It's a safe bet that if you knit for boys, you have knitted a hat. You can't go wrong with a hat, most boys or men for that matter will wear a hat at some point in their lives. Plus it's a rather easy place to start. A hat can be so versatile as well, once you have a basic pattern, it's pretty easy to change it up and you can let your creativity run wild. Hats are also something you can experiment with as well. So if you want to learn a new stitch, a hat is a great place to start!
As the mother of a very active young man, Jack, who is seven, and also a young man who is nine, Logan, who HATES scratchy things, as well as a four month old Violet, who is already a little mess maker, I try and find soft yet durable and let us not forget washable yarns!
It also knits up really nicely! This hat with the mittens is knit in Simply Soft, I can not tell you how much I love those colors.
The pattern for both the hat and mittens are unfortunately not free. However if you want any knitting book for babies and toddlers, The Big book of Kid's knits, by Zoe Mellor is one to own!
Seriously I have gone to this book more than any other, and was very sad when my older grew out of the sizing. However I now go to it a lot for my newest and this time I get to knit the girl patterns! It's also a book I go to for gifts for friends and family. Almost everything is made on two needles, so if knitting in a round makes you nervous, but you still want to knit, hats and mittens, booties, sweaters, and jumpers, this honestly is the book for you. Again I am not affiliated with anyone other than myself, but I can not rave about this book enough. Everything in it is not too complicated, however a lot of it looks as though it was.
Now if you are looking for a more sturdy yarn, and one that also knits super quick, I highly recommend a Lion Brand's Thick and Quick Wool Ease. I seriously love this yarn more than any other. It's one Logan doesn't complain about and it knits up incredibly fast. I use a 10.5 US needles and it's usually my go to for quick gifts I need fast, as well as the first of the season hats for my kids. it usually takes me a day to knit one up if my day is pretty busy, or a couple hours to knit it if I just sit and knit.
I found this pattern on Raverly, Her picture shows it on a women, however you can use any color, or more than one color, and I have, and it's perfect for any person.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/big-chunky-comfy-hat
This
pattern if for adults, but for my boys, I just used my smaller needles,
the 10.5 US and it was perfect for them. Plus the thick and quick is
stretchy, so it works for a lot of sizes. In fact I think I have made
more of these for my kids and family than I have anything else. I have
so many hats that soon I'm going to have to start just handing them out
to strangers on the street. It's a simple and easy pattern, and a
perfect knit for someone that would like to start knitting hats. It's
also the perfect basic hat pattern that you can change up very easily,
which I have also done a lot! I would recommend finding a circular needle you like. I use a bamboo 16 inch set that works wonders. I think I purchased it on amazon, but you can find them almost anywhere. It just makes things easier if you are new to knitting in a round, When I first started hats, and socks, I got so frustrated with run on stitches that I gave up! I came back eventually and figured it out, but I always like people to want to knit, not want to throw it across the room and stomp on it!
Over both the patterns I have included today are pretty easy and a perfect addition to your pattern collection. If you knit them up, I'd love to see your finished project and hear what you have to think about it. I hope you have as much fun knitting them up as I did!
