knit hats

Family and friends on your holiday list will love and cherish gifts created with your personal touch! The items we're featuring today will make great stocking stuffers.

Toasty Hands, Happy Heart

These 10 easy-to-stitch hand warmers are functional, fashionable, fast, and will stuff perfectly into a stocking! Toasty Hand Warmers is a "Make Your First" book with progressive learning techniques for true beginners. You'll be amazed at how many hand warmers you will want to crochet.

Hand-Knitted Cozy Perfection

Nothing says cozy perfection quite like a hand-knitted garment, and this Best of Knit Accessories collection says it loudest and proudest with more than 40 fabulous projects! From fingerless mitts and lightweight shawls to the warmest scarves, hats, and cowls, you’ll uncover a project for everyone on your list!

Modern Tye-Dyeing

Take tie-dye techniques to the next level with Shibori, Ice & Dip Dyeing. You’ll be dyeing your favorite home accents & accessories like this keyring and necklace below! Just imagine the looks on their faces when they find this in their stocking and realize YOU created it just for them!

Versatile, Wondrous Resin Creations

The beautiful coasters found in Resin Creation make great stocking stuffers! Resin is a versatile, wondrous material that can be used in a variety of creative endeavors. So many possibilities! And DIY enthusiast Lily Ardor helps you explore said possibilities and teach you all the ins and outs.

Make Or Gift: You Decide

With this Mini Maker Bracelet Loom, weave your own bracelets to stuff all the stockings, or give the loom as a gift for your budding weavers! Either way, it's sure to bring a smile to their faces on Christmas day!

Try one or all of these quick stocking stuffer projects! Quick and easy for you, and all of them are sure to please!

What are you working on for the Holidays? Share pics with us on your social channels by tagging @leisureartsinc or using #leisurearts. We love to see what's going on in your studio!

Stuffingly yours,

-Leisure Arts Team

Our Innovative Ultimate Oval Loom Knitting Set  breaks the mold of a traditional knitting loom. At first glance, you might ask a simple question:

Why Oval?

Large Oval Loom, Small Oval Loom & Stitching Tool

Easy Handling

If you've ever held a traditional straight loom, you know spacing in the center of the loom can be tight.  The all-new oval shape is easy to hold and use, since it is just deep enough to allow plenty of room in the center to work.

Oval vs. Straight and Round Looms

Assortment of Round and Straight Looms

When compared to the straight loom, the oval loom is easier to use due to the room in the center to work.

When comparing an oval loom and a round loom with the same number of pegs, it's easier to hold the oval loom.

Yarn

The peg spacing is ½” making it a small gauge loom perfect for lighter weight yarns.   A single strand of #3 light weight yarn and #4 medium weight yarns can be used.

Ultimate Oval Loom Kit

Ultimate Loom Knitting Set Packaging

Inside the Ultimate Oval Loom Knitting Set  you'll find the following:

• Small Loom ~ 11 3/4" x 5 1/2" with 54 Pegs
• Large Loom ~ 15 1/2" x 9 3/8" with 70 Pegs
• Stitching Tool
• 48-page Beginner's Guide to Oval Loom Knitting with 7 Projects

54 Peg Loom, 70 Peg Loom & Stitching Tool

Beginner's Guide to Oval Loom Knitting

Projects

This is ideal loom for lighter weight projects including baby blankets, mitts, hats, scarves, cowls, bags, afghans, and more.   The 48-page Beginner's Guide has clear photos and friendly step-by-step instructions.  Here are the projects you can make with the guide included with the Ultimate Oval Loom Knitting Set: Basic Beanie, Striped Beanie, Fingerless Mitts, Family Tube Socks, Twisted Garter Hat, Twisted Garter Scarf, and Lace Cowl.

Basic Beanie

Striped Beanie

Fingerless Mitts

Family Tube Socks

Twisted Garter Hat

Twisted Garter Scarf

Lace Cowl

Each of the seven projects in the Beginner's Guide to Oval Loom Knitting has easy, step-by-step photo directions.

Who Can Use this Loom?

