How to knit a hat for beginners with circular needles [5 easy steps] — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00How to knit a hat for beginners. Winter is coming  and it's time to start making winter warm again.
2. 0:06So today's video will be all about how to  knit a hat with circular needles. I'll show
3. 0:12you how to start it, how to figure out how many  stitches you need to cast on, and of course,
4. 0:18how to decrease here towards the top. I tried to  come up with a pattern that is super easy to knit
5. 0:25but it will still result in a contemporary head  that looks a bit more fashionable. It's a simple
6. 0:32one-by-one rib stitch that will ensure a nice fit  and also a very structured three-dimensional look.
7. 0:39I will be finishing this hat - or beanie as some  call it - using circular needles and the very
8. 0:47simple magic loop technique. But if you prefer  knitting with double-pointed needles that will
9. 0:52work as well. Either way, let's dive right into  it and show you how to knit a hat. Just two more
10. 0:58notes: Please like this video right now to support  my work, and remember, if you have any questions
11. 1:05feedback or you need help, feel free to comment  and I'm sure we will find a solution together.
12. 1:18For this hat, you will need: The pattern, of  course. It's the first link in the description
13. 1:23below. Yarn. I'm using 100 grams of this nice dk  weight yarn for a men's size m. That's around 280
14. 1:31to 300 yards. Then you will need knitting needles  matching the weight of your yarn. I am using
15. 1:383.5 millimeter needles here. That's us size 4. The  recommended size for this yarn is actually 4 to 5
16. 1:45millimeters. So, I picked a relatively small  needle so I can get a nice and neat rib. You
17. 1:51might want to follow suit. And then you will  need some scissors, a sharp tapestry needle,
18. 1:56a tape, and maybe some stitch markers. And once  you have all these materials, we are ready to go.
19. 2:03First, you need to figure out how many stitches  you need to cast on for your hat. There are two
20. 2:10ways to do this: First, the pattern will give you  some size suggestions and a gauge. So you can use
21. 2:17a similar yarn and the same needle size and try  to meet my gauge. Or you do your own calculations.
22. 2:26Either way, you will have to knit a simple  swatch. So simply cast on a couple of
23. 2:31stitches and knit a swatch that is roughly 10  centimeters wide and five centimeters high in
24. 2:38a one by one rib stitch. So, *knit one, purl one*.  I cast on 26 stitches here and in an ideal world,
25. 2:47you would have to wash and block this little  swatch. And that's why it is on this blocking
26. 2:54mat here. Keep the working yarn attached to  the ball as you can reuse the yarn later on.
27. 3:01And then it's time to count stitches. You  need to figure out how many stitches you
28. 3:06need to cover five centimeters or two inches -  whatever you prefer. Ribbing is a very stretchy
29. 3:12fabric with a lot of negative ease so it's very  important that you stretch your fabric before you
30. 3:18measure stretch it out so the ribs here appear  nice and neat. And then count: one, two, three,
31. 3:26four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven,  twelve, thirteen! I need 13 stitches. And once you
32. 3:34have this number, you simply have to measure your  head or the head of the intended wearer. Now there
33. 3:39is no right or wrong way to measure here. Simply  measure where you want the bottom of the brim to
34. 3:44be. Maybe you want to pull your hat down below the  ears or maybe you want it to sit above the ears.
35. 3:53You need to take the measurement of your ideal  fit. I recommend doing this in front of a mirror.
36. 4:01And the rest is simple math. Divide the stitches  that you counted by the width that you measured.
37. 4:10So five centimeters or two inches. In my case,  that's 13 divided by 5 and the result will be
38. 4:19how many stitches you need for one centimeter or  one inch. And then simply multiply that number,
39. 4:272.6 in my case, times the circumference  of your head - 57 in my case. And that's
40. 4:36148 in my case. And then you only need to  round down that number to the next number
41. 4:46divisible by six. In my case that is 144. And then  you're already set and we can start casting on.
