The Infamous "SIDEWAYS HAT"

HUGE DISCLAIMER:
I got this data as a photocopy of a photocopy of a hand written document. It only gives the "30 or 35 stitches" and "35 ridges" information. No credit is given as to who did the math.

The iteration you see below is my 'translation' of that data into a 'pattern'.


SIDEWAYS HAT “RECIPE”

• The “Recipe” doesn’t have too many specifics. You’re trying to knit a garter stitch rectangle.

• Cast on some stitches and start knitting. I usually do 30 or 35 stitches on a size 10 needle. (I knit tight.)

• Knit until you have at least 35 ridges. Not “rows’. RIDGES.

Time to test:

• Hold the rectangle so that the ridges are going up & down
(Some would probably say “hold it sideways”.)

• Fold up the bottom a little (see photo). Does it look roughly as big as any baby hat you have ever knit?


• If “YES”, then bind off loosely.

• Hold the hat so that the ridges are going up & down.

• Run a piece of yarn through the “top” of the hat to pull it closed. Fasten SECURELY. I usually leave a little extra yarn at the cast on edge, and use that piece since it’s already hanging there.

~~DO NOT use that piece to sew the side seam. No matter how tight you THINK it is, it WILL come loose and you'll have a 'hole' in the top of the hat.~~

[ I fiddled with the color on this photo in the hopes that y'all can get a better look...]


• Now sew the cast-on and cast-off edges together. Or ‘sew the back seam”, whichever you prefer to call it. Weave in ends.

• Fold the bottom of the hat up to form the brim.

Cute, eh? And VERY stretchy.


TIPS:

• Use whatever needle size you need to get a suitable material. The stitches should be loose enough for the piece to be flexible. Not tight like a kitchen scrubby, not loose enough to be ‘mesh’.

• If you can put your fingers through the holes, it’s knit too loose. If you can’t fold it, it’s too tight.

• Try to match the yarn with the intended use of the hat. If it’s for a preemie, you won’t want to use a thick wool.

• For preemie hats, you can use the SAME number of RIDGES, but a few LESS stitches. (Try 25 or 30?)

• Remember, it’s a ‘recipe”, not a pattern. You have to knit up a ~sample~ and see what happens.

This is NOT a ‘gauge swatch”, it’s a ~sample~. Like licking the bowl to see how your recipe is turning out.