Author: Nikol

This devil hat pattern is a variation on my Giddyup! Pony Hood at naughtyneedlesknitting.com. There you’ll also find the bondagy original version and the sweet kiddie My Little Ponyhood version (see end of pattern for pictures)

The basic helmet-style hat used in the pony hood lends itself to pretty much any silly hat variation you can dream, and you can easily change the sizes to kid or baby sizes just by adjusting your yarn weight, needle size & gauge.

I love this pattern. Sadly, it just wouldn’t fit in my new book Naughty Needles (preorder now!). Adult Medium with full length horns is shown.

This version fits quite snugly, so unless you have a small head, make the L version. If you want a roomier fit, add two more increases after Row 12 of the hood-shaping section.

Skill Level: Advanced Beginner (Knit, purl, increase & decrease, seam)

Time: 3 – 4 hours

Sizing
Unisex M (L)
Where no parentheses are used, instructions/quantities apply to all sizes.

Yarn, etc.
1 hank Knit Picks Sierra

2 1½” D-rings
Needles & Notions
US 10.5 (6.5mm) needles, or size necessary to achieve gauge
Gauge
STOCKINETTE stitch, double strand of yarn A: 4″ =12.5 st

Instructions

M1=invisible increase (knit into back of next st below)

Collar

CO 48 st.
Rows 1-5: Sl 1, *K1 P1 to 1 st from end; K1.
Row 6: BO 18 st knitwise, knit to end—30 st.
Row 7: Sl 1, BO 2 st K to end of row—28 st

Shape hood

The markers will be used to place increases in the following even rows. All the increases are written out in the directions, but the markers are a reminder to prevent screwups.

All will be invisible M1.

Increases will be placed 1 st to either side of marker. Please count your stitches after every increase row to be sure you’re on track before you get ahead of yourself.

Row 1: Sl 1, K2 P6 PM P10 PM P6 K3
Row 2: Sl 1 K7 M1 K2 M1 K 8 M1 K2 M1 K8—32 st
Row 3: Sl 1, K2 P 26 K3
Row 4: Sl 1 K8 M1 K2 M1 K10 M1 K2 M1 K9—36 st
Row 5: Sl 1 K2 P30 K3
Row 6: Sl 1 K9 M1 K2 M1 K12 M1 K2 M1 K10—40 st
Row 7: Sl 1 K2 P 34 K3
Row 8: Sl 1 K10 M1 K2 M1 K14 M1 K2 M1 K11—44 st
Row 9: Sl 1 K2 P38 K3
Row 10: Sl 1 K11 M1 K2 M1 K16 M1 K2 M1 K12—48 st
Row 11: Sl 1 K2 P42 K3
Row 12: S1 1 K47
Repeat Rows 11 and 12 three (five) more times.

Forehead

Row 1: Sl 1 K2 P42 K3 CO 12—60 st
Row 2: K60
Row 3: K3 P42 K 15
Repeat Rows 2 and 3 two more times
Knit 2 (6) more rows in stockinette

Shape Crown

Row 1: *K2tog K4 repeat from * to end—50 st
Row 2: (and all even rows until Row 11): Purl.
Row 3: *K2tog K3 repeat from * to end—40 st
Row 5: *K2tog K2 repeat from * to end—30st
Row 7: *K2tog K1 repeat from * to end—20st
Row 9: *K2tog repeat from * to end—10st
Row 11: *PK2tog repeat from * to end—5
Break yarn, leaving 12″ tail.
With yarn needle, run yarn through 5 remaining live st, then seam forehead and weave in end.
Slip D-rings through short nub end of collar, and sew nub down to inside.

Horns (Make 2)

CO 10
Row 1: K
Row 2. P
Repeat rows 1 & 2
Row 5: K3, ssk, K2tog, K3—8 st
Repeat Row 2
Repeat Rows 1 and 2, twice (omit this step for shorter horns)
Row 11: K2, ssk, K2tog, K2—6 st
Repeat Row 2
Row 13: K1, ssk, k2tog, K1—4st
Row 14: P2tog, ssp
K2tog, break yarn, leaving 12″ tail, and pull through. Seam long sides together with mattress stitch to form horns. Stuff with scrap yarn.

Finishing

Sew horns onto hat slightly forward from top, with curves facing in. Weave in ends. Block hat. Ta da!

Original Giddyup! Pony Hood. Pattern here. Photo by Robyn Eden.

My Little Ponyhood variation. Pattern variation instructions here.

Use up your clunkiest, chunkiest early attempts at handspun in this warm and wooly earflap hat. You’ll need about 70 yds.

