Man, I wish I could knit. I can't even make a scarf without dropping or adding stitches. I can cook though, so I guess it balances out somewhat. (Nah, it doesn't...)

I love your beret recipe! If you use interchangeable circs, such as Denise or Knitpicks Options, you could just unscrew the 11s and replace them with 13s. I'm going to make one tonight!

And Laurie - I just bought two copies of your book. One's for a knitting friend and the other is for me!

What a great pattern!! I'm making a dress for a new baby coming in April and I wanted to make a baby beret to match!! Great minds think alike, right?? Thanks for a great pattern that I can use to strat with. Can you imagine how cute a baby girl will look in a baby beret??

Thanks for working this out...gee, all this with your work and bronchitis and traveling etc., etc., You are an "A" type woman!! These are fabulously drapey intense. I realy like the Sensations 'Licorice' and nicely affordable. I'm heading to Beverly Fabrics/Crafts at lunch time. Again, what a good-looking family.

that beret is so awesome in it's simplicity.

your pattern write-ups rock.

x0

Cute cute cute! Well done (once again!) I now need to add that to my looong quere of things to knit... it may, however, be bumped way up on the list so I can cast on, like tonight! They're forecasting 5-12inches of snow in st. louie so if I finish tonight I can wear tomorrow while scraping all that snow off my car :)

Ah, man, I look at that Licorice yarn every time I am at JoAnn and resist since I didn't know what I would make with it. I guess next time I am there I will be breaking my yarn-buying moratorium. Now, how to sneak it in the house without the hubby detecting...

Cute! My sister's name is Kelli with an I, too! :) She thinks she's the only one. I'll have to let her know!

I have not knitted anything in weeks. I think this pattern just gave me back my mojo!

Your little bro Eric is SUPER HOT! :) His girl is very pretty too. I love these hats!

Awesome hat! I'll have to try it, as I love berets! And I love your idea to neaten up the join, because that part always looks sloppy to me when I'm knitting in the round. I'll have to try it (not just on the hat, but on socks as well!).

You're just a wealth of good information today. You should be very proud of yourself. :-) Thanks!

Thanks! I laughed 'till I cried reading this post today and now I have to go buy some new circs 'cause I just have to make that beret! Good thing that super chunky wool I ordered (with no idea what to do with) just arrived.

Ha! I'm in the middle of your mistake-rib scarf, and I soon realized that you knit way more tightly than me. I had to go down 2 needle sizes.

And you are right - we cute, perky people hate the words "cute" and "perky." I still remember when someone nicknamed me Punky Brewster. Ouch.

Right ON!

I've been thinking about knitting a Beret now I have some inspiration and instructions. I may not follow them exactly because I like to make it my own, I'm crazy that way

So cute! Since I'm still stuck in a hat phase, I love seeing cute new hat patterns.

I've just added this pattern to Ravelry -- you can find it here: http://tinyurl.com/22djbs

Only thing is -- you don't list a gauge. What was your gauge?

Rebecca looks like Ben Stiller's wife, whose name I can't think of right now and because I'm at work I can't go to IMDB to find out what it is.

Now that I've finally learned the purl stitch (yay) I'm going to have to be more adventurous in my knitting. Hats here I come!

Don't felt it...give it to a child. Should be perfect. Love the beret and thanks for the receipe!

I wish I wore hats now! But, I think they make me look like a boy. Just give the prototype to a baby....then it will be a big chunky beret!

Rebecca looks like Reece Witherspoon. I'm so jealous...

You have the cutest family!

Your brothers are so cute!!

Gauge: Um, not sure, I don't have the hat here to measure. But I am guessing I knit much tighter than you do, and I think I was averaging about 2.5 or 3 stitches per inch.

This pattern was written exactly as I made it, and I really strongly suggest you use a size 10 needle for the ribbing and a size 11 for the body if you're a more relaxed knitter.

Obviously, I am not a professional pattern-maker or I would have measured the damn gauge!

The other reason I like this hat is that it is loose enough to avoid the dreaded hat hair!!!

Brett looks kind of like the pope, or maybe Daniel Auteuil in a certain scene in "The Closet." (Have you seen "The Closet"? You should rent it. Only the French can do farce. All right, I'll allow an exception for "Tootsie." And "A Fish Called Wanda.")

Your berets are tres cute. And the increase is tres smart.

MUST.FIND.BULKY.YARN! Thanks for the pattern.

I'm also making a scarf right now out of the JoAnn's Sensations "Licorice" yarn in red. I love that yarn so much! I'm afraid to say I love it though because I fear they will hear me and discontinue it. Ahem.

dude... i usually refrain from posting 'cause i'm the hermitty lurky type (and lord knows i already spend WAY too much time on the internets already), but i just wanted to say thanks for this rockin' pattern. i've been scouring various webpages for a good beret pattern to no avail... until now! i can't wait to give it a whirl.