42. 4:55So, I have my yarn, my needles, and now it's  time to cast on stitches - in my case 144 - so
43. 5:02we can start knitting the hat. I'll cast on  with a tubular cast on. It's a bit fiddly but
44. 5:09it will create a super nice finish. If you think  that's too difficult, you can also use a long tail
45. 5:15cast-on around two needles, or a German twisted  cast-on. You will find links to my tutorials and
46. 5:23further suggestions in the pattern. And there  is no shame at all in admitting you are still
47. 5:30a beginner. So using a normal longtail cast-on can  still look very nice. Anyway, a tubular cast-on is
48. 5:39nothing else but a very condensed short little  piece of double-knitting. So, you start with a
49. 5:44setup row where you twist the yarn around the  needles. So first, you do a simple slip knot.
50. 5:51And then from here, you have to weave your needle  around the yarn to create knit and purl stitches.
51. 5:58So we'll start with a purl stitch because there's  already one stitch here. So you come in from above
52. 6:04and grab the yarn. And if you look very closely,  this will create a little purl bump here. And
53. 6:12then we need a knit stitch. So we come in from  below, grab the yarn. There's our knit stitch.
54. 6:19Then another purl stitch, knit stitch,  purl stitch, knit stitch. So this is super,
55. 6:28super simple just make sure that you... well I  always count out loud because it's so easy to
56. 6:35lose track. And once I cast on 20 stitches in that  manner, I will always place a stitch marker. And
57. 6:46then I weave...or cast on another 20 stitches  and so on. And again we need... or I need 144
58. 6:56stitches total. And you don't have to cast on any  extra stitches. Just 144 stitches and i'll see you
59. 7:04there. So, I cast on my 144 stitches here and now  we need to knit two preparational rows. For now,
60. 7:12we will continue flat. So we need to turn the work  around and that's why I twist the yarns around one
61. 7:22more time so I don't accidentally untwist this  very first stitch as I turn my work around.
62. 7:31And the repeat for this very first row will be:  *knit one through the back loop and then slip
63. 7:37one purlwise with yarn in front*. So essentially,  it's a row of double stockinette stitch. And you
64. 7:44can see how this first loop here sits on... is  mounted the wrong way. And that's why we knitted
65. 7:51through the back loop to untwist it. So knit one  through the back loop. And be careful with this
66. 7:56very first stitch, it's a bit more difficult.  And then slip one purlwise with yarn in front,
67. 8:04knit one through the back, slip one purlwise with  yarn in front, knit one through the back loop...
68. 8:12across the whole row. So it's a very simple repeat  but go slowly because it can be... sometimes the
69. 8:24stitches twist around the needles and you need  to untwist them and so on. So go slowly. So,
70. 8:32I finished this very first setup row and now it's  time for the second setup row. And we will already
71. 8:39join our knitting in the round here. And by the  way, make sure to comment if you want me to create
72. 8:46a full tutorial on the tubular cast-on and how to  use it for different knitting stitch patterns. So
73. 8:52what I will do is, I will slide my stitches here  to the center of my needles and then um pull out
74. 9:03my cable. And just in case, my last video was all  about the magic loop technique. So if you need
75. 9:14to catch up, I'll link the tutorial up in here  because I'm not going to repeat everything in this
76. 9:22tutorial. And then I'll slide my stitches here  to the front, and I make extra sure that I don't
77. 9:30accidentally twist the stitch. So, I slipped all  my stitches to the tip of the needle and I made
78. 9:36extra sure that the that the cast-on edge here  forms one continuous line here on the inside that
79. 9:42isn't twisted. Double check! I's so easy to mess  up. And now we can start knitting in the round.
80. 9:55Doing a traveling magic loop is recommended in  this case because it will be much easier to knit
81. 10:06across the gap. So the repeat for this very first  row will be ... gonna place a stitch marker here.
82. 10:18So the repeat for this second setup row is just  as easy. You slip one purlwise with yarn in back,
83. 10:26and then you purl one. Try to keep the gap here  as tight as possible. And then slip another
84. 10:35stitch purlwise with a yarn held in back, purl  one. So you always slip the knit stitches,
85. 10:44and here those purl stitches, you purl. They  are a bit in the back. That's because, well,
86. 10:52this is double-knitting, I guess. And  otherwise the repeat is super simple.
