DIY: Basic Knit Baby Hat

I have  made a couple of these hats for friends who were expecting and they are just so cute and pretty easy so I wanted to share...
You will need size 6 or 8 knitting needles and I recommend the wooden ones, the yarn doesn't slip off as easy as on the metal or plastic ones, but it's personal preference.
*Cast on 57 stitches (I know, it's a lot to count!)
*Knit 2, Pearl 2, (to make the ribbing) for 16 rows, about 2 inches
*Change to stockinette stitch (knit 1 row, pearl 1 row for 24 rows)
Now you will start to decrease the width:
*Row 1: knit 3, knit 2 together (2 loops at a time vs. 1) all the way across
  Row 2: pearl 2, pearl 2 together " "
  Row 3: knit 1, knit 2 together "  "
  Row 4: pearl 2 together "  "
Now you are ready to make it into the hat; cut a long piece of yarn and gather remaining stitches that are on needle and sew securely (making the top of the hat all come together).  Continue with the piece of yarn down the side seam, weaving in and out of each side to sew it together.  I would suggest using a yarn needle since they are bigger and will be much easier for you to use on this.

There are a few ways you can make the pom pom for the top, but I find the easiest and quickest way is to just wrap the yarn around your hand (widest part will make the ends of poms longer) a bunch of times (depending on how thick you want to make it is how many times you wrap the yarn) and once you have it as thick as you want it, take it off your hand, but hold the bunch in the middle and cut a smaller piece of yarn and tie it around the middle with several knots so it's tight and the yarn won't slip through.  Once it's tied and the yarn is secure, cut all the loops that were around your hand and wa la, you have a pom pom!  Now just attach that to the top of the hat with a piece of yarn (I usually use the ends of the string that is around the middle holding all the pieces together).  Thanks to my mom for these instructions!

Finished product should look similar to this:

I made this one for Runge (well, for Greyson... thanks for taking pics friend!)

Kellie sent me this pic of Henry in the hat I made him and it's getting a little snug ;)... so cute!

 Just to show that you can have fun with the pom pom (or hat), my mom made this one for our little miss and it matches one of the blankets she made her (ignore the terrible face I'm making, candid shot ;) ).

A little DIY project: Diaper Cake

I made a diaper cake for one of my best friend's showers this past weekend and they are just so fun to make and great center pieces/gifts so I thought I would share... just in case you want to make one!

Start out with a round base (I used thick cardboard and covered it with felt) about 14 inches wide, roll 60-80 diapers (depending on the diaper size, I used about 80 of the infant size) and secure with a rubber band.

Place a bottle of some sort in the middle (I have used champagne, this is a bottle of baby shampoo) and put your first row of diapers around it, then rubber band that and do the same with the second and third row.

Add your second layer around the bottle, repeat the steps from the first layer, but you only need two rows (I like the picture on the diapers to show so it adds more color, but it's personal preference).

Add the top layer and it's just one row, you may want to use some clear double stick tape if the bottle is too short to help the top layer stay on. 

Then the fun part, find some fun ribbon to tie around each layer and cover up the rubber bands, then add fun toys and baby necessities and a cake topper (I love the rubber duckies, but you could use a big bow or whatever you want).  Enjoy!