CIK used a donation from All Saints Catholic Church to purchase yarn for men’s hats to give to a local homeless shelter. The yarn has been wound and divided into kits with enough yarn in each to make one adult men’s hat. Bulky and Worsted Weight kits are available.

Sizing and Construction
A men’s-sized hat should fit a 22-24” head circumference. The hat itself should be slightly smaller, allowing for some negative ease to keep the hat snug against the wearer’s head. Also, hats should be knit to a smaller gauge relative to the suggested needle size on the yarn’s label. Using a smaller needle will give the knitted fabric a tighter weave – and more protection again the cold Iowa winters! For the chunky yarn, I recommend a US9 or US10 needle. For the worsted weight, try a US6 or US7. To knit a basic hat in the round you’ll need a 16” circular needle and matching double-points (dpns) to use once the hat decreases to smaller than the circular can handle. You can also use the magic loop method with an extra long circular needle (at least 40”).

Patterns
There is no right or wrong pattern to use to create your hat. The yarn in the hat kits is all wool or wool-blends so ribbing and cable-work will show nicely. A simple stocking-stitch cap will also work well. Below are some pattern suggestions for Bulky and Worsted Weight yarns. All patterns are free and available through Ravelry. With patterns that have a ribbed brim, the pattern author will sometimes recommend knitting the ribbing with a smaller needle than the rest of the hat.

Chunky Yarn Hat Patterns
Easiest: Hat Knitted Flat
The Basic hat
With this pattern you will knit the hat on straight needles and then sew up a seam when finished. The pattern has a K3P3 ribbed brim.

Easy: St St Hat with Rib Brim
Super Basic Hat Pattern
A simple knit-in-the-round pattern with a K2P2 ribbed brim.

Easy: Simple Rib Hat
Handspun Ribbed Hat
This hat has a K2P2 ribbing for the entire hat. The ribs are worked into the decreases so that the ribbing continues to the top of the hat.

Moderate: Cabled Hat
Snappy Hat
If you haven’t tried cables before, this is a nice pattern to start with. The hat has a K2P1K2P2 ribbed brim which leads into cables that run to the top of the hat.

Worsted Weight Hat Patterns
Easy: Ribbed Hat
Jay’s Basic Hat
This hat uses a K6P2 rib that continues from the brim to the top of the head.

Moderate: Ear Flap Hat
Basic Ear Flap Hat
Two ear flaps are constructed first, then joined with the rest of the stitches needed for the main hat body. The hat is all done in stocking stitch.

Advanced: Cabled Hat
Caramel Cable Hat
Another nice pattern to use to practice your cables! This hat has both an eight-stitch cable and a faux cable (twisted rib) that follow to the top of the hat.

Yarn Choices
All yarn for this project was purchased from Knitted Together in West Des Moines and Charity’s Yarn in Altoona. Below are the names of the yarns purchased. If you click on a yarn name you will get more information from Ravelry about it.
• Cascade Eco+ (chunky red)
• Cascade Ecological Wool (chunky grey)
• Ironstone Yarns New Wool (chunky loose-spun black)
• Berroco Vintage (worsted weight olive and brown)

p.s. Don’t forget ticket orders for the July 6th I-Cubs game are due by June 16th. Save a stamp (or a trip to a board member’s house) and sign up at the June meeting. Tickets are $6/person. Barb Kraemer will distribute tickets the week before the game.

If you’re snowed in and can’t get your registration form and check in the mail by the deadline, at least send a quick email to cikblog@gmail.com with your class preferences. We just need a count of attendees so that we can tell Willow Creek how many people will be eating lunch.

The 2010 CIK Winter Retreat will be held Saturday, February 20th from 10am to 3pm at the Willow Creek Golf Course in West Des Moines.

Hope to see you there!

The next Central Iowa Knitters monthly meeting will be held Tuesday February 2nd at our regular meeting location, Valley Church on Fuller Road in West Des Moines. We will have a preview of winter retreat classes and, of course, time for show-and-tell for you to share your latest knitting creations. Hope to see you there!

Start the new year off right! Join us next Tuesday, January 5th at 7pm at our regular meeting location in Valley Church. The program for the night will be Magic Loop. Test projects will be passed around for you to try this technique for knitting in the round. If you’d like to start your own project, bring a 32” or longer circular needle and yarn.