87. 10:58And continue until the very end of this second  row. And remember we did a traveling magic loop
88. 11:09so you will have to cover these stitches as  well. That's why we placed this stitch marker.
89. 11:14So, I finished knitting that second setup row  and from here you have two choices: First,
90. 11:23you knit another two rows of double stockinette  stitch. This means you would have to *knit one,
91. 11:31slip one purlwise with yarn in front* one row,  and then another row with a *slip one purlwise
92. 11:38with yarn in back, and then purl one*. This will  create a very rounded cast-on edge so that would
93. 11:48probably be my preferred choice if I wouldn't want  a folded brim. For a folded brim, I only do two
94. 11:58setup rows. And from here, I continue knitting in  a simple one-by-one rib stitch from here. So *knit
95. 12:05one and purl one*. Knit one, and purl one. And you  can see which stitches you need to purl. So here
96. 12:14there is a little purl bump, so I purl it. This is  a knit stitch, and I knit it. So you don't really
97. 12:21have to count stitches. Just knit every stitch the  way it appears. Now my last video was all about
98. 12:36getting ribbing to look as neat as possible. And  one of the trip tricks was giving the working yarn
99. 12:43a good tug after every purl or after every first  purl stitch. So you knit... so I always knit one
100. 12:51purl one, tug. Knit one, purl one,  tug at the working yarn. Knit one,
101. 12:56purl one, pull tight. At first, this will feel a  bit awkward but once you knit a couple of rows,
102. 13:08this will feel like second nature.  And from here, you need to knit around
103. 13:1810 centimeters in this one-by-one rib stitch.  10 centimeters or four inches of this ribbing.
104. 13:27So it's always... in every row it's the  exact same repeat. Knit one, purl one, and so
105. 13:34on. And one more thing: Remember to take breaks!  All this pulling on the working yarn after every
106. 13:42purl stitch will put quite a bit more stress on  your fingers than usual. So i only knit for about
107. 13:5015 to 20 minutes and then I take a short break.  Maybe shake out my hands a bit, stretch a bit,
108. 13:57get a new cup of tea - or coffee if that's your  thing - and then I continue. And personally, I
109. 14:04often actually set myself a timer on my mobile  phone so I don't forget it and don't get into
110. 14:10the knitting zone where I go like: "Yeah, just  one more round ....one more round". And again,
111. 14:18you need to continue in this 1x1 rib stitch  for 10 centimeters or around four inches. Oh,
112. 14:27and I noticed I wanted to mention two more things!  First of all, here in the second round, you will
113. 14:33already see what a well-rounded edge the tubular  cast-on will create. What you will also be able to
114. 14:43see is, if you accidentally twisted your cast-on  edge. This can happen, no problem. The problem
115. 14:51is when you just continue knitting blindly. And  then, after you covered five or so centimeters,
116. 14:58you suddenly notice your work looks like this. So  here in the second row, you should already be able
117. 15:04to see that your cast-on edge forms one continuous  line that is not twisted. So don't wait too long.
118. 15:14So a couple of hours later, this is how my little  hat in the making looks like now. Quite pretty but
119. 15:22far from being finished. I only knit about 10  centimeters here. Still, now is a good time
120. 15:29to control the fit of your hat. And we obviously  need to talk about when you can start decreasing.
121. 15:37First, this hat pattern has a folded rim. So if  you want to control the fit, you obviously need
122. 15:45enough fabric to fold it and you won't be able  to do this when you only have a centimeter or so.
