Beard Hat

This past October a co-worker asked if I could knit him and beard hat. I had no idea what he was talking about, so he should me a picture. Sure enough it looked like it sounded....a knitted hat with an attached, knitted beard...a modern version of a ski mask. I agreed to this request knowing the hat part would be no sweat. I didn't know how I was going to go about knitting the beard and attaching it to the hat.  

For this project I used the following materials:

Needles
 - 16” US Size 8 Circular Needles
 - US Size 8 double point needles (you can use straight needles for the beard, if desired)
 - Tapestry needle

Yarn

 - Hat: 1-3 oz. ball of Lion Brand - Jiffy Yarn (Bulky) in desired color - I used Caffe
 - Beard: 1-3 oz. ball of Lion Brand - Jiffy Yarn (Bulky) in desired color - I used Dark Grey Heather

Hat - The hat is simple to make. *K1, P1* over and over and over. You can choose to knit any hat pattern you desire to go with your beard. This is my basic hat pattern that I knitted. 

CO 64 sts (using the circular needles)
      *For smaller sizes, subtract CO stitches in multiples of 8.
      *For larger sizes, add CO stitches in multiples of 8.

K1, P1 around for 7”

Divide stitches evenly onto dps to begin the crown decrease.

Hat

Descrease
·      Rnd 1: *K6, ssk* to end

·      Rnd 2: *K1, P1* to end

·      Rnd 3: *K5, ssk* to end

·      Rnd 4: *K1, P1* to end

·      Rnd 5: *K4, ssk* to end

·      Rnd 6: *K1, P1* to end

·      Rnd 7: *K3, ssk* to end

·      Rnd 8: *K1, P1* to end

·      Rnd 9: *K2, ssk* to end

·      Rnd 10: *K1, P1* to end

·      Rnd 11: *K1, ssk* to end

·      Rnd 12: *K1, P1* to end

·      Rnd 13: *ssk* to end – 8 sts remaining

Cut yarn leaving a long tail. With a tapestry needle, thread tail through the remaining stitches twice and pull firmly.

Beard - For the beard I had to do some searching online for guidance. I found this pattern via www.ravelry.com. (I love ravelry! It is a great resource if you are a knitter...and did I mention it's free to join?) I had a lot of fun knitting the beard. I couldn't help but show it off to my friends, family and co-workers while I was knitting. 

Beard

When done, I was faced with this question: How do I attach the beard to the hat? I decided to keep the hat and beard as two separate pieces. Then the hat (or beard) could be worn individually or the beard could be worn with another hat. To accomplish this, I simply used a tapestry needles and sewed the side flaps of the beard together. This allows the beard to be worn around the head like a reverse headband.

Beard Hat! 

When you put the two pieces together, this is what you get:

I am very please with the results. I haven't seen him wear the hat, but it's been a very mild winter here. One day it's in the 40's and the next day it's in the lower 20's with snow and ice....then two days later it's back in the upper 40's. If I make the beard again, I will try and not make the mouth opening so wide. I'm even thinking about making a smaller version of the beard for my nephews...that would look cute.