Ear flap hat tutorial

[natalex]

This pattern has been published on Craftster for a long time and I figured it was due for a touch up. This will forever be my favorite knitting pattern of all time. I love knitting hats because they are quick projects that don't require a lot of yarn and they can be personalized in so many ways. I love ear flaps because my ears get cold up here in Alaska!

Sizes XS, S, M, L

Ingredients:
Size 9 or 10 circular and doublepoint needles
1 skein bulky yarn. I love Lamb’s Pride.
Tapestry Needle




Ear Flap (Make 2):
With two double point needles cast on 2 stitches. Purl 1 row. Work back and forth in stockinette stitch. Every time you do the knitting side, increase the first and last stitch. This will create the triangle shape. Use whatever increase method you prefer. I use M1FB. Keep going until there are 16 stitches for the XS, 18-S, 20-M, or 22-L. Place these stitches on a holder or leave them on one of the double points for later.
 
Hat:
With the circular needle, cast on 12-XS, 14-S, 16-M, or 18-L stitches for the back of hat; knit across stitches of the first ear flap with the stockinette side (right side) facing out. Cast on 20-22-24-or26 stitches for the front; knit across second ear flap. There will be 64-72-80-or 88 stitches in all. Join stitches carefully without twisting. Knit 2 purl 2 on the front and back part of the hat (regular knit the ear flaps) for 6 rounds. This will make the nice ribbing and will prevent the hat from curling up.

Continue knitting until the hat is about 5.5 inches tall. I usually knit about 32 rounds from the bottom edge of the ribbing.

Decrease as follows:
Round 1: Knit two together, knit 6. Repeat for one round.
Round 2 (and all even rounds): Knit
Round 3: K 2 together, K 5 for one round
Round 5: K 2 together, K 4 for one round (this is where you should probably switch to the double points).
Round 7: K 2 together, K 3
Round 9: K 2 together, K 2
Round 11: K 2 together, K 1
Round 13: K 2 together
Gather remaining stitches with a darning needle and fasten off. Weave in all tails.

I just braided yarn together to make the ties for the flaps.

This hat is really easy and looks great. For more photos and information, visit my blog at http://alaskaknitnat.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/my-classic-ear-flap-hat/

Alternative pattern: If you don't want to purl anything, you could just knit instead of making ribbing. After the hat is finished, to prevent the edges from curling up, crochet a single chain all around the outer edge of the hat.

[pelibem3]

very cute!
 

[kelabraxas]

i really love this hat and the colors are terriffic. I think im going to try it

[stashia]

hey!  If I can figure out how to pearl, I will definitely make it---do you think it would work all in knit?

[natalex]

the only part you have to purl are the ear flaps, so if you can figure out how to make triangles by just knitting, then you'd be fine! I had to have someone show me how to purl before I learned it. I couldn't get it by reading it from a book. Once I learned it it was pretty easy.

[artistrachelmarie]

flipping awesome colors grrrrl

[zzjulia]

This is great, thanks for sharing.  I have been looking for a pattern exactly like this for a child size hat.  Will give this a shot!

[natalex]

I made the small size for my 8-year-old niece and it fit great.

[zzjulia]

Natalex - thanks so much for the ear flap hat tutorial.  I made it for my friend's youngest and it came out great.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/julswei/detail?.dir=9466&.dnm=998d.jpg&.src=ph

[littleone1098]

That is so cute! Thanks for hte tute as well! I love it

[woolgathered]

Wow, great job! Thanks for posting it, I'll have to try it!!

[Treasure Cat]

Thanks for posting this!  I've been searching for an easy pattern for an ear flap hat and now I've found it!  I'm starting it right now...

[cupcake-girl]

That makes me think even lil ole me can do it. What kind of yarn did you use? What gauge did you come up with?
I like the contrasting colors you used.

[natalex]

You know, I made this a whole year ago and I can't even remember. It's baby alpaca and I'm too lazy to gauge anything, I just followed the pattern.

[SmartCookie427]

wow, this hat is beautiful. how do i knit "back and forth" for the earflaps on dpns? first actual project with dpns other than an icord, and i am a tad lost. sorry. any help would be great. thanks.

[bespectacled]

Thanks so much for this pattern! I used it to make this for my best friend's bf for christmas:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=70488.0

Oh and SmartCookie427, you use the DPNS just as regular knitting needles, turning each row like normal. Does that make sense?

[queen_gueneviere]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful pattern with us. That was very kind of you to do.  It's a terrific hat, I really like it and I'd like to try making a few of them.

To the people who have made this terrific earflap hat, I have a few questions.

