A few months ago I discovered this fantastic pattern for a quick and sporty toddler/child hat. I totally luuuurved it – it was fast, it was easy, it was my first time knitting stripes, the boy factor was most definitely there, and the color combinations (read: sports team related) are endless. It was a great way to use smallish amounts of my ever-increasing Lion Brand Thick n Quick collection, PLUS two Christmasses ago I had gotten a whole collection of pom pom makers that I’d never actually used. Win!
When my husband saw these, he immediately wanted one in the University of Michigan colors. Apparently, Lion Brand’s dark navy blue and citron yellow don’t cut it. For a guy who can’t tell the difference between purple and orange on any given day, he suddenly becomes an expert on the nuances between “maize” and “mustard” when it comes to his beloved football team. In an effort to find the right color yarn, in the right weight and texture, I had to expand my yarn choices to Lion Brand Homespun, a similar weight yarn in a shinier acrylic that I wasn’t a huge fan of (it’s not terribly elastic), but darn it if the colors weren’t more accurate for his precious Wolverines.
Anyway, this is by no means a “look what I created!” pattern, because I very obviously fashioned it off of Fiberflux, but here is what I did for a (very) large men’s head. My own head is also ginormous (23″) and my husband’s is 24″. The hat fit my head fine, I just had to add a few rows for his head.
Cast on 44 stitches with size 13 needles (16″ circular) in main color (MC)
Rows 1-5: k2, p2 rib
Row 6: switch to size 15 needles.
Knit two rows in MC, two rows in second color (CC), alternate two rows MC/two rows CC for three rows of CC total
Continue knitting in MC until hat measures 6″/6.5″ (for 23″ or 24″ head) – this ended up being about 16 stockinette rows total for my husband, probably about 14 rows for myself. Begin decrease sequence. If your own head is a much more normal 21″-22″, cast on 40 stitches instead of 44. I’d still knit 14 rows though.
Decrease sequence:
Row 1: *k2tog, k3, repeat from * to end of round.
Row 2: knit
Row 3: *k2tog, k2, repeat from * to end of round.
Row 4: switch to dpns, knit
Row 5: *k2tog, k1, repeat from * to end of round.
Row 6: knit
Row 7: k2tog around.
Row 8: k2tog around, fasten off.
Make extremely large pompom. You’ll have two tails from tying it together; use these to thread into hat, sew a few stitches to secure, and then tie a square knot. Secure some more, and fasten off.
So. Pom poms. Although as previously stated, I had four pompom makers, sadly the largest one still came woefully short regarding adequate fluffy balls (yes, snicker). Therefore, I had to go online and order an additional one, the largest pom pom maker I could find. It look something like five weeks to get here, by which time said husband’s head was getting pretty durn chilly. Glad it finally came though, he loves his hat and wears it everywhere!
Please ignore the fact that the first stripe is obviously three rows up from the other two, not two rows as previously stated in the pattern. I was watching Wrath of the Titans for like the eightieth time (hey, U.S. television is limited in China), was distracted by the Medusa scene, lost count, and by the time I realized I was off I was waaaaay too lazy to rip it back down and fix it. Husband didn’t worry at all though, apparently men don’t care about miscounted rows.
GO BLUE!
Classy Crochet 
I am confused as to which shade of blue is actually Michigas color? This hat looks like it ia more of royal blue. One site said the colors are midnight blue and maize.
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It’s funny you should mention that – according to my husband (who is the Michigan fan and I am merely the spouse), the traditional colors of Michigan were royal blue and maize. I had to order eight different shades to get the right royal, before I pointed out that recently all of their uniforms were tending towards the navy end. Sooooooo, I guess it just depends on whether you want old school Michigan or new school Michigan. 🙂
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