DIGITAL KNITTING PATTERN : CAMILLE BEANIE
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A PROJECT WEEKEND "LEARN-TO-KNIT" PATTERN
Attention, novice knitters! Your voices have been heard. You've expressed a desire to learn knitting while creating your very own super chunky beanie, and now, your wish has come true!
This pattern was made with simplicity in mind. Easy projects with frequent repetition help you find a pleasant rhythm so your mind, hands, needles, and yarn can synchronize. Ultimately, repetition enhances your knitting skills and boosts your confidence!
NATURALLY SOFT, NOT CHEMICALLY SOFTENED
We created our NEHV yarn from a special selection of premium quality Merino fibers to create luxurious warmth, squishiness and stitch definition. Sustainably grown and 100% naturally soft, (not chemically softened), NEHV is grown in the beautiful highlands of Argentina and spun in a Fair Trade Certified facility in Peru.
PROJECT SKILL LEVEL : LEARN TO KNIT
This pattern is designed for anyone picking up knitting needles for the very first time. We guide you step-by-step on how to get yarn onto your needles, teach you the foundational knit stitch and how to finish your work in a way that looks ultra professional.
TECHNIQUES YOU WILL LEARN
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How To Hold Your Needles & Yarn
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Making a Gauge Swatch
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The Slip-Knot
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Casting-On Stitches (using the Longtail Cast-On Method)
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Creating A Garter Stitch Pattern By Knitting The Knit Stitch
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Binding Off
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Seaming using the Horizontal Invisible Seaming Technique
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Weaving In Loose Ends
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Creating and attaching a Pom-Pom
TIME TO MAKE
1-2 Hours
PATTERN SIZE
One Size (Fits Most Adults & Youth, 20.5" - 23")
PROJECT MEASUREMENTS
Finished Length (uncuffed): 12.5”
Finished Length (cuffed): 9
Finished Circumference (relaxed measurement): 13"
GAUGE
Garter Stitch, 12mm Needle:
8 stitches x 16 rows = 4" x 4" square
MATERIALS & TOOLS REQUIRED:
- 1 Ball of Project Weekend's NEHV. Each ball weighs 200 GR. (7oz) and has 99m (109y).
- 1 Pair of 12mm / US 17 Circular Knitting Needles
- 1 Card With Links To The Online Pattern & our Knitting Video Tutorials Library
- 1 Knitters' Sewing Needle
TECHNIQUE TUTORIAL VIDEOS & ILLUSTRATIONS
We've made learning easy! Easily reference our library of tutorial videos and step-by-step illustrations with just a click of your mouse. Look for tutorial links embedded throughout the pattern, and when in doubt, just click and learn!
LET'S BEGIN
Let's familiarize ourselves with how to hold our needles and yarn.
GAUGE SWATCH
WHAT IS IT & WHY MAKE ONE
A gauge swatch is a little test square of fabric that you knit before each project using the exact stitches in your pattern. Once complete, it will tell you if your knitting tension is too tight or too loose for the pattern that you are creating. This is a great tool because it helps make sure that what you are knitting will measure out perfectly to the pattern you are creating and ultimately fit right.Gauge swatches only take a half hour of time to make... many times less. Yet, a lot of people either rush through this process or skip it all together because they're so excited to get into knitting their project.
Please learn from our experience.....there is nothing more frustrating than knitting something only to realize (after many invested hours) that if only we had made a gauge swatch, our beautiful piece wouldn't have ended up fitting two sizes too small.
If you are new to knitting, think of the gauge swatch as a great opportunity to learn how to knit stitches before starting your main project.
GETTING GAUGE
Every knit project will have gauge swatch instructions. The pattern details and materials list will indicate what size needle you need for each project and it will call out how many stitches per row by how many rows you need to knit in order to create your swatch and achieve the correct gauge.
As you can see in the Project Details section above, Camille Beanie requires a 12 mm sized knitting needle and you will need to cast-on 8 knit stitches and knit 16 rows to achieve gauge. Once you complete this, your finished swatch should measure 4” x 4” (10cm x 10cm).
