We always appreciate receiving soft yarn, or donations of knitted hats and other comfort items. Please note that we can only include EXTRA soft items on our website, to avoid irritating extra-sensitive skin.

Typically, wool is not soft enough, so we recommend synthetics - usually anything with the word "soft" or "baby" in the yarn is fine. If you would like to donate a knitted or crocheted hat or other comfort items, we have included a few suggested patterns below, but feel free to use whatever fun pattern you may have.

If you would like to make a monetary donation to Hats of Comfort via credit card please call Flying Fibers at 717.898.8020. You can also mail checks to the address below. Please include a note on your donation (yarn, knitted items or other contributions) that it is for "Hats of Comfort". You can check the Flying Fibers website in Landisville, PA (www.flyingfibers.com) for hours and directions.

Completed comfort items and yarn donations can be dropped off at Flying Fibers, or mailed to:

Flying Fibers
Hats of Comfort Donation
329C Main Street
Landisville, PA 17538

Thank you for providing a small measure of comfort during difficult times.

KNIT BASIC HAT PATTERN - ROLLED BRIM

USE: Circular Needles (16" around), Size 10 or 10.5, plus 1 set double-pointed needles, same size
Using Caron Simply Soft, 2 strands for tighter weave, 1 strand for more open look
Gauge is about 3-4 stitches to the inch.

• Finished size should be at least 18" circumference. This would be a small hat. About 8" total height from bottom of brim (don't stretch it out—let it curl up naturally, then measure).
• A hat in the 20" circumference should be about 9" to 10" finished height.
• For a medium-weight yarn* and a women's small to medium size hat, I cast on 60 to 66 stitches. 
• To make it bigger, or if your gauge is closer to 4 stitches to the inch, I'd cast on 70 to 76.
• For a larger hat, I go about 80 stitches.
• I usually find that if I fill up my circular needles so the cast-on row is somewhat squished together on the cable part, and overlaps the metal needle part a bit, that's usually good - and a larger when squished will be about half-way down the metal part of the needles.
  

NOTE: Recommend casting on an additional 6-8 stitches from what you planned, and knitting that many for the first 2" or so, until you are done with the brim (and it's all rolled up). When the roll is complete, decrease within 1 to 2 rows to your plan (such as 80 stitches) for the hat body. This gives the roll a little more depth, and it increases the hat's stretchiness (and size) considerably.
Example: For a hat with 80 stitches, cast on 86. Knit about 2" until your brim is rolled and the hat is starting to straighten out. Decrease 6 stitches evenly in the next row. So you're back to 80. Then knit the body of the hat normally.

1. Cast on as noted above in the "NOTE", using the higher count, then decreasing as noted for the body.
2. Knit, knit, knit until you are at the point where you start to decrease. I usually try it on my head, and if it's at the point where the needles sit on top of my head, and the brim covers my ears, then I start to decrease. (Or find someone with the right size head the first few times you are doing this.)
3. Let the brim just roll up as far as it wants. Don't stretch it out to measure.
4. DECREASING
   SIMPLE DECREASE
   --Mark where you start to decrease.
   --Knit 3 stitches, then knit 2 together. Repeat all the way around to the marker.
   --Keep doing it (knit 3, knit 2 together) row after row, until it's getting hard to pull the yarn off the circular needle.
   --Switch to double-pointed needles by knitting from circular in your left hand onto double-pointed on your right. Ideally end up with stitches divided between 3 DP needles, using the fourth one to knit around them.
   --Keep going until you are down to about 8 stitches. Maybe 10 if bulky yarn.
   --Cut off the yarn, leaving about 8" tail.
   --Thread the tail onto a yarn needle, and going in the same direction you were going, thread the yarn through the remaining loops on your double-pointed needles (removing needles as you go).
   --Pull the yarn tight to close up the remaining hole, then thread it through to the inside and weave in the end.
   --Weave in any other loose ends, and you're done.

