Striped Sleep Cap

Striped Sleep Cap by Mary Gonzales

What is Being Made

The Striped Sleep Cap is a newborn-sized knitted hat designed by Mary Gonzales. This cozy cap features alternating color stripes in a classic two-color pattern, making it both functional and visually appealing for a baby's wardrobe. The hat is worked in the round using circular and double-pointed needles, creating a seamless construction ideal for comfortable wear during sleep.

Techniques Used

This knitting project employs several fundamental and intermediate techniques to achieve its finished design. The cap begins with a ribbed cuff worked in a knit 2, purl 2 pattern, which provides stretch and helps the hat stay securely in place. The body of the cap is worked using the stockinette stitch (knit around), creating a smooth, classic fabric.

A key technique featured in this pattern is the jogless jogging method for creating stripes while working in the round. This advanced technique minimizes the visible jog that typically occurs when changing colors in circular knitting, resulting in cleaner, more professional-looking horizontal stripes. The pattern maintains the original color attached to the work while switching between the main color (MC) and contrasting color (CC), allowing for seamless color transitions throughout the piece.

The cap is shaped using decrease rounds worked with the knit 2 together (K2tog) stitch. These strategic decreases gradually reduce the stitch count, creating the crown shaping necessary to close the top of the hat. The decreases are distributed evenly around the circumference and continue while maintaining the established stripe pattern, demonstrating how to integrate shaping with color work.

Stitches Used

• Knit (K) – The fundamental stitch used for the stockinette body of the cap
• Purl (P) – Used in combination with knit stitches to create the ribbed cuff
• Knit 2 Together (K2tog) – A right-leaning decrease used to shape the crown of the hat
• Knit 2, Purl 2 Ribbing (K2P2) – The textured pattern used for the cuff that provides elasticity

Materials and Tools

Yarn: The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn in two contrasting colors. Specifically, it recommends 1 skein each of Red Heart Soft in Seafoam (main color) and Red Heart Soft in White (contrasting color). Alternatively, any two different colors of worsted weight yarn may be substituted, allowing for creative color customization while maintaining the same gauge and finished dimensions.

Needles and Supplies: This project requires a Size 8 circular needle measuring 16 inches in length for working the body of the cap in the round, along with Size 8 double-pointed needles for the decrease rounds when the stitch count becomes too small for the circular needle. Additional supplies include a yarn needle for weaving in ends, scissors, a tape measure for checking dimensions, and optionally a stitch marker to denote the beginning of each round.

The finished newborn-sized cap measures 3 inches in height before the decrease rounds begin, with the initial cast-on of 56 stitches providing the appropriate circumference for a newborn's head.