My Classic Ear Flap Hat

This pattern is my tried and true hat design. A spin-off of Far North Yarn Co.'s Alaska Ear Flap Hat, I have made probably about 50 hats over the past 7 years. Here is my pattern along with several photos of different hats I've made. I make the size small for an average head. That's 72 stitches total.

Sizes XS, S, M, L

Ingredients:
Size 9 or 10 circular and doublepoint needles
1 skein bulky yarn. I love Lamb's Pride.
Tapestry Needle
Pom pom maker (optional)

Ear flap (make 2):
With two double point needles cast on 2 stitches. Purl 1 row. Work back and forth in stockinette stitch. Every time you do the knit side (right side), increase in the front and back of the first and last stitch. This will create the triangle shape. Keep going until there are 16 stitches for the XS, 18-S, 20-M, or 22-L. Place these stitches on a holder. 

Hat: With the circular needle, cast on 12-XS, 14-S, 16-M, or 18-L stitches for the back of hat; knit across stitches of the first ear flap making sure the right side is facing you. Cast on 20-22-24-or 26 stitches for the front; knit across second ear flap. There will be 64-72-80-or 88 stitches in all. Join stitches carefully without twisting. Knit 2 purl 2 on the front and back part of the hat (regular knit the ear flaps) for four to six rounds. This will make the nice ribbing and will prevent the hat from curling up.

Continue knitting until the hat is about 5.5 inches tall. I usually go with 32 rows from the edge of the hat. 
Then start decreasing as follows:
Round 1: Knit two together, knit 6. Repeat for one round.
Round 2 (and all even rounds): Knit
Round 3: K 2 together, K 5 for one round
Round 5: K 2 together, K 4 for one round (this is where you should probably switch to the double points).
Round 7: K 2 together, K 3 
Round 9: K 2 together, K 2
Round 11: K 2 together, K 1
Round 13: K 2 together
Gather remaining stitches with a darning needle and fasten off. Weave in all tails.

I just braided yarn together to make the ties for the flaps. You could also do a cord stitch where you have three stitches on a doublepoint. Knit to end of row and instead of turning the work, just push them back up to the end so the yarn wraps around the back. Knit in this way till it's long enough. Braiding is faster and pretty.

Sometimes I add a pom pom. This is especially nice when making a stripey hat because you can include all the colors in the pom pom and it's faster to make than one color.


Here's a montage of some of the hats I managed to take photos of before giving them away.