STEP-BY-STEP : MAKING A GAUGE SWATCH
1. With a yarn tail approximately 20” long, create a SLIP-KNOT and place it onto one of your knitting needles. This slip-knot is considered your first stitch. 2. Holding that needle in your right hand, CAST-ON another 7 more stitches using the LONG-TAIL CAST-ON METHOD. You should now have 8 stitches on your needle.
HOW TO CAST-ON USING THE LONG-TAIL CAST-ON METHOD
3. Hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand. KNIT a knit stitch into each of the loops across the 8 stitches. This is row 1.
HOW TO KNIT THE KNIT STITCH
4. Switching needles again, hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand. This is called TURNING YOUR WORK and you will do this each time you knit to the end of a row.5. Repeat Knitting each row until you have completed a total of 16 rows.
6. BIND-OFF your stitches
*Do not cut yarn after binding off, you'll be using this yarn for your main project.*
HOW TO BIND-OFF (CAST-OFF)
7. Lay your swatch flat and measure both its length and height, excluding the cast-on and bind-off edges. Refer to the gauge swatch photo above for guidance on how to accurately measure your swatch.
SWATCH TOO SMALL
If your swatch comes out smaller than 4”x4”, it means you are knitting too tightly, so unravel your swatch and start again, this time loosen up your stitch tension a bit.
SWATCH TOO BIG
If your swatch comes out larger than 4”x 4”, you are knitting too loosely, so tighten up your stitch a little bit when knitting.
SWATCH IS JUST RIGHT
Once you create a swatch that measures 4”x 4”, Congratulations! you have found your gauge tension for this project. So go ahead, unravel that swatch (you're going to need that yarn for your beanie!) and begin your knit project.
MEASUREMENTS ARE OFF BY A TINY BIT?
No stress! When tackling beginner projects like this, it's common to experience some variation in your stitch gauge measurements. If you find yourself within +/- 0.25", feel free to proceed with your project. However, make an effort to align your gauge as closely as possible to the specified measurements, as deviations beyond 0.25" will impact the size and fit of the hat.
CAMILLE BEANIE KNITTING PATTERN
1. CASTING ON YOUR STITCHES.
With a yarn tail approximately 40” long, create a SLIP-KNOT and place it onto your knitting needle. This slip-knot is considered your first stitch.
Image shows a slipknot on the needle with a long yarn tail.
Holding that needle in your right hand, CAST-ON another 25 more stitches using the LONG-TAIL CAST-ON METHOD. You will now have 26 stitches on your needle.
Image shows 26 stitches casted onto the needle.
2. KNITTING THE MAIN SECTION OF THE HAT
Row 1:
Hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand. KNIT across all of the stitches.
Midway through knitting the first row. Each stitch is knit and transferred over from the left needle to the right needle.
Note: Prepare to knit the second row by switching the needles and holding the needle containing the stitches in your left hand, while the empty needle is held in your right hand. This process is known as TURNING YOUR WORK, and you will repeat it after completing each row of knitting.
Row 2:
Knit across all stitches.
Rows 3-56:
Repeat knitting ROWS 1 & 2 another 28 more times. Once complete, your work will measure 14.5 " from the Cast-On edge. To measure your work, lay it down flat on a table and measure when the work is in a relaxed state, not stretched.
TIP: HOW TO KEEP THOSE EDGE STITCHES TIDY:
One of the side edges of your work will ultimately serve as the top edge of your beanie cuff. Here's a helpful tip to maintain neat and tidy edge stitches: as you start knitting the first stitch of each row, slightly tighten the yarn tail compared to your usual tension. This practice ensures that the edge stitches appear neat and uniform. After completing this initial stitch, you can resume your regular knitting tension for the rest of the row.
AN EASY WAY TO COUNT YOUR ROWS: As you knit, you can monitor garter knit rows by tallying the stitch "mountains." Each stitch mountain corresponds to 2 rows, representing repeats of Row 1 and Row 2. Refer to the Gauge Swatch photo for guidance on accurately counting your rows.