Loom Knitting is popular for a reason.  A loom lessens the need for repetitive movements making it a great alternative for someone with arthritis, carpel tunnel, fibromyalgia, or any other condition that might result in hand or wrist pain.  Loom knitting is also a great choice for beginners, including kids!  This set is a great way to introduce kids to knitting; we recommend the Leisure Arts Ultimate Oval Loom Knitting Set  for ages 8 and up.

The oval loom steps up the benefits to the next level with the oval shape allowing for even easier handling and manipulation.  The extra room in the center of the loom makes loom knitting an even easier task.

Get Started

Now is the time to learn the basics of loom knitting while creating fabulous fashions and other small-gauge projects! In the Ultimate Oval Loom Knitting Set , you’ll receive looms in two sizes (with 54 and 70 pegs), a stitching tool, and the Beginner's Guide to Oval Loom Knitting.  Just add yarn and you'll be loom knitting beautiful creations before you know it!

I love Halloween. It is my favorite holiday. I have a friend with a new baby. So, I thought I would crochet him a cute little Pumpkin Hat. I used Crème de la Crème 100% cotton. I used three different colors orange, brown, and green. This pattern will fit an infant/toddler. I didn't get this pattern from a Leisure Arts book. 100 Hats to Knit and Crochet has hats that you could modify to work for your needs.

With a size G hook. Chain 60 stitches. Join in the round with a slip stitch. Be careful not to twist!

Row 1: With main color (orange) chain 1, single crochets all the way around, and slip stitch into the chain 1. Row 2: Chain 3, double crochets all the way around. Continue Row 2 until the hat is about 3.25(3 ¼) to 3.50(3 ½) inches tall.

Decrease is chain 3, 7 double crochet, and crochet 2 together, then 8 double stitches and crochet 2 together. You are going to continue decreasing by 1 stitch until you finish the chain 3 and 3 double crochet and crochet 2 together, 4 double crochet and crochet 2 together.

Color change/Stem: To join the brown yarn slip stitch where you slipped the last stitch, chain 2, double crochet around. I didn’t crochet 2 together on the first round, because I did 2 regular double crochets into the next two stitches. The 3^rd and 5^th stitch a double into the middle of the lower stitch, and the 4^th double crochet I went into the lower stitch. Continue this all the way around. The next round start your decreases chain 3, 2 double crochet and crochet 2 together, 3 double crochet and crochet 2 together. Continue decreasing by 1 stitch until you get to six stitches left and do double crochets until you get the stem length that you want then crochet 2 together 3 times.

Green curly cue: Chain 35 stitches or however many you want to do. Do 6 double crochets into the 2^nd stitch and 4 more stitches into ever chain stitch. Bind off when you get to the end. With a darning needle or crochet hook attach where ever you want it.

I have been coloring in my Leisure Arts coloring books off and on all week and my favorite colors right now are neon iridescent colors. When I saw the Toybox Collection yarn called Candy at my local yarn shop called Yarn Kandy the yarn is 100% acrylic. I knew that I had to get it to knit a hat for a friend who runs very early in the morning.

I know that she wears other iridescent clothing when she runs. But I wanted to knit her a hat to keep her ears warm, and something else so that she can be seen when it is still dark. Leisure Arts has neon iridescent colored yarns but it is a bulky yarn. You can use it but you will probably have to cast on less stitches and use a bigger size circular knitting needle.

My knitted hat pattern isn’t a written pattern. It could be written some place. I just haven’t seen it. Leisure Arts has a hat similar to the hat that I have knitted called Beginner-Friendly Knitting by Rita Weiss.  I just played with it until I got it right. I casted on 88 stitches on size 8 circular knitting needles, the first time I casted on 96 and it was way too big. I noticed this after I was 6 inches in and I had to rip it all out and start again. Joined in the round make sure not to twist. Going to start a rib stitch which is K2, P2 for an inch to inch and a half, but don’t forget your place marker to show were you joined. Then knit in the round until the hat is 6 inches. Decrease knit 6 knit 2 together all the way around to were your place marker is. When you start decreasing you are going to needle double point knitting needles. Knit the next row. Continue decreasing until you have 11 stitches left. I know that the photo has a hole I stopped at 22 stitches because my friend who this was for asked to. She wanted it so that hat could have a little ventilation. When you are done cut a 6 inch tail and with a darning needle weave the end through all the stitches on your double point. I always go around twice just to be safe. Tuck in your ends and you have a hat.

