Introduction: Chunky Loom Knitted Hat - Using Only Double Knit Yarn

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About: My name is Niki, I am a mum of three amazing grown up kids as well as a Grandma. I am a keen hobbyist and a full time carer for someone with a disability. In my spare time I indulge in my eclectic crafting …

A chunky hat with only DK yarn, and only one ball at a time! I have stacks of double knit yarn, but wanted a chunky hat!

Oscar Wilde said that "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery ..."

I have also read that you "cannot emphasise enough the importance of a good teacher."

With these quotes in mind, I'd like to give credit to jessyratfink for her simple, yet effective Instructable on how to knit a slouchy hat on a round loom because, without her Instructable, I would never have had the know-how, confidence or even purchased my own round looms.

Note: I've made up a word for the yarn - "chunkified" - as I am not sure that else to call it (",)

Step 1: You Will Need

For the whole project:

  • A single 100g ball of Double Knit yarn (I used about 3/4 of a ball for this project)
  • A round loom ( I used the 23cm diameter ring)
  • A loom pick
  • Needle
  • Scissors

The next step will show you how to get your yarn nice and chunky without using more than one ball.

Step 2: Chunk-ify the Yarn

Fig.1 - Lay out your yarn, as long as you can, in an 'S' shape with the 'tail' still joined to you ball at the left

Fig. 2 - Bring your three strands of yarn together and treat, from here on in, as one strand of yarn

Fig. 3 - Tie your slip knot toward the right hand side

Whilst working on your hat, you will need to lengthen your chunkified yarn during the process, either mid 'row' or at the ends, it won't matter where. It doesn't even matter how long a length you make with your yarn, as long as you carry out this process with a good length to work with throughout the hat knitting process.

I'm going to show your how to lengthen the chunkified yarn in the next step, so you can concentrate on making your hat without coming back to the step

Step 3: Lengthening the Chinkified Yarn

Even though the images above show this step during the knitting process, I want to show you how to lengthen the yarn here before we start knitting with the loom.

You will need to do this a number of times during the creation of your masterpiece.

When you have about 2 maybe 3 inches of chunkified yarn left to work with:

Fig. 1 - Separate the loop from the strand attached to the ball and open the loop up

Fig. 2 - Hold the yarn that's attached to your ball and ...

Fig. 3 - ... feed this through the loop

Fig. 4 - Pull as long a length as your can without tangling

Fig. 5 - The join will be hidden in the hat and you won't even notice

The next step shows an average size chart, use your own judgement when making yours

Step 4: Average Size Chart

Average sizes chart

With the instructions on how to chunkify your yarn, we are now going to start the hat.

Step 5: To Begin Your Hat

Wrap your skipknot around the side peg on the edge of your loom.

This will hold the yarn in place when working.

Holding the loom in front of you, and with the tail of the yarn on the inside of the loom, loosely wrap your yarn in an anti-clockwise direction around each peg, starting at the first peg to the right of the side peg, until you have finished wrapping all the pegs. Push the yarn down to the bottom of each peg.

This is your first row. Continue to wrap a second row then secure the tail of your yarn around the side peg.

Note: I'm using my small blue loom with white yarn here as an example, the pink loom is the one I am working on. I felt you might be able to see the blue and white better than the khaki green and pink

Step 6: Knit the First Row

Using your hook and beginning with the first peg to the right of the side peg, pick up the yarn on the bottom and lift it over the top of the peg.

Do this all the way around. This is the only time in the hat-making process that you will wind your yarn around twice, from here on in, you will only be winding one row around.

This is how you will continue with the remainder of the hat.

Step 7: Optional Folded Brim / Faux Ribbed Brim

Once you have knitted about 3 inches for a small hat, 4 inches for a medium hat or 5 inches for a large hat, reach to the beginning / bottom row of your work and place each stitch over its corresponding peg.

When this had been done all the way around, pick up the bottom stitch on the peg and slip it over the top stitch and over the peg.

You can leave this step and have a rolled up "cuff" or "brim" instead

Update: Following some reader feedback (below), this step has been changed to optional "brim"

Step 8: Keep Going to the Desired Length

Carry on your work to the desired size

Step 9: Cast Off

I have found two ways to 'cast off' a loom hat. The one I am about to show you is the simplest one for me.

  • For the sake of measuring only, wrap your yarn around the outside of the loom (not the pegs), about 3/4 of the way around. This will give you a guide as to where to the length you need to finish off.
  • At this point, if you don't have enough of your chunkified yarn to go around that far, there's no need to worry.
  • If you run out of chunkified yarn, wrap the loop you have left over the nearest peg (we will deal with this later).
  • Take your large needle (mine came with my looms) and thread
  • Staring at the peg to the right of the side peg, insert the needle into the groove on the peg and up through the stitch.
  • Pull through the stitch
  • Slip over the top of the peg and pull the stitch with it off the peg
  • Continue in this fashion, slipping each stitch off, until the end and hat is released from the loom

Step 10: Finishing Off

Turn your work inside out a pull your thread tightly.

If you encounter the loop from a stray and of the chunkified yarn, pull this tightly too and tie it, securely, together with the tail piece of yarn.

If you find the top of my hat has a little, unwanted hole, sew this closed and bind off securely.

Snip any spare thread and turn right side out.

And that's it! Complete, unless you want to add a pom-pom

Step 11: To Pom-pom or Not to Pom-pom?

I can't help myself when it comes to pom-poms, as you may have noticed if you've seen my other knitted hats (made without looms).

For this hat I made it pom-pom-less, only the first loom hat I made has a pom-pom, show above in blue

Here are some instructions by Hobbycraft on how to make a pom-pom using a number of methods.

This time last week, I didn't even own a loom set. In that time I have ordered online and received my loom set and seem to have mastered the art of the basic loom knitted hat. Which is great as I have so much yarn spare and the speed I can create one of these hats seems to be no time at all.

I am sure you will find loom knitting very rewarding, it's awesome for all ages!

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