YOU ARE LOVED Free Hat Pattern

My “YOU ARE LOVED” hats are worked flat and feature a textured heart in seed / moss stitch. They come in 4 sizes (newborn, 1 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months and toddlers) and are a perfect for a Baby Shower gift. And also for Valentine’s day!  

This pattern is a wonderful way to practice reading small charts. If you’re new to following a grid, my Beginner’s Guide to Knitting Charts will show you exactly how to track your heart motif row by row.

Skill level: suitable for beginner knitters who know how to make k2tog and skp decreases (advanced beginners / easy level)

I hope you like them 🙂 And if you have some extra time and yarn, these are perfect as charity hats 😉 

The entire pattern for all sizes is below.

Project Detail	Requirement
Skill Level	Advanced Beginner (knit and purls, simple decreases)
Sizes	Newborn, 1 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months, toddler
Yarn Weight	DK or fingering (used double)
Needle Size	US6 (4mm) and US4 (3.5mm)

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Read more: YOU ARE LOVED Free Hat Pattern

YOU ARE LOVED Free Hat Pattern

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Color codes are the same as in the written pattern.
Newborn: to fit 12’’ to 14’’ (30.5 to 35.5 cm) of head circumference.
1 to 6 months: to fit 14’’ to 16’’ (35.5 to 40.5 cm) of head circumference.
6 to 12 months: to fit 16’’ to 18’’ (40.5 to 45.5 cm) of head circumference.
Toddler: to fit 18’’ to 20’’ (45.5 to 51 cm) of head circumference.

MATERIALS & TOOLS

• 1 pair of straight needles US 6 (4 mm).
• 1 pair of straight needles US 4 (3.5 mm).
• Approx. 50 yds (46 m) / 65 yds (60 m) / 90 yds (82 m) / 120 yds (110 m) of DK (8 ply) yarn. OR of light fingering yarn (approx 3 ply) USED DOUBLE (double the yardage).
• Stitch markers.
• Tapestry needle to weave in yarn ends and scissors.

GAUGE

21 sts x 28 rows in stocking st with US 6 (4 mm) needles = 4” x 4” (10 cm x 10 cm)

ABBREVIATIONS

• CO: cast on
• BO: bind off
• RS: right side
• WS: wrong side
• st: stitch
• k: knit
• p: purl
• k2tog: knit 2 sts together
• skp: slip 1 st as if to knit, knit 1 st, pass the slipped st over

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. CO 70 (82, 96, 110) sts with US 6 (4 mm) needles.

I always cast on and bind off stitches with larger needles than I use for the main work. This prevent my cast on and bind off rows from being too tight.

2. With US 4 (3.5 mm) needles work approx. 1’’ (2.5 cm) / 1.25’’ (3 cm) / 1.5’’ (4 cm) / 1.5’’ (4 cm) in 2/1 rib, ending with a WS row.

You can choose how the rib will look from the RS, as you can see in the photo below. The rib in the oatmeal hat is made by knitting *p2, k1* in the RS, whereas the pink one is made by knitting *k2, p1* in the RS.

3. Change to US 6 (4 mm) and knit 1 row (RS) while making 11 (9, 13, 11) decreases as follows:

k4, (k2tog, k4) x 11 times
k8, (k2tog, k6) x 9 times, k2
k5, (k2tog, k5) x 13 times
k9, (k2tog, k7) x 11 times, k2

Now you have a total of 59 (73, 83, 99) sts.

4. Work 1 (1, 3, 5) rows in stocking stitch with 1 garter st at each border. While working the last WS row, place 1 marker at each side of the middle 21 sts. You’ll be making the textured heart over those sts.

5. Continue working as follows:

1 garter st, stocking st until marker, TEXTURED HEART PATTERN (see below) over 21 sts, stocking st until 1 st remain, 1 garter st.

6. Once you finish the last row that includes the Textured Heart Pattern, knit 2 (4, 8, 10) more rows in stocking st with 1 garter st at each side. While working the last row (WS) place 4 markers as follows:

– At 9, 23, 37, 51 sts from the beginning of the row.

– At 10, 28, 46, 64 sts from the beginning of the row.

– At 12, 32, 52, 72 sts from the beginning of the row.

– At 14, 38, 62, 86 sts from the beginning of the row.

7. Now you are ready to make decreases in each RS row, in order to shape the crown of the hat. You’ll be decreasing 8 sts per row by k2tog BEFORE each marker and skp AFTER each marker. I write below, for each size, the rows in which you need to make decreases and the resulting number of sts after each one is done, so you can check your progress if you need to. Remove markers as you go in the last row.

