabella
12th December 2009 at 2:22 am
You were the first blogger I discovered, so many years ago, who really inspired me. Thank you for all these years (and many more to come, I hope!) of ideas and wonder.
12th December 2009 at 3:16 am
Warm and cozy nights,
I dream of Christmas and love…
eyes closed, heart open.
Merry Christmas Claire!
12th December 2009 at 3:19 am
I love their hats and capes.
12th December 2009 at 3:39 am
GAH!! So, so awesome!! I love, I love, I love!
Keep on, Claire! You are great!
12th December 2009 at 3:47 am
I think Erica wins! I promised myself that when we get back from honeymoon in Jan I will take on some kind of craft project. Any kind!
12th December 2009 at 4:13 am
I love hand-made ornaments, esp. yours! I just participated in the Small Fox ornament swap and received my first batch of Christmas ornaments ever- I’d love to add yours to the collection.
I love your work!!!
12th December 2009 at 4:58 am
I’m not sure I can do creative or eloquent (a long week teaching students who long for their holidays ate the last of it) but I can give you the Norwegian word for Christmas ornaments:
JULEPYNT!
12th December 2009 at 5:10 am
They are just darling!
12th December 2009 at 5:12 am
Utterly charming…and I have behatted wooden gnome figures (“wooden dwarves” from here) dying for this treatment. My daughter will surely be getting one in her stocking. Thank you!
12th December 2009 at 5:17 am
Those are the cutest ornaments I’ve ever seen. Thanks for giving them away. I really hope I win!
12th December 2009 at 6:00 am
Creative and eloquent? You are asking a lot for first thing Saturday morning, how about stunted and mute? Or the classic, Ummm*L* These are adorable, are any getting those cute straw hats?
12th December 2009 at 6:37 am
Long time reader, first time posting…or second. Can’t really remember. Point is, love your stuff to death. And now I’m crossing all my fingers and toes hoping I win. :]
12th December 2009 at 7:19 am
I have been making some christmas ornaments myself, but I can’t create something like this. They are beautiful! Please, count me in!
12th December 2009 at 8:25 am
Oh Claire, they are so adorable. I love their sideways glances, makes me think they’re up to mischief. I hope the leadup to christmas is a nice smooth one for you.
Have a great week
12th December 2009 at 8:30 am
Any one of these ornaments would stay up all year at my house
12th December 2009 at 8:32 am
Really cute, I love the facial expression on the dolls!
12th December 2009 at 8:50 am
These are really so cute. I ordered some blank doll bodies a while back, but haven’t had the courage to start them yet. Yours are great inspiration!
12th December 2009 at 10:15 am
Awww, one of those would just be perfect on my Christmas tree!
Thanks for the links, some of the wooden dolls might be a good thing to keep my kids occupied in the school holiays.
12th December 2009 at 11:59 am
NATCH will be my inspiration. Beat poetry:
NARLY without a G, are these little sprites
A joy it would be to have them on our gum-tree, aiiight?
Tis the season to be jolly
Cool yule, yeah, and time for folly
How bout handing over a little dolly? MAN.
Abrupt and not entirely polite ending. But I said it was Beat!!!
xx
12th December 2009 at 2:27 pm
hi claire! wow, these are really thoughtful gifts! i’m sure they will be mightily treasured in all the homes they’ll eventually settle in! blessed christmas!
12th December 2009 at 2:46 pm
Oh they would look so lovely on our tree, please pick me, they would be lovely treasures to own! Chele x
12th December 2009 at 3:17 pm
Absolutely adorable. I love little dolls–the smaller the better! So cute!
12th December 2009 at 4:17 pm
If I’m lucky enough to win you’ll save me extra chores at this time of year. Ella saw your dolls and said “oh mum we MUST make some of those, please could we make them for my friends to go with their christmas cards?”….. It’s such a mum thing, I’m madly thinking – could I possibly make 25 in a week …..!!
12th December 2009 at 7:48 pm
Dang you’re clever. They are super cute. Happy holidays my sweet. x
12th December 2009 at 8:22 pm
I am too tired to be creative and/or eloquent, but I would still love a doll!! hahaa!
12th December 2009 at 10:24 pm
Hi Claire,
Your name is awesome! (Hope this is enough to seal the deal!).
Claire
13th December 2009 at 12:07 am
I hope I can be one of the lucky ones, they remind me of my girls. Are you growing vegies at the moment? The rain has been good for it.
