haka: strappy flappy eared hat!

new pattern!  i made sure to get this one done in time for holiday gift knitting, because it’s a suuuper quick knit!!  i’ve worn the fuzzy handspun version to the last 2 craft shows i did and got tons of compliments, so i’m thinking it would be a good gift knit.

the name, haka, means chin in icelandic.  i asked pete what the hat made him think of off the top of his head, and he said it looked icelandic, and then david suggested some names that were chin in other languages, which led me to haka, so there ya go.

the hat can be worn 4 different ways – leave the strap loose and hanging, fasten it under your chin for maximum warmth, bring it behind your neck so your ears are still covered, or fasten it up over your head to free your ears and not overheat.  (great for winter transitioning from outdoors to indoors without revealing hat hair.)

the pattern uses size 15 needles (16″ circular) for a gauge of 3 stitches per inch.  if you’re a speedy knitter, i bet you could whip one up during one dvd!  (i am a slow knitter, so it takes me a few dvds, but still, quick project!)

use a bulky handspun yarn like those two examples, or hold a few strands of finer yarn together.  if you like the blendy stripes look made by holding 3 strands together and changing one at a time, the pattern pdf includes the exact striping pattern so you could copy it with your own color choices.  great for using up small leftover yarn balls!

i’m selling the pattern for $2 (click here to buy now) – i honestly wish i could give it away free, but i’m trying to make a living doing this stuff, so i just can’t.  i do have a free pattern in the works though, to be released probably sometime between xmas and new years…

but hey guess what, i want to give it away so much that i’m gonna do a special limited-time giveaway!  just for my blog readers and twitter followers, a gift for you!  this is an idea i just thought of, and i’ve never seen anyone do this before, but i don’t see why it wouldn’t work.  i’ll be giving out an expiring link to the pdf through twitter – the link will be good for a half hour, then it’ll stop working, so you’ll have to click it only during the giveaway time.  there is no limit to how many people can download it (at least, as far as i know).  so here it is…

the expiring pdf link will be tweeted by me (posted on my twitter page) at 1:00pm (west coast time) on this thursday, the 11th, so you must click the link sometime between 1 and 1:30 to get the pattern free.  if you miss the time window, it’s only 2 buckaroos!  (and i’ll really appreciate every single pattern paid for!)

also, here’s the ravelry link for easy access.  and, pdf specs: it’s 4 pages, full of lots of photos, but the pattern itself is all on one page, so you’ll only need to print that one.  (the other pages are the cover, pattern notes, seaming how-to, and striping pattern.)  there are no special techniques you need to know, it’s a really simple pattern – knit around from the top down on circulars in stockinette, some ribbing, decreasing on the earflaps, seed stitch on the strap, sew the seam up.  i think that’s everything!  hope you like it!