Sweet as Honey Bumblebee Hat

This Sweet as Honey Bumblebee Hat from Natalia Blank is a great project to make for the new baby in your life.  This is an easy knit hat pattern for beginners and makes a wonderful gift.  You can make this hat with circular or straight needles.  You could even add a little pom pom on the top or a flower on the side to personalize it for a little boy or girl.

Materials:

• Yarn: Knitpick's Swish worsted, Yellow - less then 1 skein (less than 50 g), Black - leftovers(you can use any worsted weight yarn)
• Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm), straight or circular

Notes:

• Gauge: 6 st x 1 inch (2.5 cm) in garter stitch
• Size:  6 months, head circumstance 15.5 inch (40 cm)

Instructions:

1. Cast on 96 st.
    
2. Rows1-4 (yellow yarn): knit
    
3. Rows 5-6 (black yarn): knit
    
4. Rows7-10 (yellow yarn): knit
    
5. Rows 11-12 (black yarn): knit
    
6. Rows13-16 (yellow yarn): knit
    
7. Continue  working the hat with yellow yarn in stockinette stitch  (RS: knit all, WS: purl all) until the piece measures 4 inch (10 cm) from the cast-on row. Switch to black yarn for shaping of the top:
    
8. Row 1: *ssk, k22, repeat from * 4 times
    
9. Row 2 and all WS rows except 14: purl all
    
10. Row 3: *ssk, k21, repeat from * 4 times
     
11. Row 5: *ssk, k20, repeat from * 4 times
     
12. Row 7: *ssk, k5, repeat from * 12 times
     
13. Row 9: *ssk, k4, repeat from * 12 times
     
14. Row 11: *ssk, k3, repeat from * 12 times
     
15. Row 13: *ssk, repeat from * 24 times
     
16. NOTE WS: Row 14: *p3tog, repeat from * 8 times
     
17. Row 15: *ssk, repeat from * 4 times - at this point you should have 4 st on your needle.
     
18. Work the last 4 st in I-cord fashion for 4 more rows. Pull thread through the stitches, cut the yarn.
     
19. Saw the sides of the hat, weave in the ends, wash according to yarn specifications.