Would you happen to remember what gauge you got, when you made it?
I always need a gauge for knitting anything that will fit someone. Because, I'd hate to see my time wasted and find out it didn't fit the recipient.
Any help with the gauge, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance, to whomever can help me out. 

Oh, and another thing. I'm wondering how the sizing goes. Approximately what age would the XS fit? Same for the S,M,&L. Because I'd like to make one to fit about a 2 year old, 3 year old, 4 year old, one for myself and, maybe one for hubby too.
Help with all of the sizes would be great. 
Thanks a bunch. Because I'd like to make some for gifts so, sizing is very important also.

[kelliz]

Thanks so much for sharing this pattern.  I was looking for an ear flap hat pattern just last week. 

[soap fairy]

Another huge THANKS on sharing the pattern. I made my first hat. You can see it here. It was very easy and I was finally able to force myself into using those circular needles I'll probably end up tweaking it some more, but it was a great, easy pattern to get started.

[natalex]

Wow, it's been a long time since I first posted this, I didn't even remember doing so. This is my staple hat pattern that I've knit probably near 30 hats with. It only takes me about four hours to do it, so why not?
As far as sizing goes, I use the medium size (80 stitches) for myself and the large size for my husband, who has a pretty large head.
I wanted badly to make this pattern for a baby, so I used the extra small pattern with size seven needles and worsted weight yarn and it turned out great. I never worry about gauge since it knits up so quickly. If it doesn't fit, I donate it to charity.
I think I'll start posting some of the other hats I've managed to not give away yet. I'm building up a collection here before Christmas.
Thanks!
Natasha

[Sarah1]

 :)Thanks! Great pattern for a beginner like myself!!

Sarah

[BethyBess]

I just made this hat.  I absolutely love how it turned out.  I go through spurts of knitting and so I never get to be very good at it because when I decide to knit again I have to re-learn a lot of the stitches.  But after all of my trials and errors...and tearing it apart 3 times I finally got it done.  It was well worth it.  The instructions are very very easy to understand.  I will definately be making more of these!

Oh...I'd post a picture but I need to meet my 10 post requirement first. I'll be back. 

Thank you so much!

Bethany

[BethyBess]

I was looking for an Ear Flap hat when I found your pattern.  I had to make it right away...unfortunatel y I didn't have any 16 inch circular needles.  I tried learning the magic loop with my 29 inch needles but it just wasn't working for me.    So....what else could I do but make my own needles.  It was actually pretty easy to make them out of dowels.  I don't think I'll ever buy a metal/plastic pair again!  

So...here is my pink hat.  Pink just happens to be my favorite color and the brighter the better.  This hat was a breeze to make.  






Thank you so much!

Bethany

[natalex]

It looks great, Bethany! I love the color. This hat was my gateway pattern. It gave me the confidence I needed to accomplish more advanced projects. I'm glad you've found it useful.

-Natasha

[VeesMom]

I just wanted to say thanks.  Just before Christmas I found this tutorial post and used it not only to knit my first hat but I also learned how to knit in the round to make this.  I had found patterns online but did not understand them as I had never followed a knitting pattern before.

My 10 yr old wanted one of these hats but we couldn't find the exact colors he wanted.  I borrowed some needles from my  mom, bought the colors he liked and .....a dozen or so hats later I am a confirmed hat knitting addict.

[natalex]

I am happy you found this pattern useful, VeesMom. I'm glad I wrote it out when I was first learning to read patterns because it makes it easier to understand as a beginner. This was my starting point to everything I've ever knitted. I still use this pattern every time I make a hat -- even if I don't make ear flaps. The concept is the same, you just start by casting on 72 stitches and doing knit two, purl two for five or six rows.
I tried to compile photos of hats that I've made. It's good to take photos before giving them away. I wish I had because I can't always remember them. Check out all the different styles I came up with: http://knitnatak.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-classic-ear-flap-hat.html

And please post a photo of your hat. I'd love to see your version!

-Natasha

[Lakers0321]

Really nice ive been searching high and low for this thanks. Now the only problem is my double points and circulars are 8s. Will that be ok if not how do I adjust?

[natalex]

Really nice ive been searching high and low for this thanks. Now the only problem is my double points and circulars are 8s. Will that be ok if not how do I adjust?

It might take a little tinkering, but it's totally doable. I would either use yarn that is meant for size 9 or 10 needles so the hat will be a bit bulkier or make the size larger in the pattern. Normally I use 72 stitches for my hats on size 9 or 10 needles. With size 8 I would probably use 80 stitches and if it's too big, give it to a guy and try again. That's why I love knitting hats. They don't take incredibly long to make so if it doesn't turn out right you can always make another.

Good luck!