Football Baby Hat with Earflaps

Materials:

• 30 peg Knifty Knitter loom
• Skein of dark brown yarn (4 medium worsted)
• Skein of white or off white yarn (some people like to use pink for a girl, others like to use their team colors) (4 medium worsted)
• Needle
• Hook
• Scissors

Notes:

The only wrapping technique used is the regular e-wrap. Though it says to go around the loom twice for one row, you don't have to do this if you really don't want to, it just really helps to make the hat warmer and thicker. If you ever at any time are completely confused, don't be afraid to ask questions! Who knows, someone else probably has the exact same question.  

Earflaps and Strings:

For the strings start by using the 30 peg loom. Holding one strand of brown and one strand of white together as one, cast on to only one peg (peg 1). Knit that one peg 30 times. Tie off, but DO NOT CAST OFF. Repeat on the opposite side of the loom (peg 16) except only tie off the white yarn.

CHECK!! Do you have two brown and white strings the same length attached on the opposite sides of the loom? Do you have the white yarn tied off on both strings, and the brown tied off on only one string? Make it so.

Now, pay attention or it will get tricky. With the brown yarn still attached, wrap around peg 16 and add peg 17 (going back over each peg to make sure there are two loops on each peg. This means wrap the pegs that way --> and then back again <--, counting it as the same row). Knit the string over the two brown loops on peg 16. Knit the same two pegs again. Now add peg 15. Knit the row of three pegs again (make sure you're always going over the row twice, wrapping that way--> , then wrapping that way <-- on the same row.) Add peg 18. Knit the four pegs again. Add peg 14. Knit the five pegs again. Add peg 19. Knit the six pegs again. Add peg 13. Knit the seven pegs again. Tie off, DO NOT CAST OFF.

CHECK!! Do you have one brown earflap (with a string attached) hanging on pegs 13-19? Make it so.

Remember the other string you have hanging on the opposite side of the loom? Make a slip-knot (still using brown here!) and attach it to peg 30, then add peg 1 on the same row. (Remember that once you've wrapped that way --> to wrap the other way <--) Knit the string over peg 1. Knit the two pegs again. Add peg 2. Knit the three pegs again. Add peg 29. Knit the four pegs again. Add peg 3. Knit the five pegs again. Add peg 28. Knit the six pegs again. Add peg 4. Knit the seven pegs again.

CHECK!! Do you now have two brown earflaps (both with strings attached) on opposite sides of the loom? Make it so.

From here, you can do one of two things. You can tie off the brown yarn and attach it to the real starter peg, OR you can leave the string where it is and just remember which peg the starter is. To be honest, it's not hard to be able to tell which pegs you have wrapped, and which you haven't. It will make no difference in the directions. Whichever you choose, do it now.

Hat:

Wrap around the whole loom using the same brown yarn (remember how we went that way--> then back again <--? well we're going to do it a bit differently. Just wrap around the whole loom twice, and count it as one row). Knit the earflaps over the row you've just made. Knit two more rows. Tie off. Knit two rows of white. Tie off. Knit thirteen rows of brown. Tie off. Knit two rows of white. Tie off. Knit 5 rows of brown. Tie off using the pull-string method (put a string through every loop, take off all of the loops, and pull tight! It should come together nicely, then secure it). 

CHECK!! Do you now have a brown hat with earflaps (and strings!) with two white stripes? Make it so.

Laces:

Now, from here it should be easy, but here are a couple guidelines. Remember, unless you are purposefully making the laces off-center (hey! It's your hat!), make sure that you are right in-between the two earflaps. Using the white yarn stitch a line down the center that has a length of seven rows. Then, stitch three (or however many you think looks best) lines across that are two rows long. Make sure you secure the loose ends! 

CHECK!! Is your hat starting to look more like a football hat? Make it so.

Pompoms:

Here, you can use a pompom maker to make two cute pompoms,  you can just buy a couple of pompoms, or you can make them the way I do and save yourself a bit of money. You can make them brown, white (fair warning, white looks a bit more feminine), or do both brown and white. Use your judgment, but I like to use just brown.

IF YOU ARE USING ONE COLOR: wrap the brown (or white) around two fingers 80 times. Then cut the yarn leaving about 8-12 inches of a tail. Wrap the tail around the 80 loops of yarn and make tie off VERY VERY TIGHTLY. As tight at you can get it! Then take the scissors and cut through all of the loops. Do not cut your tail off!! This should leave you with a square looking brown fluff. Trim it to make it a sphere! Then, you have a pompom! Now, simply just attach the pompom to one of the strings, and cut off the tail. Repeat!

IF YOU ARE USING TWO COLORS: Use the same directions from the one color pompom EXCEPT hold the two strands together as one and only wrap around your two fingers 40 times instead of 80. You should have two tails instead of one, so don't stress. Just attach to one of the strings, cut the tail off and repeat!

Finishing:

Weave in all loose ends and voila! You have just successfully made a football baby hat with earflaps. Congratulations!