Level: Advanced Beginner (knit, purl, knitting in the round on dpns, crochet chain)

Time: 2 hours

Yarn

About 70 yds of superchunky handspun yarn

Needles

US 11 (8mm) dpns
Large Crochet hook (gauge not critical, just large enough to handle your yarn)

Instructions

Note: If you haven’t already, wash your handspun in hot water and let dry before using (with purchased handspun, this has probably already been done for you).

CO 36 st. Join, being careful not to twist st. Place marker.

Knit 1 rnd.

Purl 1 rnd

Knit all rnds for 6″ total.

*K4, K2tog, repeat from * across rnd–30 st.

K 1 rnd.

*K3, K2tog, repeat from * across rnd–24 st.

K 1 rnd.

*K2, K2tog, repeat from * across rnd–18 st.

K 1 rnd.

*K1, K2tog, repeat from * across rnd–12 st.

K 1 rnd

*K2tog across rnd–6 st.

Break yarn and draw end through live stitches with yarn needle. Weave in ends.

Along bottom edge, PU 8 st.

Sl 1, K to end. Repeat twice.

Sl 1, ssk, k to 3 st from end, k2tog, K1.

K row.

K2tog and BO across rnd, leaving last live st.

Switch to crochet hook and ch 22 and break yarn, leaving live loop and 2″ tail. Cut a 4″ piece of yarn and slip it through live loop, then pull tight.

Try on hat for ear position, then repeat on other side.

Weave in ends and wet block.

I made this easy and reversible unisex scarf for the Red Scarf Project using the Sock Wars Rib of Doom. It’s nice and thick and cushy and long. It requires almost no thought or skill, making it perfect for TV knitting. And it’s easy enough to knit in the dark, so it’s good for the movies or nighttime car rides, too.

But it’s all nice and substantial feeling. And I look like a big dork in this picture. But that’s not the scarf’s fault. You won’t look like a big dork in it, unless you’re a hopeless big dork and you always look like one. And at least you’ll be a warm and stylish big dork.

Anyway, I’m thinking I’ll be making some Christmas scarves with this pattern.

Skill level: easy peasy lemon squeezie

Time: 4 – 6 hrs

Yarn

2 skiens Valley Yarns Berkshire (100g; 85% wool, 15% alpaca; 141yd) in 16 Burgundy (which any sighted person would describe as “red”), but would be dandy in any red heavy worsted yarn.

Needles

US 8 needles

Gauge

Not critical; just use a needle a size or two smaller than the label’s recommendation.

Instructions

CO 26.
Row 1: Sl 1, *K3, P3, repeat from * to 1 st from end, K1.
Row 2: Sl 1, *K1, P1, repeat from * to 1 st from end, K1.
Repeat both rows until you use up all but 2′ of yarn, then BO kwise and weave in ends.

Yay! Finally finished re-knitting this a couple days ago. This was my second go at it, as I realized after the first attempt that I picked stupid colors for my home, so I tried dyeing the whole thing, which made it unravel from the center, so I had to frog the whole damn thing and start over. It’s about 2×3 & I’m really happy with the cushiness of it–would be very nice for a bedside rug.

The whole thing was made from rag shirts left behind when we moved in. I’ve already started a big bag of old T-shirts in the laundry room for a huge one I plan to knit in 4 long strips. As soon as the sack is full, I’ll buy some dye from Dharma, dye them & get started.

Being a good stashalonger, I finally went into my WIP bin and started to frog or finish everything.

First, I ripped out this and this, as I’ve lost interest in both. And this, because, who cares, it’s just a heel, and what was I thinking, putting a bootie cuff on gray worsted wool socks? I think the yarn will make nice socks, though. Maybe I’ll try that Hello Yarn worsted sock pattern I’ve been eyeballing. Sock Wars was very effective in making socks less intimidating. You don’t have to be mad or comfortable with 0s to knit dandy socks, hurrah!

I also made this hat for Ron, a 2-ply yarn I spun at Yarn School from some gray Rambouillet I processed myself, carded with some commercial dyed corriedale. The yarn came out very manly, I think. The light in the picture is dreadful–that’s a sunset coming in. And while lovely in person, it makes getting a normal picture absolutely impossible.

The yarn was very soft and bouncy and stretchy, but there was only just enough for the hat and some tiny little nubs of football helmet earflaps, which just cover his earlobes. Maybe I’ll write up the pattern. It took like five seconds to knit. I think it was just 40 st to start!

Oh, and I’m not a Yeti, nor am I wearing a fun fur blouse; it’s a bunny suit, minus the hood. I took the picture on Halloween right before we set up.