I hate to say it but Christmas is going to be here in a blink of an eye. School starts in a few days. Everyone needs a warm hat. Great for Christmas, birthday, or a just because I was thinking about you.

I have been knitting and crocheting baby hats for Arkansas Children’s Hospital of several years now. I have one pattern that I know by heart and it gets boring so to shake things up every once in a while I pick a new pattern. I fell in love with this little slouchy beanie baby hat called Fun Stripes. I found it in the knit version of the Leisure Arts' book, Celebrity Slouchy Beanies for the Family by Lisa Gentry. I know that the pattern calls for different colored stripes, but I chose variegated yarn.

The instructions are very easy to follow. It only took a few hours to knit up. Be careful that you don’t grab the tail to start knitting like I did today -  I was totally not paying attention to what I was doing! I also did an extra row of decrease and knit row. I just felt I still had too many stitches on my needles. The pattern called for two different sizes of knitting needles. Since I was doing a hat, I used my 16 inch circular clover needles. After I got to the decrease row 9, for row 10 I knitted off the circular and onto the same size of double-pointed knitting needles. I used Bernat Softee Baby for this project. I have never knitted with this yarn before, but I plan on using it again. It is very soft!

I knitted this ghostly hat for my daughter!  I had been thinking about knitting the Ghost Hat in Knit Hats for Babies for a while now, but I had to get a start on it when my daughter saw the model picture and gasped "Is that for me?"  I knew I had to make it quickly before she changed her mind.

The patterns in Knit Hats for Babies are written for sizes Newborn, 3-6 months, and 12 months.  I made the twelve-month size and cast on with the recommended #7 needles even though my gauge runs large and hoped that this would fit my three-year-old.  It did.  I knit pretty loosely, and this is a simple rolled brim hat made with worsted weight yarn.  She could probably wear this next year!

 

(Note: she's also kind of small.  Your three-year-old may vary.)

I knitted up the body--straight stockinette until you get to the decrease rounds--in a couple of evenings and did the 'face' this weekend.  I was lazy, and crocheted the circles instead of knitting them.  I wish I had made the mouth a little more crooked, but I feel like this face is creepy enough as it is.

 

My daughter was so thrilled with her newest hat that she actually agreed to model this for me!  She hasn't done that in quite a while, so I was pretty excited when I realized that she must really love this.  It's such a good feeling!  I'm also a little unsettled at how much she likes Halloween things, but I'm still excited that she loves her new ghost hat.

 

This was a quick knit on top of being adorable and fun.  It would be a great beginner project for learning to work in the round, and the smaller sizes would need to be worked on smaller needles.  And, you get to work an I-cord for the top bit and work on your backstitching for the mouth!  There are a lot of techniques you could work on with this hat, and then you'd have a silly little hat to show for it. 

I'm not a big Halloween person, but my little girl loves skeletons and spiders and bats and pumpkins (let's not talk about candy) and so she's in heaven with all things related to Halloween showing up in all the stores.  I'm glad she's enjoying her spooky ghost hat so much, and I had fun cranking this out for her.  Hope the pictures didn't scare you!

I'm sharing a recycled post with you today because it's about pumpkin hats.  Who doesn't love a good post about pumpkin hats!?  I made this Pumpkin Hat from Warm Hats for Wee Noggins and it's just so cute I had to show it to you again. Enjoy!

Okay, I held off for as long as I could.  But we're nearly halfway through September, Arkansas's heat wave is nearly gone, and it is just plain time to start talking about pumpkin things.  Actual pumpkins, pumpkin-flavored drinks, pumpkin recipes--I love them all.  But it wasn't until I had my daughter a couple of years ago that I learned of the wonderful world of pumpkin hats.

