Top Ten Tuesday: Hat Edition

As it's been in the 80s for the last week, I've been less than inspired to work on Little Man's sweaters or to start a sweater for myself...so I've been knitting a lot of hats. I love to knit hats--especially children's hats. So I was inspired to make this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic

Top Ten Reasons I Love to Knit Hats

10. Hats don't use a lot of yarn. In fact, they're a great way to use up partial skeins leftover from larger projects.

9. Hats make great baby gifts. (They are easy to mail, too).

Ribbon Hat from Itty-Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson

8. Size and fit are not such a huge issue with hats. If the hat doesn't fit its intended recipient, the child will either grow into it or it will fit a younger baby who is bound to come along sooner or later.

7. You can sell hats inexpensively. And moms of young children are more likely to buy something that isn't a huge investment. I sold enough twizzle hats last winter to buy my husband's Christmas present with the money I earned.

Some preemie size hats for the triplets. Free pattern here. Pink hat is two strands (one pink, one white) of Paton Beehive Baby. White hat is one strand Caron Simply Soft in Coconut.

6. When knitting hats, you can have fun playing around with different color combinations.

5. Even people who are somewhat conservative will wear a fun hat.

Hats for little boys in my life. Pattern (Cable and Rib Hat) from the 2006 Knit Pattern a Day calendar. I just deleted one repeat of the cable to make the hats childsize.

4. Once you've knit a few hats, they're an easy way to try to create your own pattern. If they don't work out, you haven't committed too much time or yarn to it.

3. Hats are a great way to try a new technique without committing to a large project (in case you don't like the technique). My first stranded work, doublepoint needle work, i-cords, magic 8 cast-on, and many more techniques were all done on hats.

Some hats I knit for Little Man: cabled preemie hat from the 2006 Knit Pattern a Day Calendar; twizzle hat (part of Little Man's clown costume), Helloyarn's Topdown Bonnet, Fair Isle Tassel Hat from Zoe Mellor's Adorable Knits for Tiny Tots.

2. Hats are fast to knit. Sometimes you just need a quick FO.

1. Hats are FUN to knit.

Preemie Pumpkin Hat (my design). Still playing with the design. Halloween gifts for the triplets.

Hope everyone is having a great week. If you've never knit a hat, I hope this will inspire you to try one. Off to knit more preemie size hats for my wee nephew and nieces. They are all home from the hospital now and off to a great start in life. I'm so proud of my brother and sister-in-law for making three such lovely and healthy babies!