This baby hat was designed for the Period of Purple Crying Program at the IWK Health Centre. The PURPLE program educates parents about normal infant crying and teaches coping skills in order to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome.
These beautiful pictures were taken by a local photographer Shannon Bower, who generously donated her services to the project. Charlotte Quiggle did pro bono technical editing. Thank you, Shannon and Charlotte!
Little Knight Purple Hat Pattern
Materials: Bernat Satin #4, colour Lavender, 42 m (45 yrds), or any other soft acrylic yarn in worsted weight, 3.5 mm (US#4) and 4 mm (US#6) double-pointed needles, tapestry needle, stitch markers
Abbreviations:
k = knit
p = purl
k1-tbl = knit 1 st through the back loop
sl (slip) = transfer a stitch purlwise from the left needle to the right without knitting
k2tog = knit 2 sts together
CDD (Centred Double Decrease) = slip 2 sts as if to k2tog, k1, then pass 2 slipped sts over the knitted st. 1 st on the needle.
Gauge: 21 sts and 28 rnds over 10 cm (4″) in stockinette st with larger needles.
Head circumference: 37 cm (14.5 in), average newborn size
PLEASE NOTE: the hat’s cast-on edge must be very stretchy to fit comfortably over a baby’s head. Please follow cast-on instructions.
With two smaller needles held together, cast on 60 sts. Pull one needle out. Distribute sts to 3 double-pointed needles as follows: 29-16-15; mark beginning of round and join, being careful not to twist. The stitches are now divided for the front (29 sts on the first needle) and back (31 sts on the 2nd and 3rd needles combined)*.
Rnds 1-10: K1-tbl, p1.
Rnd 11: (K1-tbl, p1) 15 times, k30.
Rnd 12: (K1-tbl, p1) 15 times, p30.
Switch to larger needles.
Rnd 13: P2, (k1-tbl, p1) 12 times, k1-tbl, p2. K31.
Rnd 14: K1, p1, (k1-tbl, p1) 12 times, k1-tbl, p1, k1. K31.
Rnd 15: K2, p2, (k1-tbl, p1) 10 times, k1-tbl, p2, k2. K31.
Rnd 16: K3, p1, (k1-tbl, p1) 10 times, k1-tbl, p1, k3. K31.
Rnd 17: K4, p2, (k1-tbl, p1) 8 times, k1-tbl, p2, k4. K31.
Rnd 18: K5, p1, (k1-tbl, p1) 8 times, k1-tbl, p1, k5. K31.
Rnd 19: K6, p2, (k1-tbl, p1) 6 times, k1-tbl, p2, k6. K31.
Rnd 20: K7, p1, (k1-tbl, p1) 6 times, k1-tbl, p1, k7. K31.
Rnd 21: K8, p2, (k1-tbl, p1) 4 times, k1-tbl, p2, k8. K31.
Rnd 22: K9, p1, (k1-tbl, p1) 4 times, k1-tbl, p1, k9. K31.
Rnd 23: K10, p2, (k1-tbl, p1) 2 times, k1-tbl, p2, k10. K31.
Rnd 24: K11, p1, (k1-tbl, p1) 2 times, k1-tbl, p1, k11. K31.
Rnd 25: K12, p2, k1-tbl, p2, k12. K31.
Rnd 26: K13, p3, k13, k31.
Crown
To make crown shaping easier, redistribute sts on needles to end with 15-15-30 as follows:
Knit first 7 sts on the first needle and transfer them to the 3rd needle for the new beginning of rnd; slip the last 7 sts on the first needle to the 2nd needle, leaving 15 sts on the first needle with the p3 in the center; slip the last 7 sts on the 2nd needle to the 3rd needle, leaving 15 sts on the 2nd needle; there should now be 30 sts on the 3rd needle.
Rnd 27: (K6, CDD, k6) 4 times. (52 sts)
Rnd 28: (K6, sl1, k6) 4 times.
Rnd 29: (K5, CDD, k5) 4 times. (44 sts)
Rnd 30: (K5, sl1, k5) 4 times.
