I don’t spend as much time knitting as I used to, but it’s still the only thing I can do as a passenger in the car. Because I get extremely motion sick, I can’t read in the car.  


I can’t write lists, draw, embroider, or color or do basically anything that involves looking at something that might possibly have writing on it.   But I can knit and crochet very simple patterns, as long as I don’t have to count many stitches or read a pattern.

When we’re on long drives, I love to bring along a yarn project to help pass the time.  Here are several of the different hat patterns I have been using repeatedly lately. They use a variety of yarn weights, because I am using quite a few stash yarns for this project.

This beautiful hat from Purl Bee is one of my all-time favorites. I love how changing up the ribbing pattern at the bottom of the hat can drastically alter the way it looks.

Kid’s Watch Caps. This is by far my favorite for little ones!  Simple and sweet and so versatile.

Seven Dwarves Beanie is a very simple and trendy slouch hat.  

Avery Slouch Hat is another slouchy hat, but knit with bulky yarn.

Ellen’s Basic Knit Hat is a super simple pattern and is very easy to adjust if you want to make a smaller or larger size.

This Seaman’s Cap Pattern is warm and easy to vary the look by using different ribbing patterns.

I’ve also used this Preemie Hat pattern frequently. The pattern includes five different versions and works up very quickly since it is for tiny ones.


When you are knitting for charity you must be very selective about the yarn you use. Make sure it’s soft and comfortable against your skin and that it has a bit of stretch. It also needs to be durable and preferably not too picky about washing conditions. This is one of my very favorite yarns for projects like this. It’s inexpensive, durable and so very soft and comes in gorgeous colors. (The teal hats in these photos are made using it)