Knitted baby hats

 Elsewhere on this blog I have shown some of the items I have knitted over the years. They are toys, primarily, although I'm still pleased about the Nativity set, which comes out each December. The last toys I knitted were a couple of dolls, complete with clothing, for my grandchildren. 

That was a long and quite complex project, and afterwards I decided to take a break from knitting toys. Our local friends' offspring had plenty of soft toys, and were growing too old to want new ones. Our grandchildren also had a large number of soft toys. I still wanted to knit regularly - it's supposed to be beneficial to both physical and emotional health. But I prefer projects that can be completed in just a few days, rather than many weeks.

I had previously knitted bonding squares and blankets for premature babies, for an organisation in the UK. But it had become increasingly difficult to get them to their destination, and the requirements were quite rigid. Only pastel colours, precise sizes that varied from hospital to hospital. And then they said that they didn't want anything from households with cats. I had been careful to keep the knitting away from our cats, of course. But that meant I could no longer knit for this group. I tried to find out if hospitals in Cyprus needed bonding squares or blankets, but it appeared that they already had plenty. 

In the meantime, however, a friend had started working with mothers and babies of refugees and asylum seekers in Cyprus. They always wanted blankets, but much bigger than the ones needed for premature babies. I did knit a couple, but blankets of 80-90cm squared take quite a while to finish. I made some bonding squares, and a few were used, but they're quick to knit, so no more were needed. And during the pandemic, they weren't allowed to use them.

So, as it was getting a bit cooler (this was December 2021) I then wondered if beanie hats would be useful - and was told, 'Yes please!'

I had a couple of patterns for baby hats from the premature baby group, but of course they're intended for very small babies. So I increased both the needle size and the number of stitches, and tried a prototype using double knitting yarn. It was received gratefully by a young mother of a newborn baby, and, I was told, it was exactly the right size. 

It's a simple pattern: 64 stitches, then six rows of ribbing, followed by 30 rows of stocking stitch, and a few rows of decreasing before pulling up the remaining stitches to form the top, and then sewing up the seam.  It usually takes me 3-4 days to complete a hat, depending on how much time I spend knitting. The weight of a completed hat varies between 16g and 20g depending on the yarn used (even though it's always double knitting). So I make sure I have 15g of the main colour, and 6g of the contrast.

One of the things I don't like about knitting is counting rows. So I decided from the start to make my hats striped. That made them more interesting, too, as I selected colours that I liked together, and also meant I could use up some fairly small balls of yarn that were left over from other projects. 

Here are a few examples of the first hats I produced. I couldn't decide, at first, if I preferred the thinner stripes with two rows of each colour,  or the wider ones with four rows of each colour. 

One of the things I appreciated was that the mothers - many of them from African countries - like bright colours, so I'm no longer limited to pastels. I don't use yarn that's specifically intended for babies, as it's not going next to their bodies, but over hair. 

At first I kept track, but it wasn't long before I lost count. Of course knitted beanie hats aren't needed in the summer in Cyprus, but I tried to make sufficient that each new baby could be given one in the cooler months. 

Then early in 2023, one of the women who works for the refugee/asylum seeker group asked if I could also knit some  bigger hats for older babies and young toddlers. I was delighted to be asked, and quickly realised that I should make them in slightly different styles so it was immediately obvious which size they were intended for. 

For older babies - typically six months to a year - I cast on 72 stitches, and knit 8 rows of rib (k1 p1), then I knit six stocking stitch rows with the main colour, followed by two of a contrast. I repeat this four times, then a couple of extra rows with the main colour, so there are 34 rows of straight stocking stitch. A finished hat of this kind typically weighs between 22g and 25g, so I ensure I have at least 22g of the main colour, and 6g of the contrast.  Of course it would be possible to use up very small scraps (2g each) by having the contrasting stripes in different colours.

That's then followed by the decreasing and finishing steps. 

The decreasing rows, for both these and the newborn baby hats, are: 
First row - k2, k2tog, repeat to the end of the row.
Second row - purl
Third row - k2 k2tog, repeat to end
Four row - purl
Fifth row - k2tog to end
Sixth row - purl

That leaves 16 stitches for the newborn hats, 18 stitches for the bigger ones. I cut off the yarn, leaving a longish strand, and thread it into a darning needle then pull it through the stitches and pull tight.  

Then, with the hat inside out, I sew up the seam, using both that thread and the one left at the bottom from casting on. Of course I make sure all threads are firmly finished and threaded through stitches so the hats won't come apart. 

It should be obvious from the way the decreasing works that the initial number of stitches must be divisible by four. The 'preemie' hat pattern on which I based mine had 60 stitches and smaller needles. I use size 4mm (8 in the old-style UK measurement, and apparently 6 in US sizes). But anyone wanting to try these probably needs to experiment, depending on the size of the baby or babies you're knitting for, and your tension. 

As for hats for toddlers (around age 1-2 years), after researching average head circumference I decided to try starting with 80 stitches, and making wider stripes. I use k2 p2 rib for the bottom, and do eight rows. Then a total of 38 straight rows of stocking stitch in stripes of 8 rows (and an extra six in the main colour at the end). For the decreasing rows I start with an extra one: k3 k2tog, repeated to the end (followed by an extra purl row, of course). 

These hats weigh between 31g and 35g, so I ensure I have around 28g for the main colour, and 15g for the stripes. 

I have friends who knit beautiful and complex shawls, blankets and other projects, and I have immense admiration for them. But I don't have the patience for those, which require a lot of row- and stitch-counting, and a fair bit of repetition. I have been making baby hats for two-and-a-half years now and there's enough variety in the styles and colour choices that I don't find it boring. And it's satisfying to know that they're being used, at least in the cooler months. 