TIP: At some point mid-work, you might need to join in a new ball of yarn to continue knitting. A great seamless option, that does not require any weaving in of ends, is the MAGIC KNOT METHOD. When using the Magic Knot Method on a hat, it's easy to ensure that the knot remains on the inside of the work, remaining completely unseen. After you tie the knot, gently pull it to the inside of the hat as you continue working. This will reposition the knot and allow it to be hidden within the fabric of the hat, keeping the exterior smooth and tidy.
3. FINISHING
BIND-OFF your stitches and cut a yarn tail approximately 3.5 - 4x’s longer than the length of the edge of stitches you just bound off.
TIP: When binding off, loosen up your stitch tension a bit. If the tension along this edge is too tight, it will shorten the edge and it won't be the same length as your cast-on edge.
4. CREATING THE SHAPE OF YOUR HAT
Overview
You will start by shaping the circumference of your hat by joining the cast-on and bind-off edges with a seam that will be sewn in two distinct sections. When we sew seams together, a seam allowance is created on the inside of our work. To ensure that this seam allowance is not visible when folding up the brim of our hat, we will split our seam into two sections and sew each section from opposite sides.
Step 1: Arrange/Fold your knit fabric so that the Cast-on and Bind-off edges butt up against each other vertically, matching stitch for stitch.
Note: This fabric side facing you, will be the outside of your hat. The technical term for this side is called the "right side, or (RS)" of your project.
Weave your long Bind-Off yarn-tail through a sewing needle and follow the SEAMING HORIZONTAL GARTER STITCH EDGES TOGETHER method to create your seam. When seaming, weave through the stitches with just enough tension for the edges to gently meet up without any loose spaces or tight puckering. The goal is to mimic the same tension as the rest of your knitting.
Close up the edges with a seam 9" in total length. Once complete, turn the tube inside out.
Once you have closed up the remaining 4", weave in the loose ends of your seaming yarn.
To learn how to weave in the ends for garter stitch, click here : HOW TO WEAVE IN YARN TAIL ENDS.
5. CLOSING UP THE CROWN OF THE HAT
With the 9" long seam allowance at the top of the tube, arrange the hat so that the "inside" or as we say the "wrong side or (WS)" of the hat is facing you.
If your cast-on yarn tail attached to your work is 10" or longer, weave it through your sewing needle. If it's shorter, then cut a separate yarn tail approximately 10-12" long and weave it through your sewing needle.
Along the top edge of the tube (at the beginning of the 9" seam), weave your needle through every single edge stitch around the circumference of the tube.
Once all of the stitches have been picked up, pull gently on the yarn tail to close up the hole. There are a lot of stitches here that need to get squished together, work at overlapping and manipulating the stitches to help them get closer and over top of one another. The goal is to get as small of a hole as possible.
Note: It's easy to accidentally pull "too hard," causing the yarn to break. But don't worry! Simply pull out the broken yarn, cut another yarn tail, and continue weaving. To prevent this from happening, try to overlap the stitches with your fingers as much as possible before applying pressure to close up the hole. Pulling the yarn slowly, rather than quickly and vigorously, will also enable you to sense if the yarn is reaching its breaking point.
Image shows all of the stitches pulled tightly to create as small of a hole as possible.
Note: If you find it challenging to completely close the hole, you can sew from one side of the "hole" to the other in multiple directions. This will help pull the hole tightly closed. Afterwards, loop a tight knot to secure the closure of the hole.
The image illustrates closing up the hole by sewing from side to side along the top edge stitches.
Once the hole is sufficiently closed, secure the yarn with a knot (or two!) and weave in the loose yarn tail ends (on the inside of your hat!) and trim off any excess ends.
Turn your hat right-side out and weave in all remaining loose ends on the inside (WS) of your hat.
To learn how to weave in the ends for garter stitch, click here : HOW TO WEAVE IN YARN TAIL ENDS.
