Difficulty Level:

Skills Required:
CO: Cast On
K: Knit
P: Purl
K2tog: Knit 2 stitches as 1 together
Kfb: Knit front then back
Circular Needles / DPN
Pick up stitches
Duplicate stitches / Fair Isle / Intarsia

Finished Size: approx 58cm circumference, I cast on 78 sts. (Please note that this size is made with the needles & yarn specified below, different yarns and needles size will produce different results)

Needles: 7 mm (Circular needles / DPN)

Yarn:
White — Lincraft Veronica in White (dye lot #1175)
I used 1 ball of white = 71 yards (65 meters) /100 grams (3.53 ounces)

Black — Lincraft Luxe in Black (dye lot #111)
I used approx 1/2 ball of black = 28 yards (25.5 meters) /50 grams (1.76 ounces)

Gauge:
14 sts + 19 rows = 4″ (10cm) in Stockinette stitch.

Facial Features:
25mm

(for under 3yo, please embroidery the eyes instead)

Panda Hat Anyone?

So, my 3yr old son recent obsession is with Kungfu Panda. He loves watching the Disney movie on repeat and relate everything to Panda — such as, panda toilet, panda car, panda chicken (I don’t know why he started talking panda language, though I must admit it’s kinda cute!). Now, knitting a hat took me ages! I select super bulky yarns to make the hat since I thought bigger yarn and needles means faster to finish. Well, that is true though I kinda regret it a little now because I just found out that I don’t like the look of finished knitted bulky yarn as much as fine one. I am planning to make 2 hats, one for me and another for him (and you can bet that the next hat will use smaller yarn and needles ;)).

For anyone who wants to knit the panda hat for babies, I would strongly recommend smaller yarn and needles so the finished work will look soft and cuddly. I have included 4 different measurements below, I wouldn’t cast less than 72 sts or the panda face will be located too close to the side of the head. So if you do cast less, please modify the panda chart so that the eyes doesn’t sit too close to the side of the hat. *Important* I include bigger measurements for anyone who wish to knit with smaller yarn and needles, thus needing to cast on more stitches. Always check your gauge 🙂

I have knitted the hat separately from the other elements and later using duplicate stitch method to add the eyes. If you prefer, you can use the chart below to knit them together. I personally haven’t tried Intarsia / Fair Isle / Duplicate stitch when I was designing this hat, and after reading many references, I decided that duplicate stitching will be the easiest to do out of the 3. Plus, it gives a slightly raised look to the finished work which will look great for eyes.

If you need any help, I have also included video tutorials in great details showing each knitting progression.

Free Panda Hat knitting pattern:

Hat:

With Black and circular needles / DPN,  Co 72 (78, 84, 90) sts. Being careful not to twist.
Round 1: Place a stitch marker & join. K
Round 2: P
Round 3: Switch to White, K
Round 4: Keep Knitting until you reach the length desired to fit. I knit until 16cm long and it fits my head as shown in picture. (refer to this size chart for more details. *Remember* that you will still need to decrease the round which adds to the total height of the hat)

Decreasing Round:
Round 1: *K4, K2tog* (60 [65, 70, 75] sts total)
Round 2: K
Round 3: *K3, K2tog* (48 [52, 56, 60] sts total)
Round 4: K
Round 5: *K2, K2tog* (36 [39, 42, 45] sts total)
Round 6: K
Round 7: *K1, K2tog* (24 [26, 28, 30] sts total)
Round 8: K
Round 9: *K2tog* (12 [13, 14, 15] sts total)

Cut yarn, and thread through each loop with tapestry needle. Pull tight and secure.

Nose:
With Circular Needles / DPN and White, refer to the chart below and pick up 48 stitches. I start from the bottom right working my way clockwise. ( If you prefer, you can just CO 48 sts and later joined the nose together to the face. If you do, don’t forget to leave a really long CO tail so you can sew them on in place later on.)

Round 1: Place a stitch marker, K
Round 2: K
Round 3: *K2, K2tog* (36 sts total)
Round 4-6: K
Round 7: K8, K2tog, K6, K2tog, K8, K2tog, K6, K2tog (32 sts total)
Round 8: K
Round 9: K7, K2tog, K5, K2tog, K7, K2tog, K5, K2tog (28 sts total)
Round 10: K
Round 11: K6, K2tog, K4, K2tog, K6, K2tog, K4, K2tog (24 sts total)
Round 12: K
Round 13: Switch to Black, K5, K2tog, K3, K2tog, K5, K2tog, K3, K2tog (20 sts total)
Cut White yarn, seam ends together before proceeding further.
Round 14: K (stuffed the nose with fiberfill now)
Round 15: K4, K2tog, K2, K2tog, K4, K2tog, K2, K2tog (16 sts total)
Round 16: *K2tog* (8 sts total)

Cut yarn, thread through each loop with tapestry needle, pull tight and secure.

Eyes:
With Black and tapestry needle, duplicate stitches as per chart provided.

Ear (make 2):
With Straight Needles and Black, CO 5
Row 1: K
Row 2: *K1, Kfb* 2 times, K1 (7 sts total)
Row 3: K
Row 4: *K1, Kfb* 3 times, K1 (10 sts total)
Row 5: K
Row 6: K
Row 7: *K1, K2tog* 3 times, K1 (7 sts total)
Row 8: K
Row 9: *K1, K2tog* 2 times, K1 (5 sts total)
Row 10: K

Cut yarn, thread through all remaining loops with tapestry needle, pull a little so the ear curves. Thread it downwards and attach it to the top of the hat.

Video Tutorials for Knitting the Panda Hat:

How to Knit a Panda Hat (Part 1: The Hat)

How to Knit a Panda hat (Part 2: The Nose)

How to Knit a Panda hat (Part 3: The Eyes)

How to Knit a Panda hat (Part 4: The Ears)

Ok, I planned to include all the videos in a single post, but guess what.. They are massive!! I’ve been editing the videos for almost a week now and I still couldn’t finish it 🙁 So I will post the videos later on. The videos includes detailed steps for knitting the panda hat. I am planning to divide them into parts so I won’t go crazy waiting for the video encoding time, plus it will be easier to check out the videos only on the parts you want to see later on. Will link the videos directly above this paragraph when they are ready!

*Updates*:
26/10/12 — YESS!! Part 1 is finished, 3 more parts to go :O! (Subscribe to the newsletter if you want to be the first to know about the update ;))
4/11/12 — Part 2 uploaded.
10/11/12 — Part 3 uploaded.
12/11/12 — Part 4 uploaded. All completed! 🙂

This must be my longest post to date, I just hope it helps anyone who tries to knit the kungfu panda inspired hat. If you need any help, just ask and I’ll try my best 🙂  Good luck & Happy knitting!

Feel free to link to this pattern by linking directly to this page. Pattern is not to be copied or reproduced without permission from the author. Items made from my pattern may be sold (as long as you credit me as the designer and always link it back to this blog “FreeCuteKnit.com” ), however this does not apply to business or corporation. Please contact me prior selling them at large scale. © Dina Wirawan

Remember, if you do make the panda hat, I would love it if you can share them with me by either sending me the photos via email for a chance to be published in the blog / tag me on Facebook / upload them in my Ravelry

It takes a lot of time and effort bringing this panda hat to life, but it only takes a few seconds to support Free Cute Knit and make my day ♥: