Little Wild Things

posted by Diana

I'm excited my friends are having babies because it means I get to knit the tiniest of things (and force my sense of fashion on a helpless little life form). Two of my close friends are having a boy and I couldn't be happier for them--except it's so easy to find cute and whimsical things to knit up for girls. Traditional "boy" patterns are a little more difficult to find...so I had to scour Ravelry for the perfect potential present.

As soon as I saw the Max hat from Where the Wild Things Are, I knew I had to make it. I think this is the most complicated project I've knit to date, but the result was worth the effort.

I followed this incredibly detailed tutorial by CricketsKnits. I knit the pattern exactly as specified--I even used the recommended yarn--Lion Brand "Pound of Love" baby yarn. I don't know a thing about babies, but yarn labeled specifically for babies seemed like a decent option. I used size 4 dpns, again, as recommended in the pattern. I found it interesting that a pattern so detailed didn't include parameters for a gauge swatch, but I don't knit those for accessories anyway.

The pattern started off with an i-cord cast-on, which I had never tried before. I watched this youtube video to figure out the process. The i-cord cast on created a neat, dimensional edge for the Max crown.


After puzzling through the first few steps of the pattern, it was smooth sailing with stockinette stitch (aka, just knit, knit, knit ad nauseum).

I wish I could tell you what's happening in the above picture, but I feel a little bit like I blacked out and suddenly had a hat in my lap. What can I say? I'm a crafting savant. But really, I was following the directions blindly (even though there were detailed photos) and I didn't quite know what was going on the whole time... but I trusted the pattern and everything worked out wonderfully.

Here you can see the tedious process of picking up stitches for knitting the crown points. I even got a crochet hook involved...

But, after I picked up all of those stitches, it started to look more hat-like... in this photo, all that's left is to make the points on the crown, knit the earflaps, and weave in the ends.

And here it is! All finished and cute and ready for Baby. I don't know if the ears are the best part, or if the crown bit is my favorite. I do know I want one of these hats for myself...

Happy making!