Sock Monkey Hat

Last year while participating in GISHWHES (the greatest internet scavenger hunt the world has ever known) it was pointed out to me that I lacked a basic tool, a sock monkey hat. (Yes, the event is that weird, you should participate this August!)  My grandmother used to make sock monkeys from actual work socks, I still have one.

So here it is:

I started with a pattern off Ravelry, which was already a tweak from another pattern.  I took out the red top and pom-pom.  It came out on the small side, which is fine, since my son will probably take it over this winter.  This knitter went back over the face with duplicate knitting, whatever that is, because she was afraid of intarsia.  We’re even I guess.  I just counted the stitches in the chart in both directions, and when I had to carry over the color, I just brought the yarn around the color I wasn’t using so it went along for the ride.  The hardest part was keeping track of stitches while distracted, you can see that I didn’t exactly match the pattern.  I sewed on eyes and nostrils with yarn when the hat was completed.

Chart © of LLCooper

• size U.S. 8 needles, worsted weight yarn
• Cast on 72 stitches
• P1, k1 ribbing for one inch.
• next row- purl 22, put in marker, start pattern (27sts) purl to end
• knit a row, purl a row until it is 6 inches (and pattern looks good)
• Decrease:
• change to white
• row 1- knit 2 together, knit 5, repeat until end of row
• row 2- purl
• row 3- knit 2 together, knit 4, repeat until end of row
• row 4- purl
• row 5- knit 2 together, knit 3, repeat until end of row
• row 6- purl
• row 7- knit 2 together, knit 2, repeat until end of row
• row 8- purl
• row 9- knit 2 together, knit 1, repeat until end of row
• row 10- purl
• row 11- knit 2 together, repeat until end of row
• Finish- cut a long piece, pull tail through remaining stitches and sew the seam of the hat.

Here is LLCooper’s pattern for each ear:

• Cast on 9 stitches using a long tail cast on.
• Make sure to leave more of a tail than usual to attach the ears later.
• Row 1: purl 1, make 1 by purling but not pulling the stitch off and purling into the back of the same stitch, purl 5, make 1 (same way), purl 1 (11 stitches)
• row 2: knit across
• row 3: purl across
• row 4: knit 1, k2tog, knit 5, k2tog, knit 1 (9 stitches)
• row 5: purl 1, p2tog, knit 3, p2tog, purl 1 (7 stitches)
• row 6: knit 1, k2tog, knit 1, k2tog, knit 1 (5 stitches)
• row 7: p2tog, purl 1, p2tog (3 stitches)

Now I need to look for a new knitting or sewing project, as I find if I have something I’m working on while watching TV, I’m less likely to eat.  Any requests?