My sister-in-law's sister is expecting her first child. I thought it would be fun to make an itsy bitsy Minion Newborn hat for the little nugget. The pattern includes instructions for preemie heads, but I was going to make the 1-3 month size so there is a shot this will actually fit the little baby. The newborn sized owl hat fit Lucky for a few weeks, and had 40 DC's around at the widest portion. This is so great that I kept all of these notes of head size and stuff so I know how to make a newborn hat for someone else. (The owl hat is currently travelling the country to a bunch of different newborns, so it is not in my possession to compare at the moment.)
I wasn't sure before starting the black round 5 if this was a good positioning. I didn't want the eye strap to be too much on the top of the head. It looks like from the curvature that it won't quite work, but I decided to try it out and then adjust if necessary.
Next time I might do 5 rounds yellow, 1 round black and then 2 rounds yellow. I think I'd like the eye placement a bit better this way, but I'm not sure how they are "supposed" to look. I think it is still super adorable, so I'm glad that I picked this project.
This hat is about the same size as the newborn owl hat was. That hat fit him for at least 3 weeks... hopefully this one will, too. I followed the instructions for the 1-3 month hat, and I am right on target with the gauge. (2 DC rows/inch; ~7.5 DCs/inch. 8 DC/inch was the target, so if anything my hat is a smidge BIGGER.)
I sewed the eyes together before stitching them to the hat so there would be some uniformity. Cute, right?
I embroidered the mouth with two strands of yarn held together.
Final dimensions (1-3 month size. 44 sts around and 3 rows before the edging.) 12" circumference, 4.25" long. This would have fit Lucky's head as a newborn and just below the tips of his ears. Now I know my gauge wasn't off... It look about the same size as the small owl ear flap hat... but without earflaps. I was really feeling nervous until I measured the top this way:
This is more similar to the "eartip to eartip" measurements I've been taking of Lucky than measuring the top center of the hat to the base. Measured this way, I got 9.5-10" This makes me feel much better about how it will fit!