Sock Monkey Maddness

Sock monkeys have taken over!! Just kidding... almost. I have had several customers love my sock monkey hats and have requested them in various styles. I first started making the hats using this redheart pattern as a guide, but the more I've made, the better they have become. I have made the hats in brown/red, gray/pink, gray/blue, and gray/black. I haven't decided which one I like most though.

I started the hat with the basic hat pattern found here.

I used 3 colors, light (white), accent (pink), and dark (gray). Also needed 2 white buttons for eyes, tapestry needle and "H" hook.

On the toddler hats, I started with the light color for 6 rnds, then finished off and rejoined the accent color for 2 rounds. Finished off pink and rejoined gray to finish the hat. When I do hats with ear flaps i actually shorten the hat by 2 rnds off the basic pattern because I like to finish the hats off with 2 finishing rounds of sc. I think it gives the hat a much neater look.

Rnds 1-6, white, Rnds 7-8 Pink, Rnds 9-17 Gray.

I attach the ear flaps with Gray, but I have seen variations where the earflaps are the accent color or even the lighter color. Once both earflaps have been finished, I do 1 rnd of gray sc and 1 rnd of pink sc.

Mouth:

Now for the fun part. For the mouth, use the accent color (pink) and ch 9. 

Rnd 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and the next 6. 3 sc in the end ch and turn work to continue sc on other side of ch and sc in next 6 chs, 2 sc in last ch, join light color and finish off accent color.

Rnd 2: ch 1. 2sc in joining st. sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in each of next 3 sc, sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in each of last 2 sts, join, ch 1.

Rnd 3: sc in joining st 2 sc in next stitch, sc in next 6 stitches, *sc, 2 sc* 3 times, sc in next 6 sc, repeat from * to * 2 more times, join and finish off leaving a long tail for sewing mouth to hat. 

Ears: (make 2)

With accent color, start with a magic circle loop and ch 2

Rnd 1: 15 dc in loop, join ch 2

Rnd 2: 2 dc in each dc around, join, finish off.

Rnd 3: join with dark color in any dc, ch 1. Hdc in each dc around (30 hdc), join and finish off leaving a long tail for sewing ear to hat.

All individual parts for hat are finished. Time to decorate!

Finishing:

Center mouth to hat on front of hat just above 1st sc finishing rnd. Sew mouth with left over tail. (helps to use a little craft glue to hold piece in place.)

Sew ears to hat vertically between hat rnds 13 and 16 above where the earflaps belong. I like to sew through the edge then back to the accent color to give a little more stability.

For the braids, cut 5 strands of each color (total of 15 strands) about 18 inches long and attach through loops of last rnd of sc on each side of earflaps and braid. I like to separate the colors.

Sew button eyes to face just above the mouth below the accent color rnds. 

That's pretty much it. If you like you can also create a "poof" ball to go on top. Good luck and enjoy!