Autumn Knitting

Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. Not because it starts to get cooler and the leaves change to beautiful colors, that just doesn’t happen in the south. And autumn is not my favorite because it is the time of year for inner reflection and family festivals, although I do enjoy these as well. I love autumn because it is the start of knitting season! I knit out of season all year long, but when autumn arrives, I feel my needles begin to twitch extra vigorously. Knitting is my meditation; it settles my mind and calms my soul. I always feel a little unsettled if I don’t have something to knit when I am at a birth; my knitting project of the moment is usually the first thing I pack when a mama calls me to her home to help her. My clients tell me it is comforting to see me sit in the corner, knitting and humming; they know everything is just fine. Knitting at births helps me stay out of the laboring mom’s way as well. If my hands are busy, I am less likely to interfere with the birth process; sometimes I keep telling myself one more row over and over so the mom can continue on her journey through labor without outside, unneeded interference. Sometimes I can knit whole socks at births and other times I don’t even get to work one little stitch if the birth moves along quickly. I like looking back at what I’ve made, thinking of the places and people who were around me as I carefully knitted each object.

Here is a pattern for a pumpkin hat to fit your little one’s head, just in time for autumn knitting season:

Pumpkin Hat

Sizes: 6months (1 year, 2 years)

Gauge: 5 stitches per inch

Yarn: 100 yards main color – MC - (orange/pumpkin) for pumpkin

75 yards contrasting color – CC- (greenish/brownish) for leaves

Needles: 16 inch circular and double point needles, size #5-7 (whatever you need

to achieve gauge)

Cast on 72 (80, 88) stitches. Join and *knit 7, purl 1 * repeat in the round for

4 ½ inches (4 ¾ in, 5 in). The purl stitches create the pumpkin ridges up the sides of the hat.

Start knitting leaves with green starting at bottom of chart below. Begin decreasing stitches after first 5 rows of knitting leaves, changing to double pointed needles when necessary.

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Pumpkin yarn= empty space, X = green/brown yarn, D = knit 2 together

Continue to knit in green yarn, decreasing as follows:

Rows 1-5: follow chart above

Row 6: knit 2 together, knit 6

Row 7: knit 2 together, knit 5

Row 8: knit 2 together, knit 4

Row 9: knit 2 together, knit 3

Row 10: knit 2 together, knit 2

Row 11: knit 2 together, knit 1

Rows 12-17: knit 6 rows plain with remaining stitches

Row 18: Knit 2 together around, cut yarn leaving 6 inch tail and draw yarn through remaining stitches to create a stem.

Work in loose yarn ends

Embellish pumpkin top with green chain crochet vines if you want to.