Double Warm Headband pattern modification

The first time I made the 1898 Hat, I thought the lower band portion of the hat would make a great (and warm!) headband. The only tricky part was going to be figuring out how to finish off the top edge to mirror the look of the modified i-cord used on the hat's bottom edge.

So I browsed through the hat's gallery of finished projects until I found one by Sal, who had worked the hat band as a headband, just the way I had pictured it! :-) Sal said all it takes is to work an i-cord bindoff to make the top edge of the headband look like the bottom edge.

Following the hat pattern's directions, work through the part where you pickup the stitches at the top of the band. Then, instead of knitting a crown for a hat, work an i-cord bindoff. To invisibly join the ends of the i-cord bindoff, see this video.

1898 Hat free pattern

I recently discovered this wonderful free "1898 Hat" pattern and went a little crazy making up a bunch of these hats.

There are so many reasons to love this design:

• The double-thick band is extra warm and provides complete protection for the ears.
• Because the band is worked in garter stitch, it's soft and squishy and kind of feels like you're wearing a lightweight but insulating and ooshy-cushy pillow wrapped around your head.
• It's easy to vary the finished size of the hat while using the stitch counts as written by simply altering the yarn weight and/or needle size.
• The style works for practically anyone: male or female, young or old.
• The crown design can easily be modified to achieve different looks (even though the ones I've made thus far are plain). Find a bunch of creative ideas by browsing the pattern's gallery of finished projects.
• The construction is very straightforward and not at all difficult. I especially love the modified i-cord technique used at the bottom "crease" of the hat band.

And here it is in I Love This Yarn's Jazzy Stripe colorway:

Silly Jester Sack Hat free pattern

My free Santa Sack Hat pattern is good for more than just Christmas hats. Switch up the yarn to something fun like this Red Heart Super Saver in Bon Bon Print and voila: This easy-wearing slouchy hat becomes perfect for any cold-weather occasion. I call this one a Silly Jester Sack Hat.