Rnd 31: (K4, CDD, k4) 4 times. (36 sts)
Rnd 32: (K4, sl1, k4) 4 times.
Rnd 33: (K3, CDD, k3) 4 times. (28 sts)
Rnd 34: (K2, CDD, k2) 4 times. (20 sts)
Rnd 35: (K1, CDD, k1) 4 times. (12 sts)
Rnd 36: (CDD) 4 times. (4 sts)
Cut yarn, leaving a 15 cm (6″) tail. Using tapestry needle, thread tail through remaining sts and pull tight. Weave in ends.
*The stitches are divided as 29-16-15 to avoid ‘ladders’ on the front and for easier shaping of the ribbed part.
Halifax Charity Knitters 
Love the pattern . Ingenious. Can you help adjust the pattern to larger baby heads ?
I made this beautiful hat for my cousin’s baby boy. It was very well received indeed. The ribbed feature element helps the hat fit beautifully. It will be a go to for future babies. Many thanks.
This is a lovely pattern. I’ve been looking for a baby hat that is elegant and simple, and this looks perfect!
Thanks!
I am very confused when it comes to the crown. I have knit up to this point with a circular needle so cannot figure out how to switch to dp needles. Is it possible to tell me how I get transferred to dp needles, as I have failed so far.
Hi,
usually when I come to the point where it says to switch to dpns, I count all stitches and divide them by 3. This is the number of stitches on one double-pointed needle. After that I just knit stitches off the circular needle using one dpn at a time. For example, say you have 30 sts on a circular needle. Divide them by 3 — you will have 10 sts on one dpn. Then knit first 10 sts on one dpn and let it hang there. Take the second dpn and knit the next 10 sts, let it hang there. Then knit the last 10 on the 3rd dpn. By that time you have 3 dpns holding your 30 sts and you knit with your 4th dpn seendle from the set. It’s better to start at the beginning of the round when you transfer the sts, some people use markers — I usually use the cast on tail as a beginning of the round, it will be hanging off the cast on edge under the point where your 1st and 3rd dpn meet. I hope it makes sense 🙂
I love this pattern and the hat is really beautiful! I will be making this hat for a new nephew on the way, but I will use the Magic Loop method rather than the DPNs. Thank you for sharing your talent!
Thank you, Laurie!
Beautiful! I look forward to giving this pattern a try. Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
love the hat but needing one to fit petite 17 month old. was wondering if the pattern can be made bigger and if so how
Thanks! I would start with the head circumference divided by gauge to get the number of stitches you need to add. One thing to keep in mind is that the total number of stitches should be a multiple of 4, while the number in each quoter should be an odd number.
I would also add a few more rounds of the ribbing before shaping the ‘visor”. Good luck!
Beautiful work! Very clean and crisp!
Can this be made with DK yarn and size 7 needles?
You definitely could try. It’s hard to predict how it will look with your particular tension but I see where you are going with it. So, you could either make a swatch and compare the gauge with that in the pattern, or just make a hat (because making a proper swatch will take almost as much time) and see what size it turns out to be. If it is a donation for a hospital, they will accept slightly larger or smaller hats as babies come in all sizes and it will fit someone.
But if you knit it as gift for a certain newborn, than you might want to check the size by stretching the hat over your hands as if ‘hugging’ a baby’s head. Providing flat measurements is not as useful because the hat looks small but is stretchy because of the ribbing, and the final size depends on your tension, even if it measures flat the same.
I hope it helps and good luck!
undoubtly one of the best baby hats ever I have made three for the newest arrivial. Ariving on 16.06.2012 I cannot wait to see my tinest little treasure wearing them proud Grandma Susie to be
Oh, I am so happy to hear that you liked it. Thank you, Proud Grandma Susie to be!
I can’t wait to get started!
I haven’t knitted for years but I want to knit this. Thank you for sharing. XXX
Really cute pattern. Hope to give it a try. Thanks for sharing it.
Hugs and happy stitching,
Kae
Thanks!