Rectangle Hat

This is the probably the simplest and easiest hat there is. Why probably? Well it kind of depends if you prefer sewing to decreases.

The idea is simple: knit a rectangle with a length that is a bit less than the brim of a person's head and a width that is a bit larger than its depth. Sew the shorter sides together, making a tube/cylinder. Thread a piece of yarn through the top and pull in such a way as to close the hole. Tie it. Weave in the any ends. You're done.

The resulting hat is usually much better looking than one would guess from such a simple procedure.

Now the non-trivial part is of course to calculate the length and width of the rectangle. Here are some ideas.

Length: 
- measure the circumference of another knitted hat you may possess, or
- measure the head's circumference and subtract about 1in/2.5cm (this is because the knitted fabric is stretchy and you don't want the hat to be too loose).

If this hat is for a small head, like a baby or child, don't subtract anything and furthermore take into account the child will grow while you're knitting. Whenever, whatever you knit for a child, remember that if the piece is a bit too large, it will soon fit perfectly, but not otherwise.

Width:
- measure the height of another knitted hat you may possess, or
- measure the depth of the person's head (from the forehead to the top of the head) and add 1in/2.5cm to it (this is because you need a bit of extra length for the top).
- A funny trick: measure the length of your hand (from the base of the palm to the tip of the longest finger) and add 2in/5cm. Careful, this won't work for children at all.

Don't forget to start by knitting a swatch in order to obtain your gauge and hence calculate the number of stitches to cast-on.

Cast on (2 options):

1- cast-on the number of stitches that make the width
2- cast-on the number of stitches that make the length

The first option will make a hat with vertical rows which looks pretty good and is more original than if you follow the more standard procedure obtained by the 2nd option. The advantage of this hat is actually that it makes it easy to get vertical rows so I recommend the first.


My own measures: 58x22 (cm).

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