DIY Network

Knitted Baby Caps From "DIY Crafts" episode DIC-160

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This adorable knitted strawberry hat is perfect for a little girl. Figure A Figure B Figure C Figure D Figure E

Here's how Carol Duvall, host of HGTV's The Carol Duvall Show, describes the fruit-and-vegetable knitted hats demonstrated on her show:

What an adorable bunch of little fruit-and-vegetable hats viewer Julie Watson knitted and sent to us to share with you. Inspired by a single photo of a strawberry hat that she saw in a magazine, Julie knitted and could have filled an entire produce department with lemon, peach, eggplant, strawberry and pumpkin hats. All were identical except for the pumpkin, which had ridges.

We had to make one small change. The basic hat directions that Julie developed were simple enough to give on television, but when it got down to describing how she knitted in the leaves, they got a little involved. Consequently, we took the liberty of making the leaves of felt. The fruit or vegetable you make is determined by the yarn color. Here's what Julie did:

Materials:

One 3-ounce skein 4-ply yarn
Size-6 knitting needles
Yarn needle
Green felt for stem and leaves

1. Cast on 85 stitches. Knit in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row) until the piece measures between 6" and 7" deep (figure A).

2. Decrease every fourth stitch every row (knit and purl rows) until only 12 stitches remain. The math won't always work out to decrease every fourth stitch., but keep the decreases as even as possible until you get to 12 stitches (figure B).

   Please note:

   • The viewer who sent these instructions wrote to decrease every third stitch, which is what Carol said on the air. However, she meant to say knit three stitches, decrease, knit three stitches, decrease, etc.

3. Cut yarn, leaving a substantial tail, and thread this back through the 12 stitches still on the needle. Gather closed and secure. Bring the two ends of the knitted piece together, and sew or weave closed (figure C).

4. On a strawberry hat, make black yarn French knots throughout the body of the hat (figure D).

5. Roll a 1 1/2" by 2" felt strip into a stem, and sew in place at the top of the hat. Cut several leaves, and stitch in place (figure E).

• If the name Watson sounds familiar, it's because Julie is producer Linda Watson's mother. She is a very talented lady, and I'm pleased to have her as a viewer as well as a friend.