I also took this on Halloween (see, not a Yeti):

It’s another handspun hat, made of one of my first 2-plys: what awful stuff! But great for a winter hat, actually, since it’s so freaking dense. I should probably block it, as it’s particularly unkempt. I haven’t decided whether this is for me or someone else. This also took like a minute to knit, as the yarn was even huger. I think I cast on 36 st to start! Gee whiz! I probably should write them both up. It’s good to have some no-brainer used for nutty thick beginners’ handspun.

I’m doing pretty darn well on my stashalong. I’m going to cull a bunch more yarn for the stash swap at The Studio’s Fall Fiber Fest this Sunday, and maybe spin some, too! My problem is that I always bring home a ton of yarn too. And since I really want to give free community knitting classes this winter, it’s very, very hard to resist. I guess all that stuff doesn’t really count as my stash. And I could put some kind of caveat on it, like, if I don’t start the class by the end of 2008, it all goes to charity.

Speaking of charity, right now I’m working on my Red Scarf Campaign scarf. I’m using Valley Yarns Berkshire and the Rib of Doom from Sock Wars. Which also has a less colorful name I can’t remember. It makes a nice cushy, cozy unisex scarf. I think I’m going to go snuggle into bed and watch some Battlestar Galactica and see how much farther I can get on the scarf. And maybe get a little action on the side.

Who’d’ve ever thunk I’d write a baby pattern? Well, I had just a little bit of a skein left after working on some patterns for my alpaca rancher neighbors, and I thought it would be fun to make a teenie hat. The ribs make it stretchy, so the sizes it fits go along with basic sizes for both 0-6mos and 6mos-1yr.

This sweet little cap knits up in a jiffy and has a nice cuff for extra warmth. The cushy, stretchy 3×3 rib makes a hat that accommodates a nice range of sizes, and the snuggly warm, hypo-allergenic alpaca is perfect against baby’s tender skin. Be sure to include hand washing instructions when giving as a gift. One skein will make 2 to 3 hats. Shown in Carl’s yarn.

Level: Advanced Beginner

Time: 1 – 2 hrs

Yarn & Materials
US 7 double pointed needles
1 skein Alpacas in Wildcat Hollow Sport weight Yarn (100% alpaca, 200 yd, about 95g)
yarn needle

Size
0 – 12 mos

Gauge
4″ = 17 st in stockinette st

Instructions

Loosely CO 66. Divide between dpns. Join, being careful not to twist st.

Work in K3 P3 rib for 6″.

*K1, k2tog, p3, repeat from * to end.
*K2, p1, p2tog, repeat from * to end.
*K2tog, p2, repeat from * to end.
*K1, p2tog, repeat from * to end.
*K1, k2tog, repeat until you have 10 st.

Break yarn and thread onto yarn needle. Pass needle through all live stitches, slipping them off knitting needles, draw tight, tack down with a few stitches, and weave in ends.

Or, should I say, the ecstacy! I’m this close to working through all my raw wool. Today, I shipped off 5 batches of wool to Spinderellas to make 5 batches of roving, yippee! I was going to send it to Frankenmuth, what with the coupon and all, but Spinderellas has great prices AND lower minimums AND they made my pretty, spongy, custom-dyed streaky Rambouillet roving just how I pictured it, so I heart them.

Okay, so here’s what I’m getting (barring Lynn having any better suggestions once she gets the fleece):

• A small batch of natural chocolate cormo roving from Ortman’s cormo.
• A large batch of natural variagated grey cormo & polwarth roving from the elder & younger Orman flocks. I’m sending a nice chunk of this to each of the yarn school ladies.
• A large batch of soft white blend roving (extra thick for dyeing) made of cormo/polwarth/targhee

All three are crazyfuckingscrumpy fleeces, superyum! Plus:

• A large batch of strong white sock roving (also extra thick for dyeing) made of mostly Border Leicester and Cheviot, with some Lincoln for extra strength and luster, plus Perendale and a few other odds & ends for softy/bouncy. And about 12-15% nylon blended in for sturdiness.
• And a cuckoobananas mixy-matchy batch of about 70% chocolate Rambouillet (supersoft, but shorter staple, so I’m expecting lots of neps, which I actulally want, for a bumpy, tweedy effect) alternating with 30% dyed pink, springy Cheviot, blended with white and dyed sparklies. Inspired by the travelling circus that came to town during yarn school, I’m going to call it Circus Pony! I think it will be bouncy and circusful, hurrah!

I’m hoping that by this time next month, I’ll be spinning some of these babies.

Afterwards, I found some white Rambouillet I missed, but I’m washing it right now & I’ll card it up this weekend, maybe with some random fiber that was floating around after yarn school.

