I received a lot of e-mails from non-knitters yesterday, asking how difficult it would be to make a hat using the
Knifty Knitter looms.
What better way to answer that question than to just show you with a tutorial.
There are 4 different sized round looms in the package, which also includes the pick and a needle. You can find various sized sets on
Amazon.com or in most craft stores.
I'm using the red round loom for this tutorial, which will make a medium/child sized hat.
Using two stands of 4-ply worsted weight yarn, wrap the yarn on the
edge of the ring. Pull the yarn to the inside of the ring and wrap around the first post. Repeat around the second peg, continuing until all the pegs are wrapped.
Keep the yarn loose as you wrap.
Slide the yarn to the bottom of the pegs, and continue to wrap a second row.
I like to anchor the yarn at this point by wrapping it around the peg on the edge.
Using the pick, lift the bottom row of yarn over the top row of yarn,
and over the top of the peg. Continue with each peg until you have finished one row of knitting.
Make sure you slide the yarn to the bottom of the pegs, and continue wrapping another row.
The inside of the loom will look like this.
As you continue to knit the hat will grow longer.
To make the brim on the medium, you knit 4" and stop.
Reach inside the loom and place each loop from the bottom row over the corresponding peg. (*The loop is the long one, not exactly centered).
This will fold what you have knitted in half to form the ribbing on the bottom of the hat.
With the pick pull the yarn loops on the bottom of the pegs over the top ribbing row and over the top of the pegs. This leaves one row that you again, push to the bottom of the pegs.
Continue wrapping and knitting until the medium hat has reached 7-8 inches.
To finish the hat, thread the needle with around 18" of yarn.
Starting with the first peg run the needle and yarn through the loops on each peg, then lift the loops over and off the pegs.
You will see the top start to gather as you go.
This is what the top looks like once you've taken the hat off the loom.
Pull the thread tightly to gather the top
Take a few stitches in each direction to close the gap and secure the yarn.
Poke the needle to the inside of the hat.
And take a few more stitches with a square knot, and clip your threads.
You will see the beginning threads on the inside of the brim. These can be woven in and then clipped off.
Ta Dum! The hat is now complete! See how easy? If you have more questions, there are a lot of good video tutorials on YouTube, or feel free to e-mail me at
nedras@mstar.net
These go rather fast. I've now made 3 just since yesterday.
My hats are to be given to
Humanitarian Aid, but these would also make nice baby gifts. Pom Poms could be added to the top, or cute crocheted/knitted flowers sewn to the brim.
I had one comment yesterday that these looms are easier than traditional knitting for people with arthritis.
I also think these would be a fun project for children.
A pictoral, with a beautiful blend of techniques. 
With 3-D houses 
Thread play and buttons. 
After seeing this quilt, it made me want to get out my machine and experiment with a few more stitches. Fabulous movement in thread. 
Georgia wrote "Growing up in the Midwest, I was influenced by the many layered landscapes. This further challenged me to use various techniques and textures to portray the fields, and a small town, Long Grove, IL." 
Long Grove won the Hall of Fame award, presented by the show sponsor to a quilt deemed worthy of recognition. Inspirational work, Georgia! While visiting this show, I enjoyed learning more about the Arizona Quilters Hall of Fame, an organization that is dedicated to celebrating the contributions of Arizonans to quiltmaking. They have a very impressive web site, offering a virtual museum, monthly quilt show, and E-newsletters.
