Wild Wooly Headgear from The World Knits Collection

Available on my website here 

on Ravelry here

Number 13 in the World Knits Collection - Wild Wooly Headgear

The Wild Wooly Headgear PDF Pattern features five different hat designs in varying degrees of difficulty. They are sized for kids and adults. Hats are a great knitting project because they are relatively quick to make. I have always found them a good vehicle to experiment with different motifs and color combinations. All of these hats are made on circular needles.

This collection features (from easiest to most difficult)

• Flat cap with pom poms and no shaping (shown at far right) -- 3 sizes

• Four pointed cap made by seaming at top bind off (shown at far left) -- 4 sizes

• A classic stocking cap a la Dr. Seuss. This version has a fun pleated edge made with ribs. (bottom right) -- 3 sizes

• Wide border skull cap with two color stripes and spiral crown shaping (shown at top) -- 3 sizes

• Peruvian inspired four cornered hat (shown at bottom left) -- 2 sizes

The pattern includes a bunch of different rib/edge treatments to experiment with. There are lots of extra charts so that you can combine your favorites. 

The Peruvian Four Cornered Hat was inspired by hats that were made between the 7th and 9th centuries in the Andes. I had seen these hats in museums. In 1990 there was show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which featured almost 100 Four Cornered Andean hats from the collection of Arthur Bullowa (catalog available here). You can see more photos on The Met's website here.  Here are some photos from The Met's website. 

Aren't these hats gorgeous and fun at the same time? These antique Andean hats were not knit but were knotted or looped. Some had pile. They featured geometric shapes and many animals. It's amazing that they survived to be collected. Many were buried in tombs. You can learn more about them on The Met's website here and see over 80 other photos of hats like these. 

My Peruvian Four Corned Hat was knit in the round in two colors in a round. The extra colors were added in duplicate stitch after knitting was completed. The 4 corner pieces are worked directly off the live stitches at each corner - almost like a thumb on a glove. After all the corners are knit, the stitches are put back on double pointed needles and a decrease chart is followed to make the stitches disappear. 

This whole collection offers five different hat styles and endless ideas for combining the charts and different stitches together. I can't wait to see what you do with it. 

Available on my website here 

on Ravelry here