Newborn size

1) 51 sts remain.
3) 43 sts remain.
5) 35 sts remain.
7) 27 sts remain.
9) 19 sts remain.
11) 11 sts remain.

1 to 6 months size

1) 65 sts remain.
3) 57 sts remain.
5) 49 sts remain.
7) 41 sts remain.
9) 33 sts remain.
11) 25 sts remain.
13) 17 sts remain.
15) 9 sts remain.

6 to 12 months size

1) 75 sts remain.
3) 67 sts remain.
5) 59 sts remain.
7) 51 sts remain.
9) 43 sts remain.
11) 35 sts remain.
13) 27 sts remain.
15) 19 sts remain.
17) 11 sts remain.

Toddler size

1) 91 sts remain.
3) 83 sts remain.
5) 75 sts remain.
7) 67 sts remain.
9) 59 sts remain.
11) 51 sts remain.
13) 43 sts remain.
15) 35 sts remain.
17) 27 sts remain.
19) 19 sts remain.
21) 11 sts remain.

8. Cut the yarn leaving a long tail.

9. Using a tapestry needle pass the yarn inside the 11 (9, 11, 11) sts to take them out of your knitting needle:

10. Pull tightly to close. I usually give it another turn inside all sts.

11. Sew your hat using the lateral garter sts as guide:

Not sure how to sew the hat using the knots left by the garter stitches? Head over to my Joining Guide for tips on neat seams (look for the “Vertical Edge-to-Edge Seam” title).

12. Weave in yarn ends, and that’s it!

Love this pattern? A high-quality, ad-free PDF version is available in my Shop. This helps support the Oh La Lana! website so I can keep creating free resources for you!

Are you knitting a gift set?

The best companions for this hat would be a vest and a blanket. Here are some popular free patterns for you:

• The YOU ARE LOVED vest. A sweet looking, matching companion to this hat, uses a similar textured heart and a convenient buttoned fastening for the shoulders to make it easier to put on and take out without discomforting the little one.
• The ALPHABET COLLECTION. You can knit the whole Alphabet into a blanket or choose only the letters that form the baby’s name. And why not pairing those blocks with some favourite Animals and one or two Heart blocks to keep the LOVE theme?

Additional Notes

This is how the hat looks if you knit the main part it in seed / moss st instead of stocking st. Cute, right?

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TEXTURED HEART PATTERN: row-by-row written instructions

Over 21 sts.

Row 1) k all sts

Row 2) p all sts

Row 3) k10, p1, k10

Row 4) p9, k1, p1, k1, p9

Row 5) k8, (p1, k1) x 3 times, k7

Row 6) p7, (k1, p1) x 4 times, p6

Row 7) k6, (p1, k1) x 5 times, k5

Row 8) p5, (k1, p1) x 6 times, p4

Row 9) k4, (p1, k1) x 7 times, k3

Row 10) p3, (k1, p1) x 8 times, p2

Row 11) k4, (p1, k1) x 7 times, k3

Row 12) p3, (k1, p1) x 8 times, p2

Row 13) k2, (p1, k1) x 9 times, k1

Row 14) p3, (k1, p1) x 8 times, p2

Row 15) k2, (p1, k1) x 9 times, k1

Row 16) p3, (k1, p1) x 8 times, p2

Row 17) k2, (p1, k1) x 9 times, k1

Row 18) p3, (k1, p1) x 8 times, p2

Row 19) k4, (p1, k1) x 3 times, k1, (k1, p1) x 3 times, k4

Row 20) p3, (k1, p1) x 3 times, p3, (p1, k1) x 3 times, p3

Row 21) k4, (p1, k1) x 2 times, k5, (k1, p1) x 2 times, k4

Row 22) p5, k1, p9, k1, p5

Row 23) k all sts

Row 24) p all sts

TEXTURED HEART PATTERN: charted instructions

• Read all odd rows from right to left, and all even rows from left to right.

Not sure how to read this chart? Visit Section 2: Stitches & Textures in our Knitting Academy.

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STITCH GLOSSARY

Stockinette Stitch (also called Stocking Stitch)

RS: k all sts
WS: p all stsAlternate those 2 rows.

Seed / Moss Stitch

Row 1) *k1, p1*, repeat from * to *
Row 2) k over p, and p over k.
Always repeat row 2.

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If you want to see this pattern in Ravelry and add it to your library, click here. 

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© Cecilia Fameli, 2019.
You’re welcome to sell your items produced from Oh La Lana! patterns! But you may not re-sale or re-distribute commercially my patterns in any manner. Thank you in advance for being respectful with my work!