Pumpkin Hat for Miss Strawberry Shortcake

I wanted to make a hat for Miss Strawberry Shortcake but did not want to make something plain and generic. I wanted something that was super cute and that a mom would love for her child to wear. So, the idea of a pumpkin hat really tickled me!

I used a yarn that I used previously for muh man's socks. It is the Shibui fingering weight yarn which I absolutely love it!!!! It is so soft and lovely. I also love the way it is dyed - the gradient of the color gives fantastic texture to things like hats and socks. Love, love love!

So, I made this hat while I was on vacation in Florida. I got quite some attention from people on the airplane who were fascinated by the fact that I was using 4 needles simultaneously to knit the hat in the round. While, I could have taken all the credit for inventing the concept double pointed needles - I decided to enlighten people with the simple truth that it is a well established technique and is really not that big a deal! It also cracked me up when the random, macho guy sitting next to me kept calling my needles - "sticks". Aah yes, I can see how the needles look like sticks and can also be mistaken for skewers. Oh well, atleast he was pleasant and friendly.

Anyways, the hat turned out lovely. Then I went on block it with some cold water and dry it in the sun. To my horror, this ended up stretching it out to be big enough to fit a 26 year old's head - not a 2 year old's head. So, I did something next which I dont recommend anyone else to do at home coz you never know what the end result will be. I took a risk and threw it in the dryer on permanent press heat, and came back after 2 hours to find it had shrunk back to the original size to fit a 2 year old's head. I was quite pleased with the final outcome and think that the hat looks super cute on Miss Strawberry Shortcake. I love the way it turned out and Miss Cosmetic Diva (Strawberry shortcake's mom, muh man's sister) has made a delightful request to make a strawberry hat in a similar pattern! Cant wait to get cracking on adding little specks of detail to make it look strawberry-like! I would love any suggestions - remember this is for an infant so it needs to be baby-friendly!

For more technical information regarding the pattern of the hat click here