If you are currently based in the UK and have access to a television set, it is highly likely that you would have seen the adverts for Innocent Smoothies "The Big Knit".
For those of you that have not seen or heard about this event, what is the Big Knit? Well, it is a huge charity event running throughout October in support of the fantastic work carried out by Age Concern UK. Age Concern UK are actively campaigning to promote awareness of the plight of thousands of pensioners at risk of fuel poverty throughout the cold winter months. With the rising price of energy bills and the relative deprivation of many elderly people, Age Concern and Innocent Smoothies have teamed together to raise money and provide information in order to help as many people as possible. This is where The Big Knit comes in.
This event consists of making an appeal to all crafters to knit mini woolly hats to be placed on the bottle tops of Innocent Smoothies. For each hat that is received and subsequently sold on atop its smoothie, a donation will be made by the makers of Innocent to Age Concern, to help the organisation carry out its useful and highly necessary work.
Now, the deadline for the submission of these mini woolly delights is fast approaching - the 31st October. Seeing as its for such a good cause, I thought I would provide people with an easy crochet pattern that works up super fast in order that people are still able to have the time to make and post little hats in to Innocent before the deadline. I chose to create a crochet pattern rather than knitting, as for many of us crochet works up a lot quicker and hence, time being of the essence, allows more hats to be made quickly! The pattern can be worked within ten minutes for those experienced with crochet. Beginners may take a little longer, but are still very likely to be finished in under an hour. I found the pom pom to be take the longest time - this is an optional extra rather than an integral part of the design - feel free to leave it out if you prefer.
The Pattern
Hook - 5.00mm
With Yarn A, work a chain of 3 stitches. Slip stitch into the 3rd chain from the hook to form a loop.
Round 1 -
3-Ch (counts as 1dc). Work 12dc's into the loop. Slip stitch into the top of the 3-ch to join round. Fasten off Yarn A.
Round 2 -
Join Yarn B into any dc. 2-Ch (counts as 1hdc). Hdc in each stitch. Slip stitch into the top of 2-ch to join round. Fasten off Yarn B.
Round 3 -
Join Yarn A into any hdc. 3-Ch. *1dc in next stitch. 2dc's in next stitch. Repeat from * until end. Slip stitch into top of 3-ch. Fasten off Yarn A.
Round 4 -
Join Yarn B into any dc. 2-Ch. 2Hdc into each stitch until end. Slip stitch into top of 2-ch.
Round 5-
Chain 1. 2scdec in each pair of stitches around. (this involves working your hook into the next two stitches and then forming your single crochet causing the total number of stitches to be halved, and achieving a tightened hat brim by gathering the stitches of the former round.
Fasten off yarn B. Weave in loose ends
(NB. If you are carrying on to make a pom-pom, you may want to leave one long end on the inside of the hat close to the central top loop, to knot it on to).
Well done! Now you have created your basic hat, which should look something like this -
If you would like to carry on and add a pom-pom to the hat, please do - i think it finishes the hat and makes it look cuter and somehow more 'complete'. Either a single colour yarn can be used or you may like to do a combination as I chose to with mine. Or perhaps you may like to introduce a new yarn at this point :)
If you are unsure as to how to make a pom-pom/ fluffy bobble, please check out the following tutorial.
Please remember - the deadline is fast approaching, so once you have finished your hat/s you will need to get your skates on and post it through to Innocent. The organisers request that you add in a little note to your envelope stating your name and address, as well as the date and also the total number of hats you're including.
The address is -
the big knit 2013
innocent drinks
342 ladbroke grove
london
W10 5BU
The Pom-Pom Tutorial
Here is a quick tutorial showing how to make pom-poms / bobbles. There are a few ways of doing this and people tend to figure out the best way for themselves. I am just going to show you how I make mine - a method I learnt at Brownies when I was very small! It is a handy little skill, and comes in useful for many craft projects.
Materials -
* Piece of card twice as large as you propose your finished pom-pom to be.
* Pair of compass' or something to draw a circle with. I used a couple of coins for the big knit hat as I only required a small pom-pom. The circles do not have to be too precise, so if you're good at art and have a steady hand you can draw your own. If the shape is not as perfect as you wish, do not worry as you will have plenty of chance to correct this at a later stage and a few uneven strands of yarn in your finished pom-pom will not really show.
* A pencil / something to draw with.
* Scissors.
* Your yarn that you wish to make your pom-pom in.
Instructions -
1. Take your card and cut it in half so you have two even size pieces. On one piece of card draw your circle. You should make this as large as you want your finished pom-pom to be when measured edge to edge across the largest part (the diameter).
2. Place the piece of card on which you have drawn your circle on top of the blank piece. Take your scissors and cut through both pieces of card, around the circle. You will now have two card circles. Fold them across the diameter, in half. Draw a semi circle as shown in the photo. Cut out the semi circle, through both pieces of card.
3. Open up the two pieces. You will now have two circles of card, identical sizes. Again, put one on top of the other. Get a long length of your yarn and tie it onto the card, through the middle of both circles and round the edge. Leave a length of yarn approximately 3 inches at the side of the knot which will not be used.
4. Continue to wrap the yarn around the card until the circles are well covered and you are left with a tail of about 3 inches. To wrap the yarn you may find it easier to use a large needle to add some weight, which will make it more simple for the yarn to be threaded through the central hole. If you are adding a second colour, tie it on and repeat the process. Again, ensure that you have left a length of yarn. Add this stage you can add more yarn as you wish- the thicker you wrap the card, the fuller your pom-pom will be.
5. Take your scissors and cut the yarn between the two pieces of card. Continue to cut until you have worked your way around the entire circle. Be very careful at this stage to keep the pieces together whilst you continue to cut the pieces of yarn to ensure pieces do not fall out before they are secured.
6. Gather the long ends from the start and end of the yarn. Now wrap these between the two pieces of card in the centre of the pom-pom, differing the direction of each piece of yarn until they meet and secure tightly. This will be holding your pom-pom together so you will want to make sure you knot it well.
7. To finish, take out the pieces of cardboard by cutting down the length of the circles and ensure everything is tied tightly, leaving one long end. Cut off the ends of the knots and any long stray ends (except your one long end), making your pom-pom a nice even sphere of yarn. Congratulations - you have now finished your pom-pom!
To Attach The Pom-Pom To The Hat -
Thread the long end of your pom-pom onto a needle. Now sew down through the central loop at the top of the hat. You can either continue to sew into the underside of the hat, or knot it on to your long end from the crochet if you chose to leave one. Weave in the remaining ends. And that's it, all complete :) Congratulations, and think of the great work you have done for Age Concern UK!
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