I love a good theme hat, obviously.  But a pumpkin hat?  Oh man.  Knock me over with a skein of sock yarn.  I cannot handle that kind of cute.  One of the very first times I successfully followed a hat pattern was when I made my little girl a pumpkin hat.  I was super motivated because there was no way I was going to take her to the pumpkin patch without a hand knitted pumpkin hat.

Oh look, it's all my dreams coming true in one chilly afternoon.  Also, holy crappy decrease stitches, Batman!

My little girl's hat still fits her, but I wanted to try out the Punkin' Patch hat from Warm Hats for Wee Noggins because this pattern has a leaf AND a tendril.  Besides, I rationalized to myself, I have a friend at work who loves pumpkins and this would be really precious on her granddaughter.  And you guys, this little hat did not disappoint.

I love it! 

As always, I went down a needle size (to a Size 7) because of my gauge, but that's it.  And that's not even really a mod.  Everything about this adorable little creation is perfect.  It calls for your standard worsted weight yarn, and I used some Red Heart and Vanna's Choice along with scraps for the leaf and tendril. 

It doesn't hurt a bit, I swear!  Since there's only three rows of knitting with two colors, and the hat itself is so small, this would be an excellent introduction to stranded knitting for a beginner.  And, it's adorable.  Just stinking adorable.

As you can tell, this hat will fit a head slightly larger than a pie pumpkin.

I knit this in the 12 months size, but Warm Hats for Wee Noggins includes instructions for 3 preemie sizes and 3 full-term sizes with each pattern.  This could be a lovely little hat for any small person--especially those little folks who need warmth the most!

I really love this hat.  I love the way you knit the stem.  I love that the leaf is lighter than the stem.  I love that the tendril ..... exists.  Seriously, even if you don't have the yarn to make the leaf a lighter green than the stem, please find a tiny bit of scrap yarn to make this tendril.  It's an itty bitty amount of knitting and it's all curly and adorable and the perfect thing to add to a perfect hat for a perfectly adorable baby.  You just have to.  Promise me.

I realize I sound a bit silly but I take my silly hats very seriously. It's nearly fall and the pumpkins are here.

More importantly, so are the pumpkin hats!

This post was first published on September 12, 2013.  And if you were wondering: my friend at work was thrilled with this hat and said it was her granddaughter's favorite hat.  She emailed me a few cute pictures of her little punkin wearing the hat.  I'm hoping it fits her this year as well!

Well!  I have completed my first Fair Isle project. I knitted the Autumn Beanie from I Can't Believe I'm Fair Isle Knitting!

Remember when I said I had signed up for a knitswap?  I had intended to crochet a beanie, but my partner had sent links to a few Fair Isle patterns to let me know what kind of hats she likes.  And we had all been challenged to try out some new techniques and improve our skills.  So I went for it.  I knitted a slouchy Fair Isle beanie.  I think I'm happy with it?  I think I wish I had switched the red and the purple.  Or the orange and the pink.  I think that means I wish I had made an entirely different hat?  I'm not sure.  There are so many possibilities with four colors!

I got this to be slouchy by knitting every row that was just one color twice. 

It added a lot of length and gave the hat a few more chances to relax because....whoa.  I thought I was carrying my yarn really loosely when I was working the more intricate parts of this chart, but maybe not.

The pattern calls for #4 needles and sport weight yarn.  I used St-Denis Nordique that I got on sale at my local yarn shop, and I think it used about one-third of each skein.  That's about 50 yards of each color, give or take a little.  I obviously used the most of my eggplant-colored yarn, but there's probably still enough left to use it in another color work hat.

I haven't blocked this yet because I need to weave in my ends first, but I'm hoping my stitches will 'settle' a bit before I mail this hat out this weekend.  And I hope my swap partner likes it because, honestly, I would wear this.  I'm thinking about knitting this in the 'regular' version for myself, but with some yellow thrown in because it's my favorite color.  The chart's pattern repeats were easy to memorize, and I like the look of the hat itself.  And like I said, I'm pretty happy with this first version of it.  I don't think this was too rough for one of my first attempts, and the colors make me think of a sunset.  And I think (hope) that everyone likes sunsets.

