Nana Knitting: A Hatter to the Grandson

Being a grandson's hatter has been more of a challenge than I anticipated. My first attempt was part of the first ensemble and it was obvious months before he was born this rabbit-eared hat was not going to fit even a newborn's head.

I had some deliciously soft angora leftover from a jacket and made a much bigger hat with attached earmuffs in a retro boys helmet style.

He wore the jacket home from the hospital but being a July baby it was way too hot for him to wear the matching hat that day.

Angora knit jacket

I selected a vintage pattern for this helmet with a built-in neckwarmer.

However, after enjoying a hot prairie summer, he had outgrown it long before he needed a winter hat.

The same happened to this traditional balaclava.

By this time what I was learning about knitting for babies was to make things much bigger than currently needed and work out the corresponding season.

I cast on to make a retro flying helmet to fit size 1 to 2 years.

It looked so adorable in the pattern.

Washed and blocked

Ready for embellishment

I made a hat in the pattern known as The Teabag. It was so easy - knit a rectangle then fold in half. I did add little ear flaps and made some twisted yarn ties. It was decided 'no pompoms.' They don't fit the Christopher Robin Chic style that guides all of my Nana Knitting for this grandchild.

I knit this traditional watch cap made famous by fishermen in many countries. I had to use the small ball of Croftspun Shetland yarn spun in the Seafield Mills in Keith, Scotland I had in my stash because of the family connections.  One of Osmund's dad's middle names is Keith and he has ancestral roots in the area.

You may have noticed most of the above hats are white which was part of a plan. When mother-to-be arrived for a visit she had the task of dyeing all of the hats, and the white garments I had knit.

The traditional balaclava dyed with a Bengala earth dye.

The Bengala dyed retro flying helmet with added sheepskin trim.

Another Tea Bag hat dyed with a mix of different Bengala dyes to give complex neutral colour. This hat became a favourite.

The Keith Watch Cap. The yarn did not soften after washing and felt itchy. 

My solution was to knit a soft angora inner band.

Unfortunately, with the washing and dyeing the yarn fulled and the hat became smaller which meant it didn't fit when it was needed when the weather started to get colder.

I learned a lot while making this first batch of hats for our grandson. The second batch has been more successful but still with a few more lessons learned, which I'll cover in a later post.