123. 15:52Also, the tubular cast on here is quite stretchy.  And if you try your hat on only after 10
124. 15:59rows or so, your fabric will behave quite a bit  differently then your whole hat will when it's
125. 16:08finished. This hat should fit around your head so  the rib looks nice. It shouldn't be over-stretched
126. 16:16like this - except you prefer it that way. But of  course the ribs shouldn't be as condensed as they
127. 16:23appear here, so your hat drops past your eyes on  its own. If it doesn't fit nice and you feel well
128. 16:33this is a bit too loose or too tight, then I have  bad news for you: You would have to adjust your
129. 16:38cast-on and start all over again. The good news  is, once you've figured things out, you can knit
130. 16:44as many hats with a perfect fit as long as you  use the same yarn. And it really boils down to,
131. 16:50you know, maybe pinching the fabric a bit  while you try it on. And then, you know,
132. 16:57check how much less you would need ....three  ribs ....maybe six ribs. And remember,
133. 17:05the number has to be divisible by six. Each rib  here means two stitches. So just pull out the
134. 17:12fabric and see how much less you would need. And  if it's too tight, well what you can do is, you
135. 17:19can try it on and pull it down as far as you get.  And then take your tape and check the difference
136. 17:28and adjust your cast-on accordingly. But remember,  a one-by-one rib is very, very forgiving. So if
137. 17:37you are a bit little bit off, it won't matter  a lot and you will also be able to add a little
138. 17:43rubber band here on the inside later on to correct  minor mistakes or create an extra snug fit.
139. 17:52Now there's one important question you might  be asking: When should you start decreasing
140. 17:56your hat? The answer is actually quite easy but it  will totally depend on your personal preferences.
141. 18:03First of all, this pattern here is meant  to be worn with a folded brim but if you
142. 18:10don't like that, that's okay. But obviously,  you would need less fabric in this case. So
143. 18:16first, you need to decide for yourself, how high  your brim should be. In my case I want you to be
144. 18:24eight centimeters high. But again, it entirely  depends on your personal preferences. But
145. 18:29I wouldn't go too small. Anything below  four centimeters doesn't work very well.
146. 18:35And now... I already did this... now you  simply have to fold your project or your
147. 18:41work in progress the way you want your brim to  look, and then put it on. I tried to sketch this.
148. 18:50And then the project... where you should start  decreasing... when your project reaches the
149. 18:59crown of your head, and there is, you know, barely  whisp of hair peeking out... or skin. Now, that's
150. 19:09just for this pattern because I want the tip to be  rather tall. For other patterns, you would have to
151. 19:17do it differently. But once this is the case, you  can start decreasing. And the pattern will give
152. 19:25you a couple of other options. In my case, this  means, my fabric here, the total length of the
153. 19:32fabric needs to be 23 centimeters or ~9 inches. So before we can start decreasing,
154. 19:39you need to place a couple of stitch markers. I  am using these bulb-shaped stitch markers which
155. 19:46you can attach freely without having to knit. And  the pattern will tell you exactly where you need
156. 19:54to place the stitch markers but you can also  do some very simple math. Remember, we cast on
157. 20:00multiples of six. So in my case those are all my  stitches on the needle. I cast on 144 stitches
158. 20:12and now you need to divide these 144  stitches, or however many stitches you
159. 20:18cast on, into three equal parts. Three equal  parts... this would be - in my case - 48 stitches.
160. 20:30And now you need to carve out seven stitches here  in the front. And you need to take a subtract
161. 20:39four stitches from this section and three from  this. And now you already know where you need
162. 20:45to place your stitch markers. You need to  place one here after 44 stitches (48 minus
163. 20:53four), then you knit seven stitches, place  a stitch marker, and then 48 minus 3 is 45,
164. 21:03and then you place another stored stitch  mark after 45, and here another after 48
165. 21:11stitches. So that's the simple math and it will  work for any other number divisible by six.
166. 21:18And once you placed all your stitch markers,
167. 21:21you can start knitting until you are four stitches  before the first stitch marker. So, I'm four
168. 21:32stitches before this stitch marker where the next  stitch mark is only seven stitches removed, and we
169. 21:40are going to decrease like this <forms converging  lines with hands > - so from both directions.
170. 21:44And this... these seven stitches here in the  middle will remain untouched for the whole time.
171. 21:52So... and the decrease always works in two... well  two passes really. First, you will decrease umthis
172. 22:01knit stitch here and this purl stitch, so you  end up with two knit stitches next to each other.
173. 22:07And then you knit across a round. And then, in the  next... or in the third round, you will decrease
174. 22:13these adjacent knit stitches into one. And then  you rinse and repeat. So how do you do that?
175. 22:20So four stitches before the stitch marker, you  need an ssk. So one ssk here, and this will bring
176. 22:30two knit stitches next to each other. And then  you purl one stitch, I slip the stitch marker,
177. 22:39and then when you come to the next stitch  marker.... let me get there quickly...