Summer in Cyprus. Approaching yet again.

Once again, the inevitable is happening. A chillier-than-usual winter in Cyprus gave way to a pleasant spring. I very much like March and April here. The sun shines, but it's still cool overnight. I have the energy to get things done, and the landscape is green with a wide variety of wild flowers, and cultivated ones too for those who go to the trouble of growing them in their front gardens.

It's been a pleasant 20-23 C in the daytime for much of the past few weeks. Now, as April draws to a close, the predictions are for hotter weather ahead. Here's what the Weather Channel site is showing for the next couple of weeks:

Yesterday, for the first time since about November, I spent most of the day without any sweatshirt or jacket of any kind. We went into town for various errands, and I found it was too hot in the sun, though still pleasant in the shade. Last night we ran our bedroom ceiling fan. It was only on the slowest speed, and we're still using a duvet... but the air felt still, and my face was too warm without the fan.

Today we realised that we haven't used our warm jackets for a week or two, and are unlikely to do so for the next few months. This is what our coat rack looked like:

Two scarves, and about five warm fleeces and coats. I removed them all, and put most of the jackets in the washing machine.  A few hours on the line and they were dry, so they're now hung up in our landing closet upstairs. I took the opportunity to put more of my winter clothes there, and extract my shorts... which I expect I'll start wearing soon, if the forecasts are correct.

I found my sandals, too, looking rather grubby, so washed them as well, in preparation for needing them all too soon.

Then I collected our surprisingly large collection of sun hats and put them on the now empty coat rack:

If Murphy's law holds, now I've made these preparations for Summer, we could be due for some unexpected and extra chilly weather meaning I need to get the jackets out again.  I won't mind in the least if that happens, but it's unlikely in May.

In the next few weeks I shall wash all our curtains, and we'll clean the air conditioners which we try to avoid using until at least June.  We'll switch to our very light-weight duvet, too, and then - probably only a couple of weeks later - just a duvet cover or flat sheet to cover us at night.

In other unexciting but typically Cyprus fashion, we went to Lidl just over a week ago. The shop has grown on us since our first unimpressed visit several years ago when it was new to the island.

This time,  I wanted to get some of their cat litter, which is about half the price of our usual brand and seems to work just as well. I also wanted a 2-litre bottle of olive oil, as our current one was running low, and theirs is usually the best value.  We didn't even look at the weekly brochure telling us what the special offers were, because we were only going in for these two items...

This is what we ended up with (plus two bags of cat litter) :

When we arrived, we remembered that our digital kitchen scales had recently gone faulty.  They were consistently weighing everything at about 75% of its correct weight, which was irritating and I didn't always think about the adjustment.  Happily, Lidl were offering good value kitchen scales with a bowl.

Then we saw a digital medical thermometer. I'd had what was probably a sinus infection the week before, and one day felt very shivery. We realised we had no thermometer, so no way of knowing if I was running a fever. Not that it mattered much, but at 2.99 euro it seemed like a good idea to have one.

Richard needed new crocs/clogs for casual use when sailing. We know the controversies about them, and that they're a bad idea for anything other than use on the beach or as slippers in the house, but he found just ONE pair in his size, in a colour he liked. So those were added to the basket. Along with our usual Lidl dark chocolate, and a new fresh basil plant, and a couple of jars of honey, and a couple or rolls of duct tape... and some seeded bread rolls for lunch.

A nicely eclectic mixture, not atypical for our Lidl visits. We still can't find most things we want there, and their fruit/veg are over-priced (in our view) but their special offers are often very good. 

Too many jackets?

Neither of us is particularly observant, so we tend to get used to the status quo, whatever that might be, forgetting to do anything about it. Over the winter, several jackets hang on the coat rack in our living room. We were still using light jackets in early April, but have not needed any since we returned to Cyprus early in May after our UK visit. However, somehow it didn't occur to either of us to move them somewhere else for the summer.

Until this morning. Actually it started yesterday when I put a load of laundry on, and realised that now we're wearing shorts and tee-shirts, I wasn't going to fill the machine. So I looked around for something else to add to the load, and decided to wash one of the jackets. Then I thought that perhaps today (Saturday) I'd do an extra load of laundry, and wash all the rest, then put them away in one of our closets for a few months.

So I removed them all, and the umbrellas, leaving a rather empty coat rack with nothing but sun hats:


I put two kagoules (waterproof light jackets) away at once as they're not washable. And I put away my warm winter jacket, one I've had for at least twenty years, but which I hardly ever wear as it doesn't often get cold enough. Everything else went in the wash.

Except that it was two entire loads. Just for jackets. Just for two people. This seems to me a little over the top. And while I forgot to take a picture of the overloaded coat rack before I removed them, I did take a photo of the jackets hanging out to dry:


That's two very light-weight zip-up hooded jackets of mine, one denim jacket that used to be Richard's but which I appropriated, and two fleeces of mine, plus three of Richard's fleeces, and his black body-warmer. All of which we did wear in the winter and early spring at different times. But somehow nine jackets - indeed, twelve including the three I put away without washing - seems somewhat excessive. Particularly as we have a few others that never left the closet, oh, and the one I washed yesterday.

And no, we don't buy clothes if we can help it. None of these jackets or fleeces is new. Somehow clothes, like other clutter, seem to accumulate in our house.

Rather like the large number of sun-hats now hanging on the coat-rack, which don't even include the ones Richard keeps in the boat for sailing.