Okay, so I’m into bonnets. I’ll admit it.

Tied under the chin (which defines them as bonnets), they’re just such a perfect embodiment of babyhood, innocence, round chubbiness, and nostalgia. They look oh so cute tied under a chunky little face. And they can be made in so many different ways, using techniques from tatting, crocheting, or knitting to sewing with vintage tea towels. They’re also incredibly finish-able. A nice antidote to the year-long-plus quilt or afghan you may have going if you’re anything like me.

Sweet georgia’s knitted bonnet circa 2005 is buttery and luscious, this site has a bonnet for a knotlet and one for a doggie, and of course knitty provides the free miss dashwood pattern (for those not afraid of the picot cast-on). If you’re looking for a bonnet you can, ahem, whip up for this weekend, there are mods for a knitted lace bonnet on my site, which include a link to the basic free pattern. You can use this pattern to insert any lace pattern you want, and it takes me about 5 hours to knit one (I’m an average speed knitter, not unusually fast but not a beginner).

Even faster would be a sewn bonnet. I’m a very amateur sewist, so I won’t pretend to be able to cover the sewn bonnet in all its loveliness. But I will point out that angry chicken’s latest mail order package included a sewing pattern for a simple, lovely Laura Ingall’s style bonnet. Several people have been making these, with a few examples from soulemama, mama k, and buzzville.
One of the most fun parts of bonnet-making is choosing a ribbon. There are many great places online, including The Ribbon Jar and Trim & Fabric. Laura Foster Nicholson designs enticing art ribbons, and Contemporary Cloth is having a sale on her ribbon until April 15. And this weekend, I experienced both ends of the ribbon spectrum, picking up yards and yards of discarded thrift ribbon at knittn kitten, and a single yard of precious hand-stamped alphabet cotton tape created by abby.
To sum up any bonnet post, there’s the classic Elizabeth Zimmerman knitted version, which can be found in The Opinionated Knitter (page 108). This one takes a bit longer but is very worth the effort.

I made one of these EZ bonnets that I was totally in love with. I LOST it yesterday at the Crafty Wonderland fair in Portland. (So, if you were there and you found Binx’s bonnet, will you let me know? It seems my boy is going to have to go bonnet-less this Easter, and I’ll just have to enjoy all these pretty and inspiring links.)

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