If you're like me and have a good grasp of basic knitting techniques but are scared off by more advanced projects, knitting hats may seem like too big of a challenge. While some kinds of hats can be tricky, particularly those that require knitting in the round, anybody who can knit a scarf can knit a simple beanie.

The first thing you need to do is determine the gauge. To put it in simple terms, you have to find out how many stitches you need to cast on to cover the circumference of your head with the kind of yarn and size of needles you've chosen. For a beanie, I would recommend using smaller needles (size 6-8) so that the stitches aren't too loose and porous.

Once you've determined how many stