Strawberry Knit Winter Baby Hat TUTORIAL

Okay, here it is....the Strawberry Knit hat tutorial. From here on out I will try to include a sewing related tutorial every week. This one is a bit of a challenge however, because I think a knitting pattern should be accompanied by a knitting tutorial. Otherwise, for 95% of the readers, the tutorial might as well be in Japanese.

Now, just because this is a 'knitting' project DON'T think you can't do it too! The hat you saw in the Strawberry Puff Costume was the SECOND knitting project I had ever attempted- the first being a scarf. For this tutorial, I'll start off with knitting basics. All you knitting gurus can skip this part, for those of you who might need a little refresher or those of you who've never picked up a needle....read on.

First you must 'CAST ON' your yarn. Don't fret, this is the simplest of all the steps involved.
I think the best way to learn to knit is to WATCH someone do it. When I was first trying to teach myself, I tried to follow step by step instructions and the only thing I learned was the art of frustration.

So instead of having me write a long, boring, eye numbing set of instructions, I included a few videos that far surpasses my technical writing talents. First begin by 'casting on' the yarn on your needle. I recommend using a circular set of needles for a hat. It's just a hundred times easier this way. The second video should teach you how to do the basic 'Purl Stitch'. The third video will instruct you how to 'bind off'. The fourth video will show you how to 'knit two stitches together'. And the fifth video will teach you how to 'slip' two stitches together. To make the videos larger just click on the 'full screen' button on each video. It's next to the volume button.

Okay, now that you've seen how to do the basic stitches. Let me give you a quick reference as to what the abbreviations mean:
CO= Cast On
STS= stitches
K=knit
SSK= Slip, Slip, Knit
K2tog= Knit two together

PATTERN- Ahh, finally I can get to the good stuff! Size: 6-12 months Yarn: worsted weight Needles: 4.5mm DPNs

On circular needles CO 72 sts. Place marker to indicate the beginning of the round & join, being careful not to twist knit in the round evenly for 25 rounds in red. In round 10 use one black stitch at every 10 intervals. Repeat the black stitch intervals in round 15, 20 and 25. Knit the following directions for the leaves in the corresponding colors. Use a 'Purl Stitch' as shown in the second above video for all the stitches.

leaves:
round 26: * K1, K7 * around;
round 27: * K3, K5 * around;
round 28: * K5, K3 * around;
round 29: * K7, K1 * around;
round 30: * K7, K1 * around.

decrease for crown: (in green yarn)
round 31: *K6, SSK* repeat around (63)
round 32: *K5, SSK * repeat around (54)
round 33: *K4, SSK* repeat around (45)
round 34: *K3, SSK* repeat around (36)
round 35: *K2, SSK* repeat around (27)
round 36: *K1, SSK* repeat around (16)
round 37: *SSK* repeat around (9)
round 38-43: Knit remaining 9 sts in brown
round 44: K2tog around