Rabbit hat

Why is it that babies get all the fun hats?  Surely adults need to have fun too.  Is it because they worry about what others will think of them if they have wild things?  I couldn't find a rabbit themed hat, so I had to figure it out myself.  Now I've got a hat suitable for people nick-named "Rabbit" and drivers of Volkswagen Golfs, but probably not Playboy bunnies.

 

Yarn: Any ol' worsted thing, I used Loops & Threads Silky Soft in aran.  It was much less than one 6 oz skein.
Needles: #7 (4.5 mm) circular needle (for magic loop) and one extra needle the same size or smaller

Gauge: not critical, approximately what is says on the yarn (18 per 4")
k=knit, k2tog=knit two together, k3tog=knit three together: slip 1 stitch, k2tog, then pass the slipped stitch over, ssk=slip two stitches and knit them together, yo=yarn over

First, knit a couple ears.  The big floppy rabbit ears in a size suitable for an adult hat are already blogged.  Then knit your favorite hat and attach the ears.  I wanted something a little bit fancy and fit with the rabbit theme and wasn't looking for something all that warm, so made a carrot edging and used a simple lace to decorate the main portion of the hat.

Knit 4 carrots for the edging.  The carrot edging is also previously blogged.  The really brave will do them in orange and green.  Connect them into a loop without twisting and pick up 90 stitches in knit along the flat edge and start knitting:
k 4 rows
lace:
1) *yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k1*
2) k
3) *k1, yo, k3tog, yo, k2*
4) k
Repeat these rows a total of 4 times
k 8 rows, then decrease with *k8, k2tog*
k 4 rows and decrease with k2, k2tog, *k7, k2tog*, k5
k 2 rows and then k3, k2tog, *k6, k2tog*, k3
k 1 row then *k5, k2tog*
k 1 row then k1, k2tog, *k4, k2tog*, k3
k 1 row then *k3, k2tog*
k 1 row then *k2tog, k2*
k 1 row then *k2tog, k1*
*k2tog* and pull the end of the yarn through the last 9 stitches.

This makes a fairly unpatterned top for the hat.  For locating ears, I put mine toward the back a little bit.  Here's a photo for help in locating the ears and to see how the top comes out:

I picked up the stitches along the carrots so that they hand down from the hat.  They could be picked up so that they sort of fold over the lower section of the hat in which case some of the plain rows after the lace should be moved to before the lace so that the carrots stop before the lace starts.  There's more photos of the hat on my Ravelry project page.

carrot edging

I looked around for an edging that could be a carrot, but couldn't find anything like that.  It took a few tries, but I created something I like.  I'll link them together and pick up stitches from the side to start a hat.  Here is that edge of carrots.  It is a mix of flat and in-the-round.  Since I knit back and forth, the instructions are from the right side.

This just happens to be what I used for my project.  Any other project would expect to use about the same as the rest of the project, be that fingering weight or bulky.

Yarn: Any ol' worsted thing, I used Loops & Threads Silky Soft in aran.
Needles: #7 (4.5 mm) circular needle (for magic loop) and one extra needle the same size or smaller

Gauge: not critical, approximately what is says on the yarn
k=knit, p=purl, yo=yarn over, k1b=k1 through the back of the loop, p2tog=purl 2 together, CO=cast off

Starting at the right on 3 stitches:

1) p1, k1, p1

2) start I-cord by slipping the stitches to the other end of the needle and k3

3) k3, yo

4) k3, k1b

5) k4, yo (this is a good time to switch from I-cord technique to a magic loop technique)

6) k4, k1b

7) k5, yo

8) k5, k1b

9) k6, yo

10) k6, k1b

11) k7, yo

12) k7, k1b

13) k8, yo

14) k8, k1b

15) k9, yo

16) k9, k1b

17) k10

18) Place the last 5 stitches on the extra needle, knit the back stitches together with the front stitches, this reverts it to flat knitting

