Katamari Hat, COMPLETE!

I am so excited. I finally finished my Katamari Ball Hat that I started a year ago. I think I was afraid to make ear flaps for some strange reason so I put it down.

The other night I felt the desire to pick it up again, and it was done in just a few hours. I really like how it turned out and I love the colors, although they remind me of frog eyeballs a little.

I used an i-cord knitting machine for the "chin straps" and then sewed them to the corners of the ear flaps. You can read more details about what I used here.

Here are the directions for how I made the bumps. The pattern is based on directions by Easily Amused and The Knitting Fiend.

Materials
US 7 DPNS
Merino Style yarn by Knit Picks (3 Colors)
8 – 2” Styrofoam Balls
Thin batting
Tapestry needle

Directions for Bumps
Using top down method mentioned by the Knitting Fiend
With waste yarn, CO 6 sts, knit
Transfer sts to 3 DPNS
Round 1 knit
Round 2 KF&B, 12 sts
Round 3 KF&B, K1, 18 sts
Round 4 KF&B, K2, 24 sts
Round 5 KF&B, K3, 30 sts

Change Color

Round 6, knit
Round 7 KF&B, K4
Round 8 - 10 Knit

Change Color

Round 11 – 18 knit

Repeat 7 more times for a total of 8 bumps.

Bind off all sts, leaving a long yarn tail to be used to sew bump to hat later.
Trim away the CO waste yarn and close up the top of the bump and weave in the ends.

Slice off one side of a Styrofoam ball, cover it in thin batting, insert into a stocking to keep the batting on the ball, and insert it into the knitted bump. The sliced off side should face out so that the bump will lay flat against the hat. I used Styrofoam balls inside the knit bumps so that they would retain their shape over time.