DECREASING-SPIRAL

This is really nice for more advanced finish. Most of the hats here have the spiral finish. The decreasing forms a spiral pattern from the top, and is very attractive if there is not a lot of other texture on the hat. You don't want to bother with this approach if the hat has a lot of texture, or if it's fuzzy (you won't see the full effect).

To figure out how to start the decrease, you'll need to count your stitches and see how they can evenly divide.  If you have 60** stitches, you will:

1. Mark the next stitch.
2. Starting on the first stitch after the marker, Knit 8 .
3. Knit stitches 9&10 together.
4. Keep doing steps 2 and 3 until you're done with that row. 
   (You will know it's right if you end up at the marker with no more stitches left over.)
5. For the next row, you can either knit another row without decreasing at all (I do this if I need it to be a little longer), or simply start another decrease row.
6. For the next decrease row, you will decrease your knit stitches by 1, so now you'll knit 7 instead of 8, before you knit the 2 stitches together. So: after the marker, Knit 7 stitches, then knit stitches 8 & 9 together. Repeat all the way around.
7. Next: Knit 6; knit stitches 7 and 8 together. Repeat all around.
8. Next: Knit 5; knit stitches 6 and 7 together, Repeat NOTE: I usually move to double-pointed needs around the Knit 5 round. It will be getting hard to pull off the stitch from your needle.
9. Next: Knit 4: knit stitches 5 and 6 together. Repeat. Next: Knit 3; knit stitches 4 and 5 together, Repeat.
10. Next: Knit 2, knit stitches 3 and 4 together, repeat.
11. Next: Knit 1, knit stitches 2 and 3 together, repeat.
12. Next: Knit 2 together all the way around.

By this point, you should be ready to finish it off. Sometimes you will be at the point by the previous row.

  ** If you have 66 stitches, you can knit 9 together instead of 8.  If you have 72, knit 10 together.  If you goofed up and have odd numbers, just figure out how many you have, and what number (starting with 10, 9 or 8) divides evenly.  When you get the divided number, remember to subtract 2 for the two that get knit together.
 
If you have an odd number, decrease randomly on one row until you have a good number, then start the spiral decrease at that point.
 

VARIATION: FLAT BRIM

If you want to do a flat brim instead of rolled brim:

1. Cast on the same way as above, same amount, etc.
2. PURL the second row
3. KNIT the third row
4. PURL the 4th row
5. KNIT
6. PURL; this is usually about as wide as I make it. Whatever looks good is fine.

Knit all subsequent rows, and follow directions for the basic hat.

The knit brim looks great when you add in another strand of yarn in a complementary color; it makes the brim a little bulkier and it stands out a bit more. Note that this approach makes the hat a little less stretchy.

If your brim is too bulky compared to the hat body, then increase here and there (perhaps 4-6 stitches) in the first row of the hat body. This approach is a great way to get rid of smaller amounts of yarn or those that are different weights. You can also change needle sizes if that's helpful.

 
VARIATION: BEANIE STYLE

For a beanie style, starting with a ribbed band:
Cast on just like basic hat, and mark the end of the row.
To figure out how many to cast on, my favorite is 60, since that allows you to do a 2by 2 rib, or a 3x3 rib (Knit 2/Purl 2, or Knit 3/Purl 3). For other counts you may end up with odd stitches that prevent you from continuing the same pattern, so you have to decrease or increase to fix it.

I like to knit the first row, as it seems to make a nicer finish on the hat edge.
Row 2: Knit 2/Purl 2 (or 3/3) or even 1/1—whatever you like.
When you get to the marker, make sure you can continue your pattern; if you need to purl next, make sure you are purling on top of a purl stitch. If not, increase/decrease to make it work.**

Once you have done about 1" to 2" of ribbing, you will be knitting the next row. I usually add (increase) 2 to 4 stitches, so the ribbing ends up looking a little tighter than the hat body. Once you've done this "add-on" row, you will simply knit the hat like the basic instructions.

**If you have goofed up, don't despair. I often end up doing the moss stitch, by knitting on top of a purl, and purling on top of the knit stitches. It doesn't look like the vertical ribbing but it's attractive and just fine. On a bulkier yarn, I think it looks better.