I silently laughed to myself when Mary in Virginia asked you the guage.

Now I am afraid ya'll will hate me if your berets turn out big because I am such a tight knitter.

Hopefully by now people know I am working out some Freudian shiite on the yarn and hold it real REAL tight LOL

Hey Psychomom, you're crazy in EVERY way!!!

Yes, psychomom. My gauge is like 68 stitches to the inch... hee.

I am a freak.

Knitting is cheaper than seeing a therapist you know. SO I HOLD THE YARN A WEE BIT TIGHT. heheheheheh

I'm a crazy tight knitter, too. My sweaters could also work as bullet-proof vests!!

Liz, I once knit a square for Evan's baby blanket and it was a tiny, waterproof, impenetrable wall of stockinette. Faith had to crochet like a two-inch border on it because my gauge was so insane.

We have Guage (12 Guage?) and Bullet Proof Vests.

Now I'm thinking about shooting. See where the crazy mind goes......

That is an awesome hat....gotta knit it! Can't wait to get started. I've been on a sock knitting binge lately, but time to move onto hats...

Knitting as self-defense: The bulletproof poncho!

I would imagine those bullet-proof ponchos would be big sellers!

In certain neighborhoods, that is. And during hunting season??

Actually I've been wanting to knit a vest, I have it all drawn up with dimensions, I just need to pick out some yarn. Something pretty and fancy and not the cheap acrylic stuff I usually use.

I'll have to pass on the pancho.

psychomom, have you ever knit with anything by Tilli Thomas? Everyone says that yarn is amazing, but it''s so expensive I can't justify it. Yet. Maybe when I win the Lotto.

Clara, check out Knit Picks (knitpicks.com). They have great yarn at very reasonable prices.

Laurie, did you ever knit anything with that gorgeous Ozark yarn??

Also, lately I have been on a cheap yarn bender. Everything I'm making is with wal-mart level yarn, my favorites by far are that Lion Brand landscapes, which is so pretty and the JoAnn's Licorice yarn (100% wool!)

You've been knitting! And you didn't tell us! :) Love the berets - the Landscapes/Rose Garden one is gorgeous! I think the picture of those good-looking guys modeling the ladyhats is my favorite.

Liz -- I am so glad you reminded me of that project!! That yarn is so pretty, I should get it out tonight and work on it. I started a scarf but I used too small a needle size. I need to unwind it and use a honkin' big needle ("Laurie is a tight knitter, your honor.") I'll go digging for it tonight, I really love that crazy yarn.

We are nothing but Yarn Junkies, Ummmm Licorice.

Actually, knowing your gauge will help us knit it to the same size, if possible. We may need to adjust our needle size to get your gauge, but knowing your stitches-per-inch will help us hopefully achieve something close to what you got, once we've done a gauge swatch or two. :-)

That yarn is bee-yoo-tee-full!! I can't wait to see the scarf!!

Cute pattern, and now I can try out the landscapes yarn.

And without a family tree of CAP in front of me, I am not sure I am getting the connections right but Kelli has to be Andrew's mom, right? Because they are identical in cuteness.

I'm glad someone out there feels the pain of being a "cute" and "sassy" person. Because man, it would be so sweet to be sultry.

Mary, I'll measure one and post an update as soon as I get home tonight (I left the beret at home). It completely slipped my mind to do that, I know you're supposed to do it for patterns, don't know why I spaced out on that one!

But thanks for reminding me. It will help what with my freakish tight knitting to be able to give the gauge.

Kris-- yes! Kelli is married to guy and Andrew is her baby. I am so happy that Kelli and Rebecca modeled for me, they are BEYOND cute. We had fun with the hats, even the guys got into it ;)

The multicolored beret if fabulous! I want one. But, alas, I do not knit. If you really feel the need to give away these hats (or sell them!), I'm here for you. Just let me know :-)

Whew! I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who practices Flickr voyeurism :D

Very nice beret recipe!...I have yet to get the courage to attempt circular knitting but this makes me want to try!

I don't knit.

But the way you feel about your prototype is the way I feel about my X husband!

Laurie - I love the berets!!!

And in response to your crock-pot discovery (comments are closed), I thought I might add that another fantastic kitchen item is a bread maker. You just put in the ingredients and push a few buttons and viola! Fresh, hot, HEALTHY bread! I use mine all the time to make GOOD-tasting whole wheat loaves. It beats the hell out of store-bought bread, and you can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you want!

