Gezelligheid Hat

I knitted a hat ya'll!

See all those pretty little v shaped cables? 

However hipster I might look in this hat, I did not knit it for myself.

This hat is destined to be mailed to Holland for Colin.

I'm calling it the Gezelligheid Hat because I read somewhere that gezelligheid means cosy in dutch.

And I want this to make his head cosy in cold wintertime weather in the Hague.

 I'm just modeling it to show you how pretty it looks and how many weird faces I can manage.

Glare is what happens when you take pictures with overhead light and a camera flash at night indoors...

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Anyways, I knit this hat in two evenings of stop and go knitting after work this week.

It's an easy project, and I thought I would give you the pattern, in case you love my hat so much that you want to make your own.

If you've never knit cables before, this would be a great little intro pattern to work, since the cables are pretty small and easy to work with.

I found the original pattern on Ravelry. 

It was originally written by Smariek Knits. She calls it a Cap Karma Hat.

Her pattern stops the cable repeats at the bottom, so the top of the hat does not follow the V pattern and is all just knit.

Brooklyn Tweed has written a modification for the crown shaping so that the cables continue all the way to the top of the hat, through the decreases. It's a really clever modification actually.

My hat is a combination of the original cap karma with the Brooklyn Tweed modification added after 4 cable repeats.

Below I've copied the directions I followed, renamed for your convenience.

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Gezelligheid Hat

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You'll need:

-1 skein worsted weight yarn

I used Brae Tweed from Knit One Crochet Too in color 934 Slate

-one set of size 8 ( 5mm) double pointed needles

I used a fifth double point as a cable needle, 

but you could also use a traditional cable needle per your preference.

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CO 96 sts, join with out twisting

Knit 8 rounds of *k2 p2* ribbing

Round 1 - k across

Round 2 - k across

Round 3 - k across

Round 4 - *CB4, k4*

Round 5 - k across

Round 6 - k across

Round 7 - k across

Round 8 - *k4, CF4*

Repeat rounds 1-8 three more times, or until desired length.

Decreasing - 

Round 1 - k all sts

Round 2 - k all sts

Round 3 - *ssk, k6*

Round 4 - *(sl next st to CN and hold in back, k next 2 sts, k st from CN) k4*

Round 5 - k all sts

Round 6 - *k5, k2tog*

Round 7 - k all sts

Round 8 - *k3 (sl next 2 sts to CN and hold in front, k next st, k 2 sts from CN) k4*

Round 9 - *k1, k2tog, k3*

Round 10 - k all sts

Round 11 - k all sts

Round 12 - *(sl next st to CN and hold in back, k next st, k st from CN) k3*

Round 13 - *k2, ssk, k1*

Round 14 - k all sts

Round 15 - *k2tog, k2*

Round 16 - *k1 (sl next st to CN and hold in front, k next st, k st from CN)*

Round 17 - *k1, k2tog*

Round 18 - k all sts

Round 19 - * k2tog*

Break yarn and draw through remaining sts, weave in all ends.

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Abbreviations used above (and how I work them):

k = knit
p = purl
CO = cast on
CN = cable needle
ssk = slip, slip, knit. Slip 2 stitches from the left needle knit wise onto the right needle. Insert you left needle back into those 2 slipped stitches and knit them together as one knit stitch. 
sl = slip a stitch from the left needle to the right needle
k2tog = knit two stitches together as one stitch
CB4 = slip 2 stitches onto the CN and hold in back of work, then knit two stitches from the left needle, now purl 2 stitches from the CN
CF4 = slip 2 stitches onto the CN and hold in front of work, then knit 2 stitches from the left needle, now knit 2 stitches from the CN

floppy bow headband how to

Today I made this super cute floppy bow headband. 

Since I have to wear tons of accessories to my part time job 

(at an accessories boutique) I've been stock piling cute head bands.

This one is super simple, and only needs a few supplies and a little sewing to complete.

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You'll need:

Plastic headbands for the base. These are from the dollar store.

 Fabric for the bow and to cover the band. 

I used this silky PJ top I got from the thrift store for another project.

I snipped a sleeve off to use for the headband and bow. 

If you wanted to use fabric yardage and not a recycled garment, 

you would probably need less than a 1/4 yard.

You will also need scissors, a sewing machine, a hand sewing needle 

and thread to match your fabric, plus a dab of clear nail polish or fray check.

