Dino hat

Hello again! Today I bring you the world's coolest baby accessory: the dinosaur hat. My dear friend Kristen of Glitter, Gloss and Glaze and Lip Gloss and Sippy Cups is expecting her first child in March. I couldn't make her baby shower in Tampa but I wanted to send a gift anyway. Plus, I finally had an excuse to make one of these adorable dinosaur hats: 

Dino Cap by Kris Hanson

Unfortunately, my first attempt was a bit of disaster. It was all going well until it dawned on me (much later than it should have) that I put the ear flaps on backwards so they curved away from the face. One of my knit night friends very sweetly tried to convince me it was better that way because babies don't like things in their faces. I was already contemplating starting over, and this just sealed the deal. I wanted Baby D to have awesome baby adventures in this hat (a la Rugrats), not be upset by ear flaps in his face!!

For take two, I used a basic beanie pattern (Be Loving by Melissa Simpson) and added the spikes from the Dino Cap pattern. I was worried the spikes wouldn't fit right, but happily they fit perfectly! I made the hat kind of big, in the hopes that Baby D can wear it through his first winter.

I used Knit Picks Brava, their new acrylic, so it would be machine washable. I am not a huge fan of acrylics because they tend to split and pill, but practicality was really important in this case. I mean, it would be ludicrous to ask a sleep-deprived new mom to hand wash a baby hat, when I can't even be bothered to hand wash my tights, you know? Also, I think I may be becoming a bit of a yarn snob, you guys. Anyway, I have to say this was by far the nicest acrylic I've ever used. I would recommend it for projects that need to be kid-friendly or easy care.

So, Baby D, I hope you feel awesome in this hat and have many play adventures with Reptar or Little Foot or whoever is popular with the baby crowd these days. You are going to be one cool little dude and I can't wait to meet you.