*abby

PS: OMG, in case you've never found this, you have to go see this site...you and your kitteh photo blurbs keep me in stitches, but this is a close second: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Thanks, Laurie -- much appreciated! :-) (Can't wait to knit one -- I've added it to my Ravelry queue.)

And speaking of voyeurism, if you haven't spent any time on Ravelry, I'd highly recommend it. You personally would have fun just seeing how many people have knit up the patterns you've designed! (41 Brangelina hats, 77 Easy Roll Brim hats, 21 Felted Bracelet bags, etc.) Too fun! And I love seeing all the different yarns people have used for them. Very inspiring! :-)

So pretty! I've been on a beret kick, too- aren't they fun? Also, if you knit one that's waaaay too big, you can felt to the correct size :-)

You could also poke holes through your felted bowl, thread cord through it, and make a cute cinch sack for I don't know... kitty treats?

Thanks so much for the recipe, your berets are so elegant.

Mary -- I am purely afraid of ravelry. Everyone says it's more addictive than crack cocaine and I already have less hours in my day than I like LOL. If I got addicted to that I'd have to give up either knitting or writing, because you know I won't give up eating or sleeping ;)

Also 77 easy roll brim hats!!! That makes my heart melt :)

Dang woman! Now I know why I haven't seen you in ages. You've been knitting up a storm! I think this would work wonderfully with one skein of Misti Alpaca chunky. I'm going to pluck one from the store and give it a whirl (right after I finish my sock!)

Allison, I love that idea. In fact I may find myself at supercrafty.com today buying some misti of my own. heheheheh.

I have the beret fever.

We "dark, intense and sultry" people don't have it easier than you "cute and perky" people. We are always asked "Why are you so mad?" or "SMILE!"

you know you have too much yarn when you recognize and know it's name by sight. I have used both of those and love them both. But now I can't find them anywhere. Apparently they are all in California, where chunky yarn is in great demand!
Love the beret. Too bad I look like sh*t in them! (NOT a hat gurl)

Please pass on to Rebecca that the internets agree she is the cutest thing ever. Add your beret and I think you almost crashed your server with too much cute.

Oh, and Ravelry isn't like crack cocaine, it's like methamphetamines. I can't tell you how many projects I've finished in the last month just becuase I love sliding up that % done bar!

I can't believe it! I've been looking for beret recipes for the longest time and you've up and made a recipe for it yourself. I paid $12 for a book on hats (which didn't have one in it that I really wanted) and you did it on your own. You are one fantastically talented lady. Thanks, Laurie. I'll be popping by JoAnn's tonight.

Totally cute hat. I just might have to make one. Especially since the cats have chewed up all of my wool berets. Grrrr.

Laurie -- you are correct -- Ravelry is very addicting. Best to hold it at arm's length for as long as you possibly can, because once you go there, you will slide down the rabbit hole and never be heard from again, (except in the Ravelry forums!). :-)

Jo, thank you, now my head is so big it may even fit inside the black beret!! LOL

I wanted to make the beret like the one in that picture and couldn't find a chunky yarn pattern in any of my books at home. I'm bad at following patterns anyway, I guess.

I think I'll make a variation that has less ribbing, too, and more drape like the green one in the picture. But I may not be Rastafarian enough to carry it off ;)

I purely love making hats.

And yes, Kelli and Rebecca are the cuteness. I fear I will have to travel to Florida each time I make a hat for them to model it!!

I still say your third or fourth book should be Knitting for Dummies.

Just because you make it look so do-able, I took up knitting, and now no longer have a life.

Can't wait to try the beret.

Thanks for the patterns and for the easy-to-follow directions. Also LOVE the instructional videos.

Wow, you are *the woman* for hats! I'm going to enjoy this one! I had so much fun with the Beanies, you know.

I haven't had to give up anything for my Ravelry time, I just have to do it in little half-hour chunks here and there.

Oh, did you know you have a fan group on Ravelry? There are over 400 people in it. Drew's one of them, too!

(C'mon, you know you wanna Ravel!)

Great pattern! I now need to find some chunky crack errr chunky yarn to make one of my own....

...and I thought I was the only person on earth who makes goofy faces whenever a camera is around!

Dear Aunt Purl,

I don't know how your stash of Up Country is holding up, but if you need a fix, Smiley's Yarns has it in stock here: http://www.smileysyarns.com/ . =)

OMG - cutest pattern EVER.

Laurie - we played '31' well into the night last night. Yes, I let my 8 and 12 year-old children stay up until *GASP* 9:30! I had too, they'd won all my pennies.

Thanks for the great game!