19) p2tog, k1 and cast off the previous stitch, p2 (3 stitches)

20) p2, k1

21) k1, p2

22) p2, k1, k on 3 stitches

23) CO 2 stitches, place the 3rd back on the right needle and k together with the next stitch, p2 (3 stitches)

24) p2, k1

25) k1, p2

26) p2, k1, k on 5 stitches

27) CO 4 stitches, place the 5th back on the right needle and k with the next, p2

28) p2, k1

29) k1, p2

30) p2, k1, k on 3 stitche

31) CO 2 stitches, place the 3rd back on the right needle and k with the next, p2

Repeat as often as required.

To make a fuller carrot top, k on 4 stitches at the end of rows 24 and 28, then CO 3 and k the 4th with the next stitch for rows 25 and 29.  Even fuller, stop binding off before the last and k on a few more stitches to bind off.  To make a fuller carrot, give it a little stuffing just before row 18.

Mighty rabbit ears

Eventually, a hat to attach them to, but first Big Ears!  They're done in the round using a magic loop.  Ears and hat will both come out of the same 6 oz skein.

Yarn: Any ol' worsted thing, I used Loops & Threads Silky Soft in aran.
Needles: #7 (4.5 mm) circular needle (for magic loop) or dpn
Gauge: not critical, approximately what is says on the yarn
k=knit, p=purl, m1L=make one left, m1R=make one right, ssk=slip, slip, knit; k2tog=knit 2 together, w&t=wrap and turn
Note that I do not flip my work over, merely reverse direction, so all instructions are for the right side.

Cast on 4 stitches:
1) k4
2) k1, m1L, m1R, k3
3) k5, m1L, m1R, k1
4) k1, m1L, k2, m1R, k5
5) k7, m1L, p2, m1R, k1
6) k8, p2, k2
7) k1, m1L, k4, m1R, k3, p2, k2
8) k9, m1L, p4, m1R, k2
9,10) k10, p4, k2
11) k1, m1L, k6, m1R, k3, p4, k2
12) k11, m1L, p6, m1R, k1
13-15) k12, p6, k2
16) k1, m1L, k8, m1R, k3, p6, k2
17) k13, m1L, p8, m1R, k1
18-21) k14, p8, k2
22) k1, m1L, k10, m1R, k3, p8, k2
23) k15, m1L, p10, m1R, k1
24-28) k16, p10, k2
29) k1, m1L, k12, m1R, k3, p10, k2
30) k17, m1L, p12, m1R, k1
31-38) k18, p12, k2
39) k1, m1L, k14, m1R, k3, p12, k2
40) k19, m1L, p14, m1R, k1
41-51) k20, p14, k2
52) k1, m1L, k16, m1R, k3, p14, k2
53) k21, m1L, p16, m1R, k1
54-71) k22, p16, k2
72) k17, w&t, k14, w&t, k16, p16, k2
73-74) k22, p16, k2
75) k21, ssk, p14, k2tog, k1
76) k1, ssk, k14, k2tog, k3, p14, k2
77) k20, p14, k2
78) k19, ssk, p12, k2tog, k1
79) k1, ssk, k12, k2tog, k3, p12, k2
80) k13, w&t, k10, w&t, k15, p12, k2
81) k17, ssk, p10, k2tog, k1
82) k1, ssk, k10, k2tog, k3, p10, k2
83) k16, p10, k2
84) k15, ssk, p8, k2tog, k1
85) k1, ssk, k8, k2tog, k3, p8, k2
86) k9, w&t, k6, w&t, k11, p8, k2
Cast off in p.

After doing short rows, always remember to pick up your wrap in the next row.  Once the first is finished, it's time to do it all over again for a second.  For the sake of symmetry, I did the second from left to right (the first was right to left).  The same effect can be achieved by knitting along the back section of the work instead of the front.  Since this is knitting the wrong side, k and p are swapped.