Basic pattern for hat and flip top mittens, easy to make over a day or two, knitted in the round with no seaming. The mittens will be fairly roomy on a 2 year old but will fit until they are four. The hat fits my 3 year old with his 19" head, my 6 year old and her 20" head, and even fits me comfortably at 22". This is because the ribbed brim keeps it on comfortably and the stretchy yarn makes it fit different sized heads nicely.
SO.
Yarn -
Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran in two colours Yarn A (I used pink) and Yarn B (I used white 003)
For a hat and a set of mittens to fit a 2-4 year old you'll need approx one ball of yarn B and two balls of yarn A.
Needles -
2 x 4mm 16" circulars (or one 16" and one other length)
2 x 5mm 16" circulars (or one 16" and one other length)
CANDY CANE HAT
- CO 90 stitches using 4mm circular needle in yarn A (pink).
- k2, p2 rib round (ending k1, p1)
- continue rib for 11 rows
- changing to 5mm circular needle knit one row plain
- change to yarn B (white) and knit two rows
- change to yarn A and knit two rows
- continue two row stripes until you have completed 5 stripes of yarn B.
- knit one row in yarn A
- k13, k2tog, repeat all the way round.
from this point on:
- do one stripe of yarn B (2 rows)
- knit one row in yarn A
- do decrease row, decreasing in the same position. So, next time, (k12, k2tog). The time after, (k11, k2tog). The time after that, (k10, k2tog). Etc.
Continue until you have only 12 stitches left. Then continuing in yarn A, k2tog all round, decreasing to 6 stitches.
Break yarn leaving a tail, thread it through remaining 6 stitches, and weave in all ends.
Using yarn A, make a 4” tassle and secure on to the tip of the hat. Seperate the strands of the yarn to make it nice and fine and puffy.
CANDY CANE FLIP-TOP MITTENS
kfb = knit through front and back (increase stitch)
These are knitted entirely on the 4mm needles to achieve a nice tight fabric, use two sets to knit in the round comfortably. You'll also need a thinner needle briefly, I used a 2mm, and a couple of bits of waste yarn.
MITTEN TOP
- cast on 16 stitches using magic cast on (8sts per needle) in yarn A.
- knit one round
- k1, kfb ,k4 ,kfb ,k1 on each needle
- k1, kfb, k6, kfb, k1 on each needle
- k1, kfb, k8, kfb, k1 on each needle
- knit one round
- change to yarn B, knit 2 rows
- change to yarn A, knit 2 rows.
Continue 2 row stripes until you have completed three stripes in yarn B; do one more in yarn A; then knit one row in yarn B. Set this mitten top to one side.
MITTEN BODY
- Loosely cast on 28 stitches in yarn A over two 4mm circulars (14sts per needle)
- Change to yarn B and knit two rows; then two rows yarn A; repeat these two stripes one more time.
- Using yarn B, knit 12sts, place last two sts on needle 1 and first two sts on needle 2 on waste yarn. Using another piece of waste yarn, cast on 8 sts, then knit these between needle 1 and needle 2 with yarn B. This is the thumb hole.
- rearrange these new stitches by putting 4 on needle 1, and 4 on needle 2, so that each needle now has 16 sts.
- Knit a row in yarn B, then continue stripe pattern (2 rows A, 2 rows B) until the mitten body has a total of seven stripes in yarn B, then cut yarn B leaving a tail for weaving in later.
- Knit one more row in yarn A
- k2, p2 rib for twelve rows, then bind off loosely in rib pattern.
MITTEN THUMB
- arrange the stitches kept on waste yarn over two 4mm circular needles, and pick up one stitch either side of the hole, so you have 14 sts altogether.
- Knit round in yarn A. If there are any big gaps, pick up an extra stitch, and knit it together with the one next to it. This is a good way of closing gaps, but make sure you still have only 14sts altogether.
- Knit eleven more rounds in yarn A, then bind off loosely.
ATTACHING MITTEN TOP TO BODY
- if they are not already arranged on needles, then place the stitches from the mitten top back as they were, 14 on needle 1, and 14 on needle 2.
- taking a much smaller needle, I used a 2mm needle; find the top row of the first stripe in yarn A at the top of the mitten body (not the cast on stripe); with the smaller needle catch 12 sts, along the stripe, across the centre.
- on the mitten top, bind off all 14 sts on needle 1 loosely with yarn B.
- bind off the first stitch of needle 2.
- hold needle 2 parallel to the thinner needle on the mitten body, making sure they are facing the right way (so that the mitten top and body will fit together)
- do a three needle bind off for the next 12 stitches, along both these parallel needles. This joins the two pieces of knitting (mitten top and body) together.
- bind off the last stitch on needle 2.
Weave in all ends.
Voila, a mitten. Repeat for second mitten, remembering to put the mitten top on the opposite side this time (on needle 1), so you have both a right hand and a left hand.
TIP - when binding off the mitten top, and on the first row of mitten body, do the row in k1, p1. This will help keep the edge from curling.
