Loom Knit Hat Project -- Chilly Willie

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 Chilly Willy -- A Duplicate Stitch Embroidery Hat

The knitting portion of this hat is far simpler than meets the eye.  It is really just a plain, knit stitch toboggan.  The penguin is an example of a technique called Duplicate Stitching (or Swiss Darning).  I saw this tutorial:

Duplicate Stitching 

And decided I must try it.  I got the hat a little too tall, but otherwise, I was happy with my experiment.

Pattern Information

Knitting Loom:  Knifty Knitter 24 peg "Preemie" loom

Yarn:  
     Color A:  Lion Suede "White" #4 size yarn
     Color B:  Caron "Pale Green" #4 size yarn 
     Color C:  Red Heart "Black" #4 size yarn  
     Color D:  Red Heart "White" #4 size yarn 
     Color E:  Red Heart "Bright Yellow" #4 size yarn  
  
Skill Level: Intermediate

Abbreviations:
     k = knit
     p = purl

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.

BODY  
Row 21 - 45: knit to the end
 
Bind off using gathered removal method.

To create the Penquin design:  Using the duplicate darning technique described here

Duplicate Stitching

Stitch over the ridges created by your knitting following this chart

That is available for free from this website  Tricksy Knitter

 

Some pieces of advice: 

• The instructions tell you to use a single strand of yarn, but I found my stitches looked better when I used a doubled strand.
• I found it easier to start at the top of a row and work downward. Not sure why.
• Be sure to loosely stitch a piece of yarn to mark where you want the center of the design
• Only work with one color at the time.  I tried having loose ends of all three hanging, but that quickly resulted in a tangled mess.
• If you pick out a different pattern, remember that you only have around a 30 x 12 stitch area to work with.  The penguin pattern was a little too wide.
• It would probably be wiser to start with a simpler, smaller design in one color for your first try at Swiss Darning... but I always gotta do things the hard way...

To create a tousle, wind Yarn A around three fingers around 20 times.  Tie a short piece of yarn tightly around the middle of this bundle of yarn.  Cut the looped ends of the yarn and trim to the desired shape.  Sew to the top of your toboggan using your yarn and a tapestry needle.