Santa Claus is coming to town!

Holidays are right around the corner!


And if you're a knitter, you know what that means... Time to knit presents!

This year, I wanted to make something easy and quick enough to make several in time for Christmas. What I came up with is this:

An awesome Santa Hat!!!

And my Christmas present to all of you in cyberspace is this free Santa Hat pattern! Yay!

Materials:
-Yarn
A: 1 ball of white eyelash yarn (I used Paton's Cha Cha in color White)
B: 1 skein of white worsted weight yarn (I used Red Heart Super Saver in color White)
C: 1 skein of red worsted weight yarn (I used Caron Simply Soft in color Autumn Red)
- US 11 straight knitting needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
- Yarn needle
- Scissors
- Pom-pom maker (store-bought or home-made, doesn't matter. See this website for instructions, if you need them)

Gauge: in st st with two strands of C held together - 11 st and 14 rows = 4"

Hat:
With two strands of A and one strand of B held together, CO 48 st

Rows 1-7: work in garter st (k all rows)

Rows 8: With two strands of C held together, k across

Rows 9-23 , work in st st. You should end with a purl row.

Row 24: k1, k2tog, *k 6, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k5 (42 st)

Row 25: purl

Row 26: knit

Row 27: purl

Row 28: k1, k2tog, *k5, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k4 (36 st)

Rows 29-31: Repeat rows 25-27

Row 32: k1, k2tog, *k4, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k3 (30 st)

Rows 33-35: Repeat rows 25-27

Row 36: k1, k2tog, *k3, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k2 (24 st)

Rows 37-39: Repeat rows 25-27

Row 40: k1, k2tog, *k2, k2tog, repeat from * 4 more times, k1 (18 st)

Rows 41-43: Repeat rows 25-27

Row 44: *k1, k2tog, repeat from * 5 more times (12 st)

Rows 45-47: Repeat rows 25-27

Row 48: k2tog across (6 st)

Row 49: purl

Row 50: knit

Cut yarn, leaving a really long tail. Thread yarn through all remaining stitches and pull closed.

Finishing:

Use tail of yarn to sew up the back of the hat. Make a pom-pom about 2" in diameter, and attach to the point of the hat. Weave in all ends. Wear and enjoy, or give as a gift!

Super-Funky fingerless gloves

These gloves are knitted with some yarn I got for Christmas one year without a label, so I have no idea what type it is. As long as the yarn you use is either sport weight or DK weight and knits up in the correct gauge it should be fine. Since these gloves are worked back and forth on two needles and use basic stitches, these are an excellent first or second project. Hey, it's quicker than a scarf! Plus, they are great for stash busting and are easily customizable. They fit an average-sized hand, but you could make them bigger or smaller by just casting on more or fewer stitches, respectively.

Materials:

• 2 Skeins Sport or DK weight yarn in 2 different colors to make stripes. Or you could use just one skein and make solid color gloves. Your choice.
• US #5 straight knitting needles
• Yarn needle for seaming

Gauge: 20 st and 15 rows = 4 inches in St st.

Pattern:

CO 32

Rows 1-2: With color A, *K1P1, repeat from * to end of row

Rows 3-4: With color B, *K1P1, repeat from * to end of row

Repeat rows 1-4

Rows 9-10: With A, *K1P1, repeat from * to end of row

Row 11: With B, K across

Row 12: With B, P across

Row 13: With A, K across

Row 14: With A, P across

Repeat Rows 11-14 twice more

Row 23: With B, K across

Row 24: With B, P across

Rows 25-26: With color A, *K1P1, repeat from * to end of row

Rows 27-28: With color B, *K1P1, repeat from * to end of row

Rows 29-30: With color A, *K1P1, repeat from * to end of row

BO in K1P1 rib.

Finishing:

Sew the edges of the ribbed sections together so that you have a tube with a thumb hole in the middle. Wear, and enjoy!

(oh, and if you make this, I'd love any feedback you have. Just send me an email or comment on this post! :D)