178. 22:49next stitch marker, you slip the stitch  marker, and here is a purl stitch,
179. 22:55and this will remain untouched the whole time,  and here we have three... two knit stitches. And
180. 23:00we want to bring these together. So in this case,  it means we have to purl one, knit one, and then
181. 23:07knit two together. So knit these stitches  together. That's the neatest right-leaning
182. 23:13decrease of them all. And then you continue  knitting until you are four stitches before the
183. 23:21next stitch marker. So i'm four stitches before  the next single stitch marker and here you have
184. 23:27to do the exact same thing. The only difference  is that there are no no seven stitches in between
185. 23:33the decreases. So four stitches before the  stitch marker, I'm going to knit an ssk here
186. 23:42to bring these two knit columns together. Then  I purl one stitch. And this purl stitch will
187. 23:48act as a separator between the decreases,  slip the stitch marker, and now I want
188. 23:53to bring these two knit stitches  together. This means, I knit them
189. 23:59together. And then you continue in pattern until  you are four stitches before the last stitch
190. 24:09marker. And here before the last stitch marker,  you do exactly the same. You can see, I placed
191. 24:16a special stitch marker here so I can see where  the beginning or the end of my round is. So it's
192. 24:22always the same: Before the stitch marker you SSK,  and after the stitch marker you knit two together.
193. 24:31So that's actually very, very easy to remember.  And you always start the decrease with the second
194. 24:42knit column, slip the marker, and here, again,  you knit one. This is the first knit column
195. 24:50and this is the second knit column. So you start  the decrease here and knit two together. And this
196. 24:57finishes the first row the round sorry. And now  you have to knit one round across. So knit across
197. 25:07one round and then I'll show you how to knit  the second decrease round, the second pass. So,
198. 25:17I finished knitting across that one round. I'm  in my third round now, and three stitches here
199. 25:23before the double stitch marker. And here  are two knit stitches next to each other.
200. 25:29So there's nothing fancy happening here, you ssk  them... you ssk them. And then you will end up
201. 25:40with your normal repeat. So one by one rib stitch.  Purl, knit, purl...then you slip the marker,
202. 25:48knit across...knit across in a normal repeat.  Remember these seven stitches remain untouched
203. 26:00the whole time. <stitch marker slips  off> Where is my stitch marker?
204. 26:04It felt like running away! And then you purl one  stitch here after the marker. And here - again
205. 26:10- there are two adjacent knit stitches. And what  do you do? Well you knit them together! And then
206. 26:21you continue until you are three  stitches before the next stitch marker.
207. 26:28And here in front of those single stitch markers,  it's exactly the same. Three stitches before,
208. 26:35you ssk those adjacent knit stitches, then you  purl, one slip the marker, and then knit these
209. 26:49knit stitches together. And from here you can  continue until you come to the last stitch marker.
210. 27:00So here for the last stitch marker, it's  exactly the same. So you ssk again and purl one.
211. 27:08By the way ...I mean you don't necessarily have to  ssk. You can use any other left-leaning decrease
212. 27:17as well. I have a full tutorial on left-leaning  decreases here on youtube. I'll link it to
213. 27:23you up in here in case you are not satisfied  with your ssks and they are a bit too loose.
214. 27:32Anyway, from here you need to knit across one  more round. And then you start all over again
215. 27:39with the first round I showed you: Four stitches  before the stitch marker you ssk, and then you
216. 27:46knit two together - a purl and a knit stitch on  the other side. Then you knit across one round,
217. 27:51then you do the exact same round I just  showed you, and knit one more round. So
218. 27:55it's a four...easy four-round repeat. And it's  so easy to remember: Before the stitch marker you
219. 28:02ssk, a left-leaning decrease, and after the stitch  marker you knit two together because you want a
220. 28:10right-leaning decrease. And continue repeating  these four rounds and I'll see you there.
