How to Whip Up a Pumpkin Spice Latte Whipped Cream Hat

Okay, it doesn't have to be that flavor. I made my niece this halloween costume, except she was hot chocolate and not Pumpkin Spice Latte (she was very specific about this detail...) I knit the hat to look like whipped cream and then "drizzled" a chain of crocheted brown yarn around it, but you can just knit the hat and it looks great on an adult head all winter!

If you can knit, purl, make one and knit two together, you can make this hat in no time. The only tricky bit is the cabling, but once you do it, it becomes easy. Use different colors to make it work with your holiday palette! I used the following:

Materials

• 2 Skeins of Chunky Off-White (Cream Colored) wool yarn. (I used Rowan purelife British Sheep Breeds Chunky Undyed Wool, which I found a bunch of skeins of at SCRAP in Portland for a very reasonable price. But anything will work if you can get this gauge:)
• 4 Stitches Per Inch in the Whipped Cream Rib on
• Size 9 double-pointed needles and Size 9 circular needle for body of hat.
• Yes, you need both the double point and circular needles, trust me.
• One Stitch Marker
• One Cable Needle
• Small amount of Brown Yarn if you want chocolate "drizzle", and a crochet hook. This last detail is OPTIONAL.

Cast sixty stitches on double pointed needles (DPN), and join to work in the round. Make sure the stitches are not twisted. I start out on the DPNs and then switch to the circular needle when I start to increase. Work in a round until the cuff measures three inches, in the following rib: *knit one, pearl one. Repeat from *

(60 Stitches, k1p1 rib for 3 inches)

At the beginning of the fifth round *Knit 3, Purl 2. Repeat from * eleven more times.

Row 6: *Knit 3, Make one, Purl 2. Repeat from * eleven more times. At the end of this round you should have 72 stitches.

Rows 7-10: *Knit 4, Purl 2. Repeat from *

Row 11: Place a Marker. You will slip this from one needle to the other at the end of every row to mark the beginning of the next row. It really does matter when you start to twist the rib! *Knit Four, Make One, Purl Two. Repeat from * eleven more times, for a total of twelve increases. At the end of this row you should have 84 stitches.

Rows 12, 13 and 14: * Knit Five, Purl Two. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

Rows 15, 16 and 17: Purl One, *Knit Five, Purl Two. Repeat from * to last two stitches, Purl Two. Slip Marker.

Row 18: Purl One, *Knit Five, Make One, Purl Two. Repeat from * to last two stitches, Purl Two. At the end of this row you should have 96 stitches. Slip Marker.

Rows 19, 20 and 21: Purl One, *Knit Six, Purl One. Repeat from * to last two stitches, Purl Two. Slip Marker.

Row 22: Purl One, *Knit Six, Purl Three. Repeat from * to last stitch, Purl One. Slip Marker.

Now you will add more of a twist by cabling to give it an even whipped-creamier look! To use a cable needle, you will just pick up stitches with the needle and let the needle hang in front of the work while you knit the other stitches, and then slip the stitches on the cable needle back onto the left-hand needle, and knit them. Sometimes it's a little tight, so loosen up a little on your tension. It will resolve itself in the following round.

Row 23: Purl one, *Slip Three Stitches onto Cable Needle Purlwise and let hang in front of work, Knit Three, Slip Stitches form Cable Needle back onto left needle, Knit Three, Purl Three. Repeat from * eleven more times, Purl One. Slip Marker.

Row 24: Purl one, *Knit Six, Purl Three. Repeat from *, Purl One. Slip Marker.

Row 25: *Purl Two, Knit Six. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

(At this point, if you want to make a slightly less puffy hat that looks more like a hat than a big dollop of whipped cream, skip the following rows, and go to the DECREASE ROW 41, and then to the ALTERNATE ENDING.)

For a big, swirly, onion-dome-looking-dollop-of-whipped-cream hat:

Row 26: *Purl Two, Make One, Knit Six, Make One. Repeat from * . Slip Marker. (120 Sts)

Row 27, 28 and 29: *Purl Two, Knit Eight. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

Row 30, 32 and 33: Knit One, *Purl Two, Knit Eight. Repeat from * until last ten stitches. Purl Two, Knit Seven. Slip Marker.

Row 34: Knit One, *Purl Thwo, Slip Four Stitches onto Cable Needle, Knit Four, Slip Stitches from Cable Needle onto Left Needle and Knit. Repeat from * to last ten stitches. Purl Two, Slip Four Stitches onto Cable Needle. Knit Two, Slip Marker.

