Baby Cabled Heart Hat

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My hands-down, absolute favorite crochet project is a baby hat. They’re quick, they’re fun, they use very little yarn, and are perfect for a busy mama like me that can’t find an extra 100 hours to finally knit the sweater I bought all that pretty superwash sport wool for. (Don’t worry, that dream hasn’t died- it’s just sitting in time out at the back of my yarn stash!)

For now, though, most of my friends and family are moving out of the baby making phase. (I’m still holding out hope for a niece or two, though!) Lucky for me, this year my mother decided to organize a drive for Little Hats, Big Hearts. The program started in my home state of Illinois, and they partner with the American Heart Association and the Children’s Heart Foundation to collect red hats for newborns to raise awareness about heart health and congenital heart conditions.

I’d love to say I immediately thought to release a pattern, but to be honest, my year so far has been an experiment in Murphy’s Law. So, it only took me ten red hats before I realized that I already have the PERFECT motif to share with you all.

Cabled Hearts!

My chunky cabled heart hat is just too big for a teeny newborn head, and the ribbing is just a smidge too time-consuming for me to make as many for donations, so I worked up a baby friendly worsted weight version of it to share with you all.

As always, this pattern is completely free on my blog, but you may purchase an ad-free PDF version on Ravelry for a nominal fee so you can work on the go- perhaps at a charity crochet club if you’re lucky enough to have one in your area.

Materials

• 1 skein of Red Heart Super Saver yarn, pictured in Red
  (approx. 100 yds #4/worsted weight yarn)
  Note: Red Heart Super Saver yarn softens considerably in the wash, but if you’re worried about softness, try making one in Red Heart With Love, Red Heart Soft, or even Lion Brand Pound of Love for bulk crocheting! Any worsted (4) weight yarn should work just fine.
• H/5.0 mm Crochet Hook
• Yarn needle and scissors

Abbreviations and Special Stitches

• FPDC – Front post double crochet
• FPDC2tog – Front post double crochet two together. A crochet decrease worked around the front posts of the stitches
• Sc2tog – single crochet two together
• BLO – through back loop only

Gauge

7.5 sc stitches and 9 rows per 2″ square

Finished Size

Newborn: 13″ circumference, 5.5″ tall from crown to brim.

Notes

For a photo tutorial of the cabled heart motif, hop on over to the original Chunky Cabled Heart Hat post on my blog.

Baby Cabled Heart Hat Crochet Pattern

Start with the bottom.

Ch 48. Sl to join.

Round 1: Ch 1, sc in each ch. Sl. to join. [48]

Round 2: Working in back loop only, sc around. [48]

Round 3-4: Ch 1, sc in each st. Sl to join. [48]

Round 5: *Sc 2. FPDC around the stitch two rows below and two stitches left. Sc 2. FPDC right around the same post as before. Sc 2.* Repeat around. [48]

Round 6: Sc around. [48]

Round 7: *Sc. FPDC left around the previous row’s post stitch. Sc 4. FPDC right around the next post stitch. Sc.* Repeat around. [48]

Round 8: Sc around.[48]

Round 9: *Sc 2. FPDC2tog, anchoring your first leg around the previous post stitch, and your second leg around the stitch left one stitch and down two rows. This will be the center dip of your heart. Sc 2, then FPDC2tog, anchoring your posts around the center dip of the heart and the previous post st.  Sc 2.* Repeat around. [48] (See Fig. 5-6)

Round 10-11: Sc around. [48]

Round 12: Working in back loop only,  *Sc 6, sc2tog. [42]

Round 13: *Sc 5 Sc2tog.* [36]

Round 14: *Sc 4, Sc2tog.* [30]

Round 15: *Sc 3, Sc2tog.* [24]

Round 16: *Sc 2, Sc2tog.* [18]

Round 17: *Sc,  Sc2tog.* [12]

Round 18: Sc2tog around. [6]

Finishing: Break yarn and sew together the top 6 stitches to close the hat. Tie off, and weave in your ends. Remember that like most organizations, Little Hats Big Hearts asks that you not attach pompoms or other embellishments to the hats you donate. Be sure to check with your organization!

I can’t wait to see your finished projects! Follow me on Instagram (@SaltyPearlCrochet) and tag me in your photos or find me on Ravelry (https://www.ravelry.com/people/SaltyPearlCrochet) and upload them to the Ravelry pattern page so I can see!

I have checked and double-checked this pattern, but I’m only human- please let me know if you have any questions or if I have missed anything at all so I can correct it for you all.

Prefer to work offline? Grab the handy PDF version of this crochet pattern, available in my Ravelry Store and Etsy Shop for a small fee.

You are more than welcome to sell any finished items made from this pattern using your own photos. Links back to my blog post are greatly appreciated! Please feel free to share this free crochet pattern by directing others to this blog post or the Ravelry listing, and NOT by distributing the pattern or photos as your own.