To celebrate the completion of the FIRST robotics build season (meet the team! see our blog!) I have charted and written up the pattern for our unique and delightful robot hats.
Download the hat pattern in .pdf form (full colour charts, photos and instructions)
We wear these hats to competitions, and other events, and they are also regular winter hats to some. They help unite us as a team, and show our Canadian spirit when we are competing in the USA. The first hats were knit on the way to the International competition in Atlanta Georgia, on our 22 hour bus ride.
The pattern is based on the Robot Hat pattern that I found on Ravelry last year. It is knit with any worsted weight acrylic yarn, and 5.0mm needles. My pattern is fully customizable to fit large and small heads alike based on a small swatch.
Our hats are each unique; the variations have included different stripes, different colours of robots, having a rolled up brim, having pompoms, curlicues, or horns. We’ve even made headbands too! Our team challenges each other to come up with more wild and wacky hat ideas, and figure out how to make them. Each hat has robots on it, and is made from our team colours, and has 2809 (our team number) on it.
Some Math: We recognize that team members, and mentors and younger supporters all have different sized heads. It is a good idea to do a gauge swatch and a bit of math to make sure your hat will fit.
Measure the circumference of the head:________________inches.
Make a swatch in stockinette stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) that is at least 2 inches x 2 inches.
Lay the swatch out flat (but do not stretch it), put a ruler on top of it and count how many stitches fit in one inch. It may be easier to count how many stitches fit in two inches, then divide by 2.
Stitch gauge: ______________stitches per inch.
Generally hats stretch to fit around your head. Subtract about an inch from the head circumference so the hat will stretch to fit around the head.
Hat circumference = Head circumference – 1.
Hat circumference =_____________
Cast on = Hat circumference x stitch gauge
Cast on = ___________________
Cast On the appropriate number of stitches for your hat. Join in the round being careful not to twist.
Work an inch or two in K2, P2 ribbing (more if you are going to flip the brim over)
Change colours as desired.
Knit an inch or two before starting the robot and team number motif.
It is highly recommended to use a spreadsheet or several pieces of graph paper to chart out the entire hat to be sure that everything is centered, and that the robots and team number can all be incorporated. You can graph out team logos and other different robots if you’d like.
TEAM NUMBER
ROBOTS (source) 
click for larger image
Try on the hat from time to time to be sure that it is long enough before you start decreasing. Knit until the hat is long enough.
Decreases: Divide the number of stitches by 4, place markers at each division. Each round, decrease by knitting together the two stitches that precede the marker. Each round the total number of stitches will decrease by 4. Continue until there are about 8 stitches left. Cut the yarn, draw the yarn through the remaining stitches and pull tight.
Headband Option – Knit in the round.
Round 3 start robots leaving space for team numbers
Round 7 start team logo close to the top
Knit 1 round after robot complete then purl one round, then knit the lining for the headband (same number of rows that you knit for the outside.
Cast off. Fold headband along purl line. Sew Cast On and Cast Off edge together
Toppings:
Antenna–instead of decreasing so rapidly, decrease every 3 rows or so, to create a spike at the back of the hat.
Pompom–cut out two circles from cardboard. Cut out a circle (1 inch diameter) in the centre of each circle. Hold the two circles together, and wrap yarn around through the middle and around the outside over and over again. When the circle is full, cut around the outside edge and separate the two cardboard circles a little. Tie a long piece of yarn around and fasten it tightly around the middle bundle of strings. Remove the cardboard, and trim the pompom.
Curlicues (source)
Cast on 20 stitches. (The final length of your curlicue will be the same as the length of your cast on row.) Knit into the front and back of each stitch loosely, ending up with 40 stitches. Bind off purlwise. Here you see the curlicue already curling on the bind off row. Take your finished curlicue and twist it in the direction it is already curling.
Horns and other structural knitting
Knit with wool and one strand of copper from a copper scrubbie (which is actually knit, so you can unravel it really easily). You are limited only by your imagination.
It was a very productive weekend. Not only did I sing in a choir concert, but somehow time was also dedicated to this little sweater which is now just about completed! It needs a few ends sewn in, and a good blocking, and it will be good to go. I love the yarn Life DK; it feels like wool, but is a machine washable blend of 75% acrylic and 25% wool. In case you are wondering, this colour was 2346 “Mixtures Blue Haze”
I love cable knitting!! 20 rows into this little sweater and I’m totally hooked. Maybe it is the fact that each row is different so I will never get bored of it. Maybe it is because I can work in convenient 4 row chunks between doing all the other things that need to get done. Maybe it is because it has been a LONG time since I did a lot of cable knitting.
The Gaelic word Eirinn (pronounced air-en) is a poetic name for Ireland often used in songs. The celtic patterning of the braid represents the continuum of life, love and faith, and the circle motif represents eternity.
A ceilidh (pronounced Kaylee) is a traditional Gaelic social dance originating in Ireland and Scotland. In days gone by, there were ceilidhs in most town and village halls on Friday or Saturday nights. The cheerful and lively ceilidh music is provided by fiddles, flutes, tin whistles, accordions, and the bodhran drum.