Row 35: Knit One, Slip Four Stitches from Cable Needle onto Left Needle and Knit. *Purl Two, Knit Eight. Repeat from * to last ten stitches. Purl Two, Knit Seven, Slip Marker.

Row 36: Knit One, *Purl Two, Knit Eight. Repeat from * to last ten stitches. Purl Two, Knit Seven. Slip Marker.

Row 37: Knit One, *Purl Two, Knit Two Together, Knit Four, Knit Two Together. Repeat from * to last ten stitches. Purl Two, Knit Two Together, Knit Four. Slip last stitch, remove marker, Slip stitch onto left needle again, Knit Two Together. Place Marker. (96 Sts)

Row 38, 39 40: *Purl Two, Knit Six. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

(If you skipped the INCREASES for EXTRA PUFF, start decreasing here!)

Row 41: *Purl Two, Knit Two Together, Knit Four. Repeat from *. Slip Marker. (84 Sts.)

Row 42, and 43: *Purl Two, Knit Five. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

Row 44: Knit One, *Purl Two, Knit Two Together, Knit Three. Repeat from * to last Eight Stitches. Purl Two, Knit Two Together, Knit Two. Slip Marker. (72 Sts.)

Row 45: Knit One, *Purl Two, Knit Four. Repeat from * to last six stitches, Purl Two, Knit Three. Slip Marker.

Row 46: Knit One, *Purl Two, Slip Two Stitches onto Cable Needle, Knit Two, Slip Stitches from Cable Needle back onto Left Needle and Knit. Repeat from * to last six stitches. Purl Two, Slip Two Stitches onto Cable Needle, Knit One, Remove marker. Knit One, Replace Stitch Marker.

Row 47: Slip Two Stitches from Cable Needle back onto Left Needle and Knit, * Purl Two, Knit Four. Repeat from * to last five stitches, Purl Two, Knit Two. Slip Marker

Row 48: Knit Two Together. * Purl Two, Knit Two, Knit Two Together. Repeat from * to last five stitches, Purl Two, Knit Two. Slip Marker. (60 Sts)

At this point you will need to SWITCH TO DOUBLE POINTED NEEDLES AGAIN to finish decreasing.

Row 49: Knit One, *Purl Two, Knit Three. Repeat to last five stitches, Purl Two, Knit Two. Slip Marker.

Row 50 and 51: Knit Two, *Purl Two, Knit Three. Repeat to last four stitches, Purl Two, Knit One. Slip Marker.

Row 52 and 53: *Knit Two, Purl Three. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

Row 54: *Knit Two Together, Knit one, Purl Two Together. Repeat from *. Slip Marker. (38 Sts)

Row 55 and 56: *Knit Two, Purl one. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

Row 57 and 58: Purl One, *Knit Two, Purl One. Repeat from * to last stitch, Purl One. Slip Marker.

Row 59 and 60: *Purl Two together, Knit One. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

Row 61: *Purl one, Knit One. Repeat from *. Slip Marker. (26 Sts)

Row 62: *Purl One, Knit One. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

Row 63: *Purl One, Knit Two Together. Repeat from *. Slip Marker. (14 Sts)

Row 64, and 65: *Purl One, Knit One. Repeat from *. Slip Marker.

Row 66: *Knit Two Together, Knit One. Repeat from *. Remove Marker.

You should now be down to six stitches. Slip all of these stitches to one double pointed needle, and make a 2.5 Inch Long I-Cord as follows:

Knit all stitches. Without turning needle around, push all stitches to the other end of the needle, switch needle to other hand, and knit these six stitches. Repeat until the knitted tube measures 2.5". Tie off, and loop the I-Cord around and secure to hat. Weave in ends.

To Make the Drizzle, Crochet a chain with the brown yarn, about 24 Inches Long. Starting at a spot above the decreases, attach the chain to the hat, and tie off on the inside. Allow the chain to drape over the puffiest part, and attach four or five more times, evenly spaced around the hat. Make sure the last loop meets up with the first one. Tie off again on inside

If you done want to look like dessert all winter, you can skip the I-Cord Curlicue, and the Chocolate Drizzle. Instead, stop knitting at Row 63. Leave a tail of yarn that you run through all remaining stitches, and pull tight. Weave ends in.

So far I have only knit this hat in white, but will post pictures as I try it in different colors!