Loom Knit Doll Hat Project - The Sunny Side

I've got a goal to have knitted at least fifty doll hats within the next fifty days to sell at a huge neighborhood yard sale in the fall.  To my surprise, I found there were very few doll hat patterns available for free on the internet.  This is a pity since a doll hat is a very good project for a beginning loomer and it isn't always obvious how a full-sized hat pattern should be changed to be appropriate for a doll.  Therefore, I've decided to share my notes on creating and converting hat patterns to fit 18" dolls (such as the American Girl, Journey Girl, Our Generation, or My Life dolls).

The Sunny Side -- A Seeded Rib Check Stitch Hat

Hopefully this sunflower-festooned toboggan will keep dolly in a cheerful mood this winter!


The body of this hat features the stitch I knitted where I should have been purling and purled when I should have knitted on yesterday's toboggan.  It has the rather unwieldy name of the "Seeded Rib Check Stitch."  Surely there's a picturesque Scottish fishing village out there who could claim it and lend it a more inspiring moniker, isn't there?

Pattern Information

Knitting Loom:  Knifty Knitter 24 peg "Preemie" loom
Flower created on the Knifty Knitter 12 peg "Flower" loom

Yarn:  
     Color A:  Red Heart "Buff" #4 size yarn
     Color B:  Red Flecked #4 size yarn
     Color C:  Red Heart "Bright Yellow" #4 size yarn 
     Color D:  Red Heart "Sage" #4 size yarn
     Color E:  Red Heart "White" #4 size yarn

Skill Level: Intermediate

Abbreviations:
     k = knit
     p = purl
     ew = e-wrap

Instructions:

With Yarn Color A, cast on 24 pegs.

BRIM  
Row 1:  knit to the end

Rows 2-20:  Repeat Row 1

When you've completed Row 20, find the first stitch (the end of your yarn should still be dangling from it). Loop the first stitch back up over Peg #1.  Continue around the loom until the entire first row is looped back up onto the loom. Knit the last row of stitches over the first row of stitches.

[Okay, if you're looking at the picture, you can probably tell that this is not the stitch that I did for the brim on this hat.  However, the stitch that I tried did not turn out so well and I'm not even going to try to describe the train wreck of bad choices and misinterpreted directions that produced it.  We're just going to stick with old reliable and move on with our lives...]

BODY Switch to Yarn Color B

Row 21: knit to the end
Row 22: purl to the end

Rows 23-30:  Repeat Rows 21 and 22

Tie off and Cut Yarn Color B.  Switch to Yarn Color A

Row 31:  p3; *k1, p3;* Repeat from * to the end
Row 32:  p1; *k1, p3;* Repeat from * to the last 4 pegs, p1, k1, p2

Rows 33 - 48:  Repeat rows 31 - 32

Row 49 - 50:  knit to the end

Bind off using gathered removal method.

To create the Flowering Vine above the hat band:  Thread about 16" of Yarn Color D onto your plastic tapestry needle.  Follow these instructions for creating a chain stitch:

How to Make the Chain Stitch

Chain stitch three vines above the spot where you plan to place the leaves and sunflowers.  Switch to Yarn Color E and make several French Knots to create the flowers.

To make the Leaves:  Follow the directions given in this video

Scarlet Royal's Rose and Leaf Tutorial

Actually, I did change a few things from the above directions.  The leaf I made exactly following her instructions was too big, so I made a second one using just one strand of #4 size yarn instead of two strands.  Also, I flat knitted instead of e-wrapping.  This makes for a smaller Leaf.

To make the Sunflower:  Switch to the 12 peg Flower loom and to Yarn Color C.  Follow the directions in this video to create the sunflower's petals:

Creating the Layered Wrap 

To organize the petals, follow the directions in this video:

Create the Back Stitch Center 

To create the "seeds" in the middle of the flower, follow the directions in this video:

Creating the French Knot center

Using your plastic tapestry needle, sew the leaves and then the sunflower to the band of your hat.