I Heart Eggplant Beanie For a Bun (knit)

Purples are my jam. I love all shades of purple. This particular darker rich purple reminds me of those large eggplants. Mmmmmmmm I love eggplant. Do you have a favorite variety? Mine are the smaller Japanese eggplant but I've also had the green and white round Thai eggplant that are really crunchy. Those are delicious too. I digress. This blog post provides no recipe for eggplants.

I made this little beanie for a bun for a toddler. My toddler happens to have very fine hair and little of it soooooo it isn't practical for my toddler but she was kind enough to model it for me!

Materials

• US 11 (8 mm) 16 inch circular knitting needles
• US 13 (9 mm) 16 inch circular knitting needles
• Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Eggplant (main color) and Fisherman (contrast color)
• yarn needle
• stitch marker
• scissors

Gauge

• Soooooo this is just off the packaging of the yarn in stockinette (there is no stockinette in this hat): 4x4 inches = 9 sts x 12 rows

Abbreviations

• st(s) = stitch(es)
• CO = cast on
• k = knit
• p = purl
• k2tog = knit two together
• p2tog purl two together
• MC = main color
• CC = contrasting color
• *__* = repeat the directions between the asterisks

Finished Measurements

• Length/Depth/Height = 6.5 inches
• Circumference = 17 inches, unstretched

Notes

• Whole hat, prior to shaping is done in a 2x2 (k2, p2) ribbing.
• I think I messed up a little on the floaters in back (inside of the hat) because some of the contrast color peeks through a little when the hat is slightly stretched - if you wrap the yarn the right way inside, you probably won't run into this...though it could also just be using super bulky yarn so the holes are bigger than with finer yarn.
• If longer length needed, add in a row or two to ribbing and/or before the decreases.
• Fits a toddler, it's pretty stretchy because it's all ribbed 2x2 but you don't want it to actually stretch to the max because it messes with the fair isle so I'd keep this sizing to fit a toddler and no bigger of a head...

Instructions

• With smaller needles, long-tail CO 48, join in round without twisting, place marker.
• Rows 1-4: *k2, p2* ribbing
• Switch to larger needles.
• Row 5: k2 (MC), *p2 (MC), k2 (CC), p2 (MC), k2 (MC)* end with p2 (MC)
• Row 6: *k2, p2* (MC)
• Row 7: *k2 (CC), p2 (MC), k2 (MC), p2 (MC)*
• Row 8: *k2, p2* (MC)
• Row 9-16: repeat rows 5-8 twice
• Row 17: cut CC (rest of rows use MC), *k2, p2* (MC) once (or another row or two if wanting it slightly longer)
• Row 18: *k2, p2, k2, p2tog*
• Row 19: *k2, p2tog, k2, p1*
• Row 20: *k1, k2tog* (24 sts)
• Row 21: *k1, k2tog* (16 sts)
• Bind off loosely, cut MC leaving a 6 inch tail
• Weave in ends.

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