Ever since I knit a kitty hat for my hubby last year, I’ve been wanting to knit a bunny one for myself! I wasn’t actively searching for yarn for this project. In fact, I have a large stash of yarn that I have set aside, and still haven’t used yet (Anyone else guilty of that?). I knew that I didn’t need any more yarn. I had recently purchased an extra skein of yarn that I didn’t end up using, so I went back to the yarn store to make an exchange for something else.

This yummy grey yarn caught my eye! I tried not to pay too much attention to it, knowing that I had a bunch of pretty yarns at home screaming to be made into something! I drifted toward the notions section of the store, then walked around the store a few times, seeing if there was anything else I wanted; instead, I went straight back to the shelf and picked up two skeins of the Madelinetosh Tosh DK Silverfox.

Each hank is unique, so I found two that looked similar enough to take home with me. I packed them away last November, thinking that something would inspire me to use them. All through this Winter, my hubby proudly wore his black kitty hat to work. I felt a bit sad that I wasn’t joining in on the silliness of sporting an animal hat, so I quickly dug out my yarn and knew I just *had* to make myself a knit bunny hat with it!

I knit pretty much on the gauge with most projects, so I used US 6 double-pointed needles (to give the hat a slightly tighter knit) to do this project.

Yarn Specifications

Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Silverfox, made from 100% Merino Wool
225yd/205m
Gauge for Knitting: 20-22 Sts = 4in/10cm on US 6-7/4.0-4.5mm

Tools for this Project

US 6 Brittany Double-Pointed Needles
Clover Knitting Register
Clover Split Ring Markers
Clover Chibi Darning Needles
Gingher Embroidery Scissors
Singer Tape Measure

Pattern for Knit Bunny Hat

The Hat

Cast on 109 sts
Separate the stitches evenly onto four double-points (27 sts each onto three needles, 28 sts onto the fourth), taking care not to twist the stitches
Begin working in the round, putting a stitch marker at the beginning of the round
Rounds 1-12, the Band: (K1, P1) for 12 rounds, creating a seed stitch pattern. On the last two stitches of Round 12, K2tog (108 sts)
Rounds 13-48: K. The hat should now measure about 6 inches (15cm) from cast on edge
Round 49: *(K16, K2tog), place a stitch marker; repeat from * until the end of the round. You will now have 6 markers (102 sts)
Round 50, and every even-number Round (Through Round 72): K
Round 51, and every odd-number Round (Through Round 71): *(K until you reach the last two stitches before the marker, K2tog), slip the stitch marker; repeat from * until the end of the round
At the end of Round 72, the needles should have 36 sts
Round 73: K2tog all around (18 sts)
Round 74: K
Round 75: K2tog all around (9 sts)
Cut the yarn with a long tail. Thread the darning needle and slip the 9 sts through. Pull to cinch and weave in the ends

The Ears

Cast on 16 sts
Separate stitches evenly onto three double-points (5 sts each onto two needles, 6 sts onto the third), taking care not to twist the stitches
Begin working in the round, putting a stitch marker at the beginning of the round
Rounds 1-6: K
Round 7: (KFB, K7) twice (18 sts)
Rounds 8-12: K
Round 13: (KFB, K8) twice (20 sts)
Rounds 14-18: K
Round 19: (KFB, K9) twice (22 sts)
Rounds 20-24: K
Round 25: (KFB, K10) twice (24 sts)
Rounds 26-28: K
Round 29: (KFB, K11) twice (26 sts)
Rounds 30-32: K
Round 33: (KFB, K12) twice (28 sts)
Rounds 34-36: K
Round 37: (KFB, K13) twice (30 sts)
Rounds 38-40: K
Round 41: (KFB, K14) twice (32 sts)
Rounds 42-44: K
Round 45:(KFB, K15) twice (34 sts)
Rounds 46-50: K
Round 51: (K2tog, K15) twice (32 sts)
Rounds 52-54: K
Round 55: (K2tog, K14) twice (30 sts)
Round 56: K
Round 57: (K2tog, K13) twice (28 sts)
Round 58: K
Round 59: (K2tog, K12) twice (26 sts)
Round 60: K
Round 61: (K2tog, K11) twice (24 sts)
Round 62: (K2tog, K10) twice (22 sts)
Round 63: (K2tog, K9) twice (20 sts)
Round 64: (K2tog, K8) twice (18 sts)
Round 65: (K2tog twice, K5) twice (14 sts)
Round 66: K2tog all around (7 sts)
Cut the yarn with a tail. Thread the darning needle and slip the 7 sts through. Pull to cinch and weave in the ends

Putting the Pieces Together

Flatten the ears so that the increasing and decreasing of the stitches are on the sides. Mattress stitch the ears onto the sides of the hat about 1½ inches (about 4cm) from the top-center of the crown on either side.

Fold up the band, pull it on, and wear it proudly! Add ribbons to accessorize or duplicate-stitch some pink onto the ears to make a nice contrasting layer.

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