This weekend, I’m reviving my old gasping baby Out of the Frying Pan, and Malin & Sue are going to transfer over all the old content so we can beat her back into shape. And right now, I’m finishing up what will be a dandy Shojo Beat column. Ron’s back home, and I think we’ll be snuggled in catching up on Battlestar Galactica before too long. There’s brined pork chops for dinner. Skinny Bones, the former stray, is neutered, out of the storm, and getting along swimmingly with Sugarfoot, our sweet faced housecat. The boiler’s on, so I’m no longer freezing my tits off. And I have miles of spinning fiber and miles of yarn and the soothing drone of wind and rain outside.

I kinda love my life right now.

PDF of this pattern, with technical photos.

It’s quick to crochet and economical, too—one 200 yd skein of Alpacas at Wildcat Hollow sportweight yarn will yield two caps, making excellent holiday gifts! This one shows Hannah’s dark brown yarn, accented with pink ribbon, but it’s just as pretty in any Alpacas in Wildcat Hollow yarn.

Yarn & Materials
H/8 crochet hook
1.5 yd thin ribbon
1.5 yd matching thicker ribbon
1 skein Alpacas in Wildcat Hollow Sportweight Yarn (100% alpaca, 200 yd)

Size: Women’s S (M/L
Crown
Ch 4. Join with sl st.
Rnd 1: Ch 2, dc 11 (13) into ring, finishing with sl st through 2nd ch to end rnd.
Rnd 2: Ch 2, dc into 1st st, then dc twice into each st, finishing with sl st through 2nd ch to end rnd.
Rnd 3: Ch 2, dc 1, then dc twice into the next and every third st of rnd (and dc once into all other st), finishing with sl st through 2nd ch to end rnd.
Rnd 4: Ch 4, *sl st into 2nd st (skipping every other st), ch 3, repeat from * to end, finishing with sl st into 1st ch st to end rnd.

Rnd 5: Ch 2, *sc into loop, ch 3, repeat from * around rnd, ending with ch 2 and finishing with sl st into 1st ch st to end rnd.

Rnd 6: Ch 6, skip that first half-loop, *dc into next loop, ch 4, repeat from * around rnd, ending with ch 4, and finishing with sl st into 2nd ch st to end rnd.

Rnd 7: Ch 2, *sc 2 into loop, dc into top of prev row’s dc st, sc 1 into loop, dc into top of prev row’s dc st, repeat from * around rnd (you may end mid-pattern), finishing with sl st into 2nd ch st to end rnd.

Top eyelets
Rnd 8: Ch 1, sc 1, sc twice into the next and every third st of rnd (and sc once into all other st), finishing with sl st to end rnd.
Rnd 9: Ch 1, sc 3, *ch 1, skip next st, sc 4, repeat from * around rnd, finishing with sl st to end rnd.

Rnd 10: Ch1, sc across rnd, working into the eyelet when you pass prev row’s ch st, finishing with sl st to end rnd.

Rnd 11 & 12: Ch 2, dc across rnd, finishing with sl st through 2nd ch to end rnd.
Bottom eyelets
Rnd 13: Ch 1, sc across rnd, finishing with sl st to end rnd.
Rnds 14: Ch 1, sc 1, *ch 1, skip next st, sc 2, repeat from * to end of rnd (finishing mid-pattern is fine), finishing with sl st to end rnd.
Rnd 15: Ch1, sc across rnd, working into the eyelet when you pass prev row’s ch st, finishing with sl st to end rnd.
Bottom edge
Rnd 16: Repeat Rnd 4
Rnd 17: Ch 1, *sc into loop, sl st into same loop, repeat from * to end of rnd, finishing with sl st to end rnd.

Rnd 18: Ch 1, sc 3, *skip next st, sc 4, repeat from * to end of rnd, sl st to join rnd, and fasten off.
Finishing
Weave in ends. Weave wider ribbon through top eyelets, beginning and ending to side. Repeat with narrow ribbon and bottom eyelets. Try on hat to knot ribbon to fit. Tie s into bows. © 2006 Nikol Lohr/thriftyknitter.com
Abbreviations: Ch/ch chain
Dc/dc double crochet prev previous
Rnd round Sc/sc single crochet
Sl st slip stitch St/st stitch

My next project after my Alpacas in Wildcat Hollow pattern is a red scarf for the Red Scarf Campaign. It’s finally a knitting charity that doesn’t make me feel like a faker (causes I feel like I should care about, but don’t really) or depress me too much for words (like the heartbreaking dead baby layettes).

They send care packages for former foster kids starting college, kids who don’t have the parental/family support a lot of other students do. The Red Scarf Campaign is for Valentine’s care packages, and it’s any kind of scarf in any kind of red. Yip!