13th December 2009 at 2:43 am
Very cool. Now to multiply it by 1000x so I can have one for my head too!
13th December 2009 at 4:18 am
I am in awe of your wonderful talent, I’d love to win.
13th December 2009 at 4:52 am
I love these. They make me nostalgic for all the German things mym mum would decorate the house with during xmas when I was a kid.
13th December 2009 at 5:49 am
Oh, how charming. I’d love a cheerful little elf maiden to keep the other elves company both on the tree and through the year in their cardboard house in the attic.
13th December 2009 at 6:46 am
La la love ya’
don’t mean maybe.
(Pixies quote.)
x Helen
13th December 2009 at 7:58 am
oooh… thanks for the pattern… I’m not a great knitter but I want to try this now!! I think I will have to! LOVE your blog THANKS
ooh…and these decorations are gorgeous!
13th December 2009 at 8:24 am
They are just so cute! I love their little hats.
13th December 2009 at 8:47 am
Hi Claire,
These hats are gorgeous and look small and quick enough to be my grown-up foray into knitting (beyond the scarves that ran like very ugly rivers).
Thanks so much for the inspiration.
13th December 2009 at 12:13 pm
Oh shucks I’m not eloquent
13th December 2009 at 12:24 pm
Ok, now I need to head down to the local kinder and pick up a tree, which I was going to do anyway, but kinda forgot till I saw your sweet ornaments (or ordaments as I used to call them).
Thanks for the reminder and the giveaway!
13th December 2009 at 1:04 pm
I’m about to start knitting classes on Monday. Looking at adorable things like this gets me that much more excited about my new venture. Very cute.
13th December 2009 at 2:29 pm
Oh! Everything you make has such personality. I’m such a fan and I’d love to welcome one of your ornaments to our tree!
13th December 2009 at 6:58 pm
Oh my, these are soooooo cute! I want a hat just like this for Christmas!
13th December 2009 at 8:19 pm
If only you left a tutorial for making the dolls too! We’re not all crafty as you. But seriously, they are just lovely and I’m inspired now to buy some blanks next year and make it a pre-Christmas craft to do with the kids. thanks for sharing
Sarah
13th December 2009 at 9:19 pm
Why is the details are so much more astonishing on tiny things? I love those hats!
13th December 2009 at 10:55 pm
What sweet little girls! I can’t possibly take on another project for the holidays, but these are going on the list for next year. Thanks also for linking to the etsy shops with supplies. I wish we had a shop like Winterwood here in the US – such beautiful stuff with reasonable prices. Happy Holidays!
14th December 2009 at 1:39 am
I love those little hats and have the yarn at the top, so I will be making a few of these today.
Thanks for the giveaway.
14th December 2009 at 2:13 am
I haven’t had a single drop of coffee this morning, so I’m not going to be of sound mind to rattle off any cleverness unfortunately, but I will say they are completely and utterly adorable. I was just looking over my Christmas tree ornaments last night, thinking of the many blog friends who have made ornaments that hang on it, makes it so special.
14th December 2009 at 2:30 am
those ornaments are adorable. Thanks for the pattern to make tiny hats and idea to use self striping yarn.
I might make some doll ornaments although I have nothing to make heads with.
14th December 2009 at 2:34 am
We’re doing a pink Christmas tree in my daughter’s room and one of these would be perfect for it. I love them!
14th December 2009 at 2:56 am
Adorable! Plus, i love tiny knitted things, like sweaters and socks. I have a small tree that’s sits on a shelf and now I think I want to fill it with little hats!
14th December 2009 at 3:30 am
LOVE! What pen do you use to draw on the wood? All the ones I have bleed really bad. I even tried a sharpie paint pen, but it bleeds through the grain.
14th December 2009 at 4:36 am
These are so very cute! Reminds me of my two little girls.
14th December 2009 at 4:59 am
Knitting things that small makes my teeth itch. But I would love to have one that you knit. A Loobylu ornament would make my Christmas.
14th December 2009 at 4:59 am
Just adorable! Thanks for the tutorial and chance to win. I have my fingers crossed!
14th December 2009 at 5:45 am
Adorable! My grandmother used to have little wooden figures on her Christmas tree with handknit hats; these remind me so much of them, I can’t help but smile.
11th December 2009 at 12:24 pm
adorable!!