Knitting Machine Beanies

As usual, my goal for this year is to use up as much of my yarn as possible. I can slowly see some yarn disappearing from my stash, but I still keep accidentally buying new yarn! But at least when I buy yarn now, I buy it for a specific project. I no longer allow myself to buy yarn just because it's pretty or on sale. Since I'm trying to use up my yarn stash, I really enjoy participating in the Craft Room De-Stash Challenge. For the de-stash challenge, my blog friends and I created new projects from supplies already in our craft supply stash. This time I've decided to make beanies using my new Sentro knitting machine. I've been crocheting for almost 20 years, and I know how to knit...a little. So when I learned about the knitting machine, I thought it would be a cool way to hurry up the process of using up my yarn, and using the machine would be easier on my hands. Anyhoo, I made 15 hats! Scroll down to check them out!

I decided to purchase a Sentro knitting machine after seeing post after post of cute knitting machine hats kept popping up on my Instagram and YouTube feed. I attempted to make a video of me making the hats, but that didn't turn out right, so I recommend searching YouTube for knitting machine hat/beanie tutorials. One I found helpful was called How to Knit "Mommy and Me" Sized Hats on a Knitting Machine. Since I was making hats for my husband and my kids and Hats Not Hate, I wanted to know how many rows are needed for adult hats and kids hats, so this video talked about both sizes.

My cat Maki helped me decide which yarns to use to create the hats.

The first yarn we used was Caron Simply Soft Paints Sticks & Stones (discontinued). I used up both skeins and made two hats. I made one for me and one for my husband. This yarn is so gorgeous. I wish it wasn't discontinued!

Please excuse the yarn lint! (It's not dusty. 😆) Anyhoo, you start by casting the yarn onto the machine by weaving the yarn in front of a hook and then behind the next hook. You crank the handle to move on to the next hook. You do this all the way around until you reach the last hook, which is the white hook.

Once you reach the white hook, you thread the yarn through the yarn guide. Then you thread the yarn through the tension lever. The middle hole is for moderate tension, which I used for I Love This Yarn. For Caron Simply Soft, I used the first hole for tight tension. I just looked at the instructions and discovered that there is a way to make the tension even tighter! OMG, I really could have used tighter tension on a couple hats I made with the Caron Simply Soft. Don't be like me; read all the instructions. 😜 And again for a full instructional video, I recommend the video How to Knit "Mommy and Me" Sized Hats on a Knitting Machine.

For my husband's beanie, I cranked out 140 rows. 

I used the yarn needle that came with the Sentro machine to cast off each stitch.

After casting off the knitting machine, the yarn is a long tube. 

I made double layered hats, so I reached inside and pull up the bottom end so both ends are together.

 Then I pulled the tails to cinch the opening closed. This is the top of the beanie.

I tied several knots in the tails to make sure this end stays closed. Then I used a needle to tuck this tail inside. Since the beanie is double layered, I just hid it inside the two layers. There's no need to actually weave it in.

Ta-Da! This is my hubby's hat. 

And this one is mine. I added a fluffy fur pom pom to the top.

I made these 3 hats and used up almost 3 skeins of I Love This Yarn Agean Stripe yarn. I still have a small ball left. I'm going to give one of these to my mom. She loves the colors. They're like the Carolina Panthers colors, and that's her team. 

The beanie with the pom pom is for my son. I used my large Clover pom pom maker and Vanna's Choice Aqua yarn to make it. 

This is the next yarn (Craft Smart Value Stripe Merlot) I tackled. I finished off one skein. 

My daughter requested a purple and red hat with a purple pom pom. Originally, I was going to use a different purple yarn for the pom pom, but I decided to use a shade of purple from the purple variegated Crayola Cake Yarn. 

Here's my daughter's finished hat. She loves it and wears it to school.

This was the first hat I made on the machine, and it was a practice hat, but I love it!!! I made it with I Love this Yarn Dakota and Red Heart With Love Tan. While I did use up one skein of the Dakota yarn, I still have one left, and I still have plenty of the tan yarn left too, but I need it for other projects, so that's totally okay.

I made two hats with I Love This Yarn Elements Flower and Vanna's Choice Black. I used the entire skein of I Love This Yarn Elements Flower. Yay! I still have a ton of the black yarn.

I found some blue yarns in my stash, and I decided to make some hats for the Hat Not Hate campaign. I sent several blue hats to them last year, and I enjoyed making them, so I decided to make more. And I will definitely make more because I did not use up all this yarn yet.

Here are two blue beanies. 

This beanie is reversible.

I found more blue yarn that match a variegated yarn in my stash (Caron Simply Soft Dark Country Blue, Caron Simply Soft Our Heritage, and Caron Simply Soft Country Blue) The Our Heritage yarn is discontinued, and I have 13 in my stash...

When I made these hats, I used up a small ball of the Caron Simply Soft Dark Country Blue and a skein of the Caron Simply Soft Our Heritage.

I plan on giving this beanie to my husband, but I'm not sure how he'll feel about the colorful pieces. I love this tweed yarn. It's Lion Brand Heartland Tweed Black Canyon Tweed. If he doesn't like it.... I will gladly keep it! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my knitting machine beanies! Now, scroll down to see what my blogging friends created from their craft stashes.

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CRAFT ROOM DE-STASH CHALLENGE HOSTS:

Beverly | Across the Blvd
Gail | Purple Hues and Me
T’onna | Sew Crafty Crochet
Marci | Stone Cottage Adventures
Allyson | Southern Sunflowers
Vicky | Vicky Myers Creations
Julie | Sum of Their Stories
Joanne | Slices of Life

CRAFT ROOM DE-STASH CHALLENGE:

Tray Makeover with Fabric Insert

Foamiran Pansies On Wire Frame

Knitting Machine Beanies

Who's Holding my Keys?

DIY St. Patrick's Day Decor

DIY Glasses Case

Embroidered Patchwork Lavender Sachets

Valentine Cards