 

Apropos of nothing, I love the decrease.  I love how it looks. It starts off fairly gradually, with a regular row of knitting in between each decrease row in the beginning, but then it just decides, "Nope, you're done!"

 Well, I finally went for it.  I remembered my New Year's resolutions and decided to jump into Fair Isle knitting with I Can't Believe I'm Fair Isle Knitting!

I know the back of my knitting is supposed to look like this, but I still freak out a little every time I see it.

But I am Fair Isle knitting and so far, it hasn't been a disaster.  I'm working on the Columbia River Ear Flap hat.  Please note the ear flaps.  You knit them first and then cast on stitches for the band.  Weird, but true.  I picked the Columbia River Ear Flap hat because it only uses two colors.  I figured that would be the most I could handle for my first attempt.  Also, I liked how outdoorsy the pattern name sounded.  Again, weird.  But true.

 

And!  This is knit with worsted weight yarn.  I'm not sure why it would make much of a difference, but I tend to hold thicker yarns a little more loosely than something of a finer weight.  Since I would be carrying my spare yarn behind my stitches, I wanted to make sure I wouldn't grip anything too tightly and wind up with some bunchy colorwork.

 

As it is, I just wound up with some messed up colorwork.  Because that's what I do.

 

But I don't care that much because 1) this was my first attempt (actually, it was the second row of knitting on the chart, but there was a lot of talking going on at my local knit night while I was working on this), and 2) no one will care as much as I do about this minor mistake.  So if I don't care very much, then I guess people won't care at all.  Or something.  I think I'm going to give this to my husband, and I know he especially won't care.  I have knitted him hats before that didn't even fit, and he wore them.  The man is a saint as far as being a knitter spouse goes.  I have a lot of other complaints about him, but he has knows better than to judge a knitted gift--especially one that I made for him. 

I think he's really going to like the ear flaps.

 

I'm a third of the way through the chart and it's not terrifying.  Hooray! And it's even pretty!  More hooray!  I'm using Patons Classic Wool because I had some in my stash and I thought the colors would go well together in a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup sort of way.  Also, and I know this is silly, I felt like I should use wool instead of an acrylic blend for Fair Isle knitting.  Fair Isle feels classic and lovely and real wool seems classic and lovely and I don't know.  I just thought it would look nice.

And it does so far!  I hope your WIPs are going just as well.  Minus the mess-ups, of course.

 

I've been in a real mood to knit lately, and a hat sounded like fun.  I was looking through Knit Celebrity Slouchy Beanies for the Family, and the Fun Stripes hat pattern for babies and toddlers really looked like, well, fun!

 

The hat is knit in a striped pattern with two different yarns, but I had seen projects on Ravelry where knitters had made this with gradient yarn.  Since I was in the mood to knit, but not to weave in ends, I decided to bust out a skein of Lion Brand Amazing that I had waiting for such an occasion as this.  I love the way the yarn shifts colors and the Aurora's colorway seemed like it would be perfect for my little girl with its pinks and blues.  I love that yarn all the time, but it sounded like a really good choice for all the stockinette that a plain beanie would hold.

And I think it looks lovely!  My three-year-old is not quite in the toddler stage any more, but this fits her pretty well.  It's admittedly more 'beanie' than 'slouchy', but small kids don't tend to wear slouchy hats the way adults do anyway.  She was very excited with this regardless, and wore it for an entire morning as she played.  The yarn is soft and fluffy, the pattern is cute, and this whole project was fun.  The pattern lived up to its name!

The ribbing is stretchy enough to stay on a larger child if you're knitting this in the Toddler size, and I'm sure it could even fit a big kid if you just knit the body of the hat a bit longer than the recommended 4 1/4".  I've got half a mind to cast on just a few extra stitches and make this for myself!  I think if I had enough of the skein of Amazing left on hand, I just might do it!  Because firstly, who doesn't love matching mother-daughter hats?  (Please don't tell me if you don't.)

And secondly, who wouldn't love a little ever-so-slightly slouchy beanie like this?