221. 28:17So, I made some good progress and there are only  48 stitches left on my knitting needles. That's
222. 28:23one-third of the stitches I originally cast  on. And I wanted to use at this point in my
223. 28:31knitting to address a couple of well...not  issues... choices, really, choices! So first of
224. 28:38all, I transferred the stitches to double-pointed  knitting needles because I personally
225. 28:42feel that knitting those last decrease rounds on  double-pointed needles is a tiny bit easier and
226. 28:48more comfortable than doing it with magic loop.  But if you want to continue using magic loop and
227. 28:56you feel that's easier for you, of course, do  that. And the second thing is: If you continue
228. 29:03decreasing the way I showed you, you will work  towards a rather pointy tip. And if you want a
229. 29:13crown that is a bit more rounded, you should  decrease in every round and not in every second
230. 29:20round from here on. Either way, I'm going to  continue decreasing here until there are only
231. 29:2718 stitches left. And I leave it up to you if you  want to do it in every row...round rather or every
232. 29:34second round. So, I'm here in my last round  and you might notice that there are only two
233. 29:40stitches left here. There are only two stitches  left here before the stitch marker and not
234. 29:46three or four. So just ssk these two stitches - or  whatever left-leaning decrease you want to knit.
235. 29:55So, ssk these and knit two together after the  stitch marker. So that's only the very last round
236. 30:06...only the very last round where you immediately  knit the... a bit fiddly here.. that last round
237. 30:17where you immediately decrease before and after  the stitch marker, and not with any stitches
238. 30:28between them. And do that in front of and  after every a stitch marker of that row. So,
239. 30:39ssk that stitch here as well ...and so on.
240. 30:43So, I finished knitting that very last round,  and now you only need to secure the stitches that
241. 30:50are still on the needles. So cut your  working yarn, leaving 10 or so inches,
242. 30:59and thread the tail on a tapestry needle. And then
243. 31:08pick up each and every one of your... the  stitches on your needle. Let me get that in focus.
244. 31:16And then, pick up every single stitch that is  on your needle. You may drop the stitch marker,
245. 31:24we don't need it anymore. And slip every  little stitch here to the tapestry needle,
246. 31:31and then pull the yarn through. So like  this....ooops...without knots...And then,
247. 31:48do the same with the remaining stitches  here on the second and third needle.
248. 31:59And I guess, if you have been knitting along this  would be an excellent opportunity to congratulate
249. 32:07you because you just finished knitting your  possibly first hat! And now, just pull tight....
250. 32:16pull tight.... pull tight. And then you may  want to...okay let me get this in focus... and
251. 32:28then you may want to sew over one. So go through  each little stitch one more time to secure it.
252. 32:40Go through each little stitch...And then you can
253. 32:52pull this tail through to  the other side... oops...
254. 33:00like this. So, we are here on the wrong side  to do what a lot of knitters don't like doing:
255. 33:07weaving in ends. But we only need to weave in four  ends. And I always use a sharp tapestry needle.
256. 33:15By the way, if you want to learn how I weave in  tails, I'll link you my full tutorial up in here
257. 33:21with 10 different methods. But for ribbings,  I always do it like this. So here's my tail,
258. 33:26I make sure that the hole is nice and tight, and  then I simply follow the course of one of those
259. 33:34knit stitch ribs here... columns... and I... as  you can see, I pierce right through the stitches.
260. 33:45Pull through, and then I go one  more time in the other direction.
261. 33:57And then I pull through. But I don't  pull through the tail all the way. I
262. 34:04massage it into place. See how that finishes?  And then once I am satisfied, I can cut the tail.
263. 34:16And that's it that's how it will look like  now - totally invisible or almost invisible
264. 34:22and very secure. Then you probably will have a  tail down here as well and you can weave it in
265. 34:30the exact same way. And here at the bottom,  there is one more tail and you can use it
266. 34:36to close the little gap here you created  when you joined things in the round.
267. 34:42And I just noticed things are really, really  fuzzy here. So it's a bit difficult to see
268. 34:48but, basically, you just have to graft  one stitch here to bridge that gap.
