Hat Grading

Posted byAzariah Fibre ArtsPosted inknitTags:, , , ,
Two hats, one larger than the other, lay on the grass. The larger one is pink and brown, the smaller one is gray and orange.

I love designing hats and grading them too. I only have a handful of hat designs, with a new one coming out later this year. Hats are for everyone, not just one age group. They make great gifts, are usually practical, unless you live where the temp never dips below 50F or there is a lot of hair involved, then maybe not, and are quick to stitch.

The first hat pattern that I graded to fit most everyone, infant through adult size large was the Monarch Hat. It is a reversible hat, the infant version is a separate pattern from the version that makes all the other sizes because it was too different to keep them together but you get the same look overall.

The infant version uses two colors and in the everyone else version I used three colors but that’s not necessary. Back to the grading.

Two knit hats, one larger than the other, lay on the grass. The larger one is pink and brown, the smaller one is gray and orange.

Heads start out, for a full term infant, about 14″ / 35cm around and go up from there. My largest personal encounter is 26″ / 65cm around. This is the range that I grade for. The Monarch Hat has a total of five sizes between the two patterns. I thought that there would have needed to be more with such a large range but because of the rate at which heads grow and this particular stitch pattern, a rib, I was able to grade for a smaller number of hats and still have everyone covered.

My new hat, Let’s Goooo! is also a rib construction and will have directions for two, three or four colors, will be available in seven sizes. I graded for more sizes in this one because of the folded brim, I wanted that to fit for a longer period of time as the person grows. Again the amount of stretch in these hats is great. The swatch went from 2.5″ / 6.25cm unstretched to 5.5″ / 13.75cm stretched and still looked good.

Close up of unstretched knitted rib pattern in red yarn.
Close up of stretched knitted rib pattern in red yarn.

Hats are a great way to step into grading. There are still target sizes and measurements you are working to get the stitch multiple to fit into and each hat still look similar in the finished design. If you have questions or want to talk more about grading, drop a comment or feel free to email me. sara@azariahsfibrearts.com

Happy Making!

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