Brainmonster is, quite clearly, a brain-eating monster masquerading as a hat. It’s based on a hat that I saw on a LiveJournal knitting community, so I take no credit for the (awesome!) idea of a monster hat. There was no pattern offered for the hat I saw, so I improvised my own pattern and now I’m sharing it, because the world needs more head-eating monsters.
This pattern is about “advanced beginner” level. If you can knit in the round, pick up stitches, and don’t mind doing eleventy billion different decreases, you’re good to go.
See all my blog entries about this pattern.
Materials:
· KnitPicks Wool of the Andes (100% wool, 110 yards per 50g skein), 1 skein; shown in Amber Heather
· Patons Classic Wool (100% wool, 110 yards per 50g skein), 1 skein; shown in Winter White
· US 7 40″ circular needle
· 2 large googly eyes (I used 40 mm eyes)
· 2 plain buttons with loop backing
· glue
· stitch marker
· tapestry needle
· demented sense of humour
Gauge:
20 sts/24 rows = 4″ in stockinette.
Pattern Notes:
Sizing:
Brainmonster will fit a small adult head or a large child head. (It’s stretchy, but some people have found it a bit small, so add a few stitches or go for a slightly larger gauge if you need to.) It’s also shorter than most hats, so that you don’t get teeth in your eyes, and thus ideal for wearing over a ponytail or similar hairstyle; plenty of space in the back for hair to come out.
If you resize it for a small child-sized or baby-sized head and clearly document your mods, let me know and I’ll link to your info on how to do it. Not having a child or baby handy to measure, I haven’t tried to resize it myself.
Needles:
I knit the entire hat on a 40″ circ using magic loop. If you prefer, you can use a 16″ circ and switch to dpns when you start to decrease, or use the 2-circ method, whatever you like, any method of knitting in the round will be fine.
Yarn Substitutions:
Any worsted weight wool should work fine. I used pretty much the whole skein of Wool of the Andes, so make sure you have at least 110 yds of the main colour. The white yarn is only for the teeth, so you’ll only need a few yards of it.
Abbreviations:
slwyif: bring yarn to front, slip 1 st purlwise
ssp: slip 2 sts knitwise, separately, transfer sts back to left needle, p2tog through the back loop
sl-k2tog-psso: slip 1 st knitwise, k2tog, pass slipped st over last st
Pattern:
Hat:
CO 90 sts.
Place marker and join, being careful not to twist. Work in k1p1 rib for 4 rows.
Work in stockinette until hat (including ribbing) measures about 4.5″.
At this point you’ll be decreasing for the crown. If you’re using a 16″ circular needle, switch to dpns whenever the hat circumference gets too small to work comfortably on the circs.
*K7, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. 80 sts on needle.
K 1 round.
*K6, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. 70 sts on needle.
K 1 round.
*K5, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. 60 sts on needle.
K 1 round.
*K4, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. 50 sts on needle.
K 1 round.
*K3, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. 40 sts on needle.
*K2, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. 30 sts on needle.
*K1, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. 20 sts on needle.
K2tog to end of round. 10 sts on needle.
K2tog to end of round. 5 sts on needle.
Cut yarn and draw tail through remaining 5 sts, pull tightly to close hole.
Teeth:
For the teeth, you’ll be picking up sts along the edge of the bottom ribbing, at the rate of about 3 tooth sts to 2 hat sts. I picked up 2 normally and the 3rd from inside the v of the knit sts. Leave as little space as possible between teeth.
The two middle teeth will be large teeth, and the two outside teeth will be small teeth. The teeth shouldn’t curl, but may have a tendency to flip outwards at first; blocking the hat will fix that.
Large tooth:
Pick up 11 sts.
P 1 row.
K1, slwyif, k7, slwyif, k1.
Slwyif, k1, slwyif, p5, slwyif, k1, slwyif.
K1, slwyif, k2, sl-k2tog-psso, k2, slwyif, k1.
Slwyif, k1, slwyif, p3, slwyif, k1, slwyif.
K1, slwyif, k1, sl-k2tog-psso, k1, slwyif, k1.
Slwyif, k1, slwyif, p1, slwyif, k1, slwyif.
K1, slwyif, sl-k2tog-psso, slwyif, k1.
P2tog, p1, ssp.
Slwyif, sl-k2tog-psso.
Cut yarn and draw through remaining st, pull tightly.
Small tooth:
Pick up 9 sts.
P 1 row.
K1, slwyif, k5, slwyif, k1.
Slwyif, k1, slwyif, p3, slwyif, k1, slwyif.
K1, slwyif, k1, sl-k2tog-psso, k1, slwyif, k1.
Slwyif, k1, slwyif, p1, slwyif, k1, slwyif.
K1, slwyif, sl-k2tog-psso, slwyif, k1.
P2tog, p1, ssp.
Slwyif, sl-k2tog-psso.
Cut yarn and draw through remaining st, pull tightly.
Earflaps & Ties:
Earflaps should be positioned as close to the teeth as possible. This time, pick up stitches at the normal rate of 1 earflap st to 1 hat st. Make two, unless you have extra ears.
Pick up 21 sts.
P 1 row.
K1, slwyif, k to 2 sts before end, slwyif, k1.
Slwyif, k1, slwyif, p to 3 sts before end, slwyif, k1, slwyif.
K1, slwyif, k to 2 sts before end, slwyif, k1.
Slwyif, k1, slwyif, p to 3 sts before end, slwyif, k1, slwyif.
K1, slwyif, k1, ssk, k to 5 sts before end, k2tog, k1, slwyif, k1.
Slwyif, k1, slwyif, p to 3 sts before end, slwyif, k1, slwyif.
Repeat previous two rows until you’ve decreased down to 9 sts.
K1, slwyif, k1, sl-k2tog-psso, k1, slwyif, k1.
Slwyif, k1, slwyif, p1, slwyif, k1, slwyif.
K1, slwyif, sl-k2tog-psso, slwyif, k1.
P2tog, p1, ssp.
At this point you’ll have 3 sts on the needle and can begin your i-cord ties.
Knit 3-st i-cord until you have about 9″ of cord, or to desired length. Cut yarn, leaving a tail of a few inches, but leave sts on needle.
Cut 4 lengths of yarn, each about 12″ long. Thread your yarn tail and these 4 lengths of yarn through the remaining 3 sts on your needle. Fold the 4 lengths of yarn in half, then tie a knot with the whole mess of i-cord and yarn, positioning the actual knot right over the spot where you threaded yarn through your 3 sts. Including the yarn tail, you should now have a tassel with 9 pieces of yarn. Trim ends of tassel to desired length.
Repeat for second earflap.
Eyes:
If you’re lucky enough to have obtained eyes with a built-in backing, ignore this section.
Otherwise: get out your buttons and glue. You’ll need buttons with a flat front and a loop backing that you can thread yarn through later.
Glue buttons to the back of your eyes (well, not your eyes, the googly ones). Make sure that the loops are positioned such that, if you threaded yarn through them, the yarn would be horizontal, not vertical.
Set eyes aside, you’ll attach them after blocking.
Finishing:
Weave in ends and block.
Thread a length of yarn through an eye-button-loop, and then thread each end of the yarn through the hat, wherever you want the eye to go. Knot the ends together tightly, and clip any extra yarn. Repeat for second eye, unless your brainmonster is a cyclops.
Wear with demented pride!
Copyright © 2007 Cyn, cyn.ca/knit