269. 34:56Carefully bridge that gap. There's  actually not a lot so..it's very difficult
270. 35:03to show here... but I basically go underneath  that stitch here and then you can already
271. 35:13go ....maybe here underneath that V  of the knit stitch here...underneath
272. 35:22that v. And if you're satisfied, and  I am, then you can continue weaving in
273. 35:32this tail as well the way I just showed  you. Oh and very important, of course,
274. 35:38you have to do this on the right side because  this is a folded brim. So you need to do it on
275. 35:44the right side. All the other tails, you need  to weave in on the wrong side. But this tail,
276. 35:49you need to weave in on the right side. If  you do it like I just showed you, it will be
277. 35:57almost invisible anyway. So it probably doesn't  matter. But still, I would ...if you want it all
278. 36:04neat and tidy, then do it on the right side. So this is the way the hat looks like now, and
279. 36:11I really urge you to put it on right away to see  if it fits and if everything went right. But you
280. 36:18will also notice that your head will stretch out  the ribbings here at the brim very nice and neat.
281. 36:26But then, up in here, there's nothing to stretch  it out. So the ribbing will almost appear like
282. 36:32stockinette stitch, and it will be very pointy. To  fix that we need to block the hat. To block your
283. 36:39hat, you need to soak it in lukewarm water for 30  minutes ...or maybe an hour. You can add some very
284. 36:46mild soap or, if you have, a wool detergent.  And then you need to wring it out between
285. 36:56two towels gently. Don't rub it or anything. Then  it will felt and you probably don't want that.
286. 37:02And then you... then it should be  almost dry... and then we can pin it to
287. 37:09a blocking mat or any other soft surface. So 30  minutes later, I removed my hat from its bath,
288. 37:16I dried it between two towels, and then i already  pinned it to my blocking mats. It's still a bit
289. 37:23damp but not wet. And as you can see, I pinned it  in a symmetrical way. So here are the two decrease
290. 37:34lines and I place the pins very close to each  other and a bit further in. Because what will
291. 37:41happen, if you pin it right to the edge, often  you end up with these kind of spikes. I don't
292. 37:47know how well you can see this... with this kind  of spikes. And you want a nice clean edge here.
293. 37:53Also, here be very careful. If you use the tubular  cast-on. The tubular cast-on is very stretchy. So,
294. 38:00don't stretch it out to the max. Actually don't  stretch the whole hat out to the max. Just so the
295. 38:06ribs are nice and neat. That's all you want, and a  really nice dome shape here at the top. And then,
296. 38:15you know, just let it dry overnight. Absolutely  avoid over-stretching. Pin it symmetrical to your
297. 38:22blocking mats or any other soft surface, and  a pin... I use.. I don't have ....the distance
298. 38:30between two pins shouldn't be too far either.  Otherwise you will end up with spikes as well.
299. 38:36So, I removed my hat from the blocking  board and this is the way it looks like now.
300. 38:43Isn't it nice and neat? This is the  front side, and here is the back side.
301. 38:50And blocking really made all the difference.  The ribbings are all nice and neat now.
302. 38:59I'm back in my living room, I put on my  hat and this is the way it looks like now.
303. 39:07I hope you can see this <turns head around slowly  in all directions>. This feels a bit like yoga!
304. 39:11I personally love the way the crown is shaped. I  feel it looks very modern. Again, I will try to
305. 39:17incorporate a couple of different ways to shape  the crown in the pattern. Like this version
306. 39:22which has a more invisible transition here towards  the crown and a very well-rounded top. But also a
307. 39:30couple of, you know, more classic approaches.  Again, it's the first link in the description
308. 39:35below. Now maybe, despite all caution, your  first hat ended up too big or too small. Or
309. 39:42there are some mistakes in it. Try to see  it as a learning experience, take notes,
310. 39:48and adjust the pattern accordingly. And you know,  it doesn't mean your hat is worthless. In fact,
311. 39:54maybe it will fit someone in your family. And as  winter is coming, you know, there are sadly a lot
312. 40:00of homeless people. And I'm very sure they will  cherish a handknit haat like nothing else - even
313. 40:07if it is too big for you. Anyway, that's how  to knit a hat. Make sure to comment with your
314. 40:13questions, like this video to support my work,  and of course, don't forget to subscribe in case
315. 40:19you don't want to miss any new videos. Happy  knitting and enjoy the rest of your winter!