You will need:
- yarn (55% wool, 45% cotton; 50 g/124 m) – 1 (1) 2 (2) skeins of pink;
- 3 mm knitting needles;
- 3.5 mm circular needles, 60 cm long;
- 2.5 mm and 3.5 mm circular needles, 40 cm long.
Stockinette stitch: knit rows – knit sts, purl rows – purl sts.
Rib: alternate 2 knit and 2 purl.
Sizes: For ages 0.5 (1) 1.5 (2) years; height 80 (92) 98 (104) cm.
DECREASE 1 ST
Left-leaning decrease of 2 sts together: slip 1 st as if to knit (yarn behind the stitch), knit the next stitch, then pass the slipped stitch over it.
INCREASE 1 ST
Pick up the strand between 2 sts onto the left needle and knit it through the back loop.
GAUGE:
14 sts = 5 cm, worked in stockinette stitch on 3 mm needles.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cast on 192 (200) 208 (216) sts onto 3.5 mm circular needles (you can also use 4 mm circular needles) and work in the round in rib pattern: 2 knit, *4 purl, 4 knit*, repeat from * to *, end the round with 4 purl and 2 knit = center back of the hood. After 5 (5.5) 6 (6.5) cm, continue working in the round in the following sequence: *k2tog, 4 purl, left-leaning k2tog*, repeat from * to * to the end of the round.
Next round: *1 knit, 4 purl, 1 knit*, repeat from * to *.
Next round: *1 knit, p2tog, p2tog, 1 knit*, repeat from * to * = 96 (100) 104 (108) sts on the needles. Continue working in rib. After 4 (4.5) 5 (5.5) cm, bind off the center 16 (18) 18 (20) sts for the face opening and continue working the remaining sts back and forth in rib. Mark the center back of the hood with a contrasting thread. On each side, bind off once 2 sts and once 1 st in every row, so that 72 (74) 78 (80) sts remain on the needles. Then increase on each side after the selvage stitch 6 (6) 7 (7) times by 1 st = 84 (86) 92 (94) sts on the needles (work the increased stitches in rib). After 13 (14) 14.5 (15) cm from the contrasting marker, bind off 28 (29) 31 (32) sts on both sides for the side sections of the hood. On the remaining 28 (28) 30 (30) sts, work the center section of the hood in rib. When the length of the center section equals the length of the side section edges, bind off the stitches in one row.
FINISHING:
Sew the center section of the hood to the side sections. Along the edge of the face opening, pick up stitches onto 2.5 mm circular needles: 16 (18) 18 (20) sts along the lower section, 5 sts along the rounded edge of the opening, approx. 22 (25) 27 (30) sts along the side, 26 (26) 28 (28) sts along the top section, 22 (25) 27 (30) sts along the second side, and 5 sts along the rounded edge. Work in the round for 8 rows in rib: alternating 1 knit and 1 purl. Then bind off the stitches.
Steam-press the finished piece.