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HOW TO:

 If you're using a garment, select the fabric to use. 

I used a sleeve off my pj top, I just cut the seam all the way 

around the arm to yield this small, flat piece of fabric.

 Snip off the hem, leaving about a 1/4 inch next to the stitching to allow for finishing. 

You'll use this to cover the headband. 

If you were using yardage, or a non-hemmed part of the garment, 

you would want to cut out a long strip about 1" wide and about 15" long.

 Open the hem up by cutting or ripping through the threads carefully. 

Try not to snag or cut your fabric.

 Iron the extra 1/4" you left under to mimic the way the hem was turned. 

You're essentially making double fold bias tape.

 Press well, especially if you're using "silky" fabric.

Fold the strip so that the raw edges are on the inside. 

Sew the strip shut, close to the folded edges. 

You're making a finished, skinny tube.

 Sew slowly, so that you have a fairly even and consistent hem

 You're tube should look like this. 

Now you need to iron the tube so that the hem will 

be on the underside of the headband.

 It helps to slide the tube onto your headband at this point.

Arrange the seam on the bottom of the band and steam carefully with your iron.

Don't be too overzealous, you don't want to melt the plastic headband!

After being ironed and taken off the headband, your tube will look kind of like this.

See the seam ironed down to the bottom of the tube? 

Now you can slip the plastic headband into the tube and set it aside for a little while.

 Now we need to cut out the fabric for the bow.

I wanted my bow to be 6.5 inches long and 3.5 inches wide.

So I needed to cut a rectangle twice my length + 1/2 inch and my width + 1/2 inch.

That means I needed a 13.5 inch by 4 inch rectangle of my leopard fabric.

 I used a disappearing fabric marker to trace a line that I then cut. 

You will also need a smaller rectangle for the center "knot" part of the bow. 

I cut a rectangle 4 inches wide by about 6 inches long to make a knot 

that is about 1.5 inch wide to wrap around the center of my bow. 

More on the knot later.

 Take the larger rectangle, and meet the ends together in the center of the strip, 

right sides of the fabric facing in.

You will want to fold it like above, but with the edges matched...

Pin and sew along the raw edge. 

You will be left with a pouch that has a slit in the center. 

 See, the inside edges are still raw, just hanging out for the moment.

 Turn the pouch right side out, making sure to poke out the corners. 

It will look like this.

Zigzag stitch through ALL layers of the pouch, catching the two open edges... 

Sew down the center like its the spine of a little book. 

This doesn't have to be super neat, as it will be covered by the "knot" later.

Now take the smaller rectangle. 

Turn under one short edge to the wrong side and sew a seam. 

There is no need to finish the other edge right now.

 Now fold the right sides together like a hot dog and sew along the long edge.

 Turn the tube right side out. 

It will look like this, with one raw short edge and one finished short edge.

Iron the mini tube flat, seam on the bottom. 

 It's time to assemble the bow!

Pinch the center of the bow along that zig zag seam you 

sewed earlier to make a nice pleated bow center.

It will look like this. Arrange it however you want. 

You can sew a little basting seam now to hold these pleats, 

or if you are using a stiff fabric, it may hold the pleat without a seam. 

If you want to baste the bow, just sew through all pinched layers, along the zig zag seam.

Wrap the smaller knot tube around the bow. 

Insert the raw edge into the finished edge.

Arrange the knot however you want it to look, loose or tight, 

pinched to look knotted or flattened out. 

Tack down the knot fabric with a hand sewing needle. 

You want to whip stitch the finished opening closed, catching the raw edges inside. 

You will also want to sew the knot in place on the back side of the bow. 

Trim the edges of the fabric tube on the headband to 

about 1/4 inch from the bottom of the headband. 

Dab clear nail polish  or fray check on the fabric to keep it from raveling. 

Whip stitch the opening of the tube shut, wrapping the raw edges to the inside of the band. 

You can also sew the seam flat by whip stitching the seam on the bottom of the headband. 

You can easily stitch one edge shut, stitch down the bottom hem 

across the inside of the headband and then finish the other end.

Position the bow on the band where you want it, and hand stitch the bow to the fabric on the band.

 You're done! The finished headband should look like this!

SO cute! Now go wear you're big sassy bow accessory with pride!