(and while the beret looks cute, I couldn't knit if someone held my hands ;-)

On the ultra-tight knitting (and slow), you might try learning to knit continental (picking instead of throwing) if you don't already.

It's awkward and frustrating and slower at first, but I've noticed my gauge is much looser, and I knit much faster (now). Other people I know who've made the switch have reported the same.

Of course, I talked about it for a really long time, but didn't make the switch until I broke my right thumb and had to switch or not be able to knit. This method of switching is Not Recommended.

Something about the pictures with all the boys wearing berets has me in STITCHES. Oooh, I just made a knitting joke without even trying. Honestly though I cannot stop looking at the pic and cannot stop laughing...they are soooo cute and have those devilish grins. Sigh. Do you have any single male relatives? If so, please ship one to Nashville, STAT!

tr3nity, I know, I know... everyone says I need to knit looser but the problem is I really like my knitting. It's always nice and even and once I got the hang of using larger needles than recommended by the manufacturer, I've had good results. The only time it's annoying is when I try to do a pattern because then it always works out to be too large for normal knitters *sigh*

Hi!
I'm knitting the scarf (what's it called...mistaken rib?)and I'm going back for more Wal-Mart yarn in the same colour to make this cute beret hat so it will be a matching set! Which I am going to send to my friend Paula for her 49th birthday (which was earlier this month, but what can I say?)Thanks!

I quickly ran out of here and purchased some yarn as soon as I was done reading your post. It looks easy enough for even someone like me to finish. I'm so excited to try it out. Thank you so much for the pattern.

P.S. I Love your blog!

I love the pointy modelled shot. Very chichi.

I don't have a lot of bulky yarn, but I probably have one skein that can be donated to an interesting hat pattern.

Pointy-head is my cute nephew Brett, he is so TALL! He looks like a mad Pope in that picture.....

That girl may say her name is Rebecca but she is really Marcia Brady.

actually OMG you are right, she looks just like Ben Stiller's wife, what is her name??? That cute actress, she was in Dodgebball, too??

I did it...went to Beverly Fabric (wrong store) and then in the deluge of rain, drove 4 more miles to the Joanne's (right store) and bought the excellent cool wonderful Sensations Licorice in "brown-pink". I can't wait to get home...knit knit knit. And I actually have some of a Lion Brand I can't remember the name of...thick/fluffy and that will make another very cool oatmeal-ish color beret. I LOVE this post.

cecelia -- don't you love that yarn??? It is sooo pretty! I love the color you picked, too. Did you see the super-red color? I'm making a scarf out of it.

Also...are you a regular-tension knitter? If so you may want to cast on those 52 stitches using your size 10 needle instead of an 11. When you increase for the body, use your size 11 needle in place of the size 13 I used.

Or, I was thinking I bet you could just shorten the amount of stitches cast on, like... cast on 48 stitches. Then when you make your increases, you would end up with a total of 72 stitches instead of 78. Then, when it's time to begin decreasing, you just knit 10, knit 2 together, then knit a plain row, then knit nine, knit two together and so on.

I think I am freakishly worried that I have forced ya'll to make giant hats because I am a tight knitter!

I love the magical delete key.

GORGEous! Thanks for the pattern and all important mods. I've been wanting one of those. I hope it turns out half as well as yours!

Dang, those guys in your family are good-looking!

On the subject of your incredibly cute brothers does anyone else think that they all look a bit like the very cute Tom Scavo from Desperate Housewives? They are very, very lovely as are the berets.

Super cute berets! I have also been lustfully coveting berets lately, and now I have the impetus (and pattern) to do it!

Also, it's probably a good thing that your brothers are taken, because they are also super cute! Must be good genes ;)

::whiiiiiine:: Now I wanna make me some berets, and I even have some o' that yarn in my stash (shuddup) and I CAN'T on account of my Self-Imposed-Meaner-Than-Heck-Self-Imposed-Mizzerable-Mean Toque Monogamy thing. But I can print that out, can't I, along with the rules for 31, and [if]err... when I finish all the toques I can make 'em and play it and win me some quarters, yes?

LOL the guys ... sorry, they just don't have that model flair... the girls, on the other hand, look lovely dahling - CUTE patterns!

LOL the guys ... sorry, they just don't have that model flair... the girls, on the other hand, look lovely dahling - CUTE patterns!

hahahaha... just what I needed on a dark (in more ways than one) day. You all look so cute. I especially like the prototype picture with the tongue hangin' out. Your family is great for My family would roll their eyes, run away and/or lock me up.

I love the pattern! These are perfect Jan/Feb knitting...quick and useful!

Ang

Okay, I haven't read all the comments, and I LURVE you Laurie, but I have to cite a correction. PLEASE tell me if I'm wrong. But "Make One" is NOT "knit into the front and back of the stitch." That's actually kfb or Bar Increase. Make one is where you make a stitch out of the yarn that lies between two stitches.

I've had a glass of wine and I fear I may be wrong, but apparently I'm posting this anyway. lol. also, I haven't read through the comments. (But I did search the page for kfb, bar increase, and make one)

I'm getting this from here: http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/increases

?

Love this! Wish I knit well enough to make one.

goodness, your family produces some fine looking males...

i'm sure the ladies are pretty too. i wouldn't know, i was busy looking elsewhere.

omg.. Thank you. I will end up in Depends earlier in life because of your and your loved ones' hilarity, but thank you. I laughed so hard. Nice hats, tho'. Really nice. Berets never go out of style, do they? Uh, not even the Rasta type.

My daughter has just begun knitting.. she will lurve this 'blog, oh yes.

ok, i can't knit (no, really, there are lots of things i can do, but no matter how hard i want to, knitting isn't one of them) so i focused on other things in this post. like how utterly gorgeous your models were (except for the guys. sorry guys).

i mean, these are people you just hang out with and get to model your hats? the only beings i could get to model my handiwork would be my scottie dogs.

Those berets are so cute I may have to make one even thought I am not at all sure how to wear them so it would look cute like the ones modeled and not dorky. This winter has been pretty mild so I may be able to get away with a non-ear-covering item. (Now of course we'll get a blizzard)

I have made many knitted caps and one very unsucessful beret. It could have passed for a stool cover. That just sounds bad, in a filthy way. I was just thinking today, what with my short hair I need to make myself some berets. Well thank you very much for the motivation!

Hi Aunt Purl! Just found your blog and am loving it. I'm doing a "tour of duty" as an English teacher in China -- Any chance you can add a South-east Asia stop to your book signing schedule? Think of the glamor -- Aunt Purl: The World Tour!

thank you!! I have been looking for a beret pattern (something simple) and you answered my prayers!! I was thinking I would have to resort to a crochet pattern but this saved me. I am so making this tomorrow.

Laurie, Laurie, Laurie!

One of the reasons I picked up knitting two years ago was I wanted to make a hat just like this.
Thank you for this most excellent pattern (and
all the groovy pix.)

I want you to know I just bought ANOTHER copy of
DRUNK, DIVORCED & COVERED WITH CAT HAIR. The first one, which I had read over and over, and
done several projects from, was destroyed when
my house flooded 4 weeks ago. I lost a lot of
things (a newly knit baby kimono among 'em) so
it was really important to me to (symbolically)
GET THEM BACK.

That, and there's a new baby in the family who
needs your devil hat & tail blanket.

Much love and thanks -
Schuess

Well, I made my beret last night, using almost a whole ball of Rowan Chunky Print. That's about 100 yards of yarn at about 2.5 st/inch. I love it. My husband says it's gorgeous. My daughter wants one - she couldn't believe I made it so fast. I just have to figure out how to modify it for an 8-year-old's head. This won't be my last beret! Thank you!

You sure do have some nice looking men in your family.

Love the hat! Although that adorable girl (Rebecca) could make an old, worn-out tube sock look good. Thanks for the free recipe - you are good to your flock. I have a sad beret, too - I didn't think to felt it, so thanks for the brilliant idea.

Hey, nothing wrong with being a tight knitter! I am forever going up a needle size to get gauge. You are one lucky gal to have many goofy men in your world. I surely appreciate my goofy man!

I can't knit with wool too much bc I am crazy allergic. Boo. And I cannot wear it AT ALL.

Are those all your brothers? Can I have one?
Yum!

Loved the beret pattern, and I probably have enough chunk/bulky yarn in my stash to try one. But I have a question about the increases. If you have 52 stitches and you increase one in EACH stitch, wouldn't you end up with 104 stitches rather than 78? If you increase in every KNIT stitch in the ribbing, but not in the purl stitches, you'd get 78. Am I missing something in the pattern?

Lynda,

Stitch #1: You knit the stitch. Just knit it like normal.

Stitch #2: You knit into the front of it. Then instead of dropping it off the left needle, you leave it on the left needle and now knit it again through the back loop. Yes, the back loop of the exact same stitch you just knit into. Now you finally drop it off the left needle.

In this way you have made two stitches where before there was only one.

Next sticth: You simply knit it.

The stitch after that: You do the increasing thing again.

Therefore, you increase on every OTHER stitch. That creates 26 brand-new stitches. 52 + 26 = 78 total stitches.

- - - -

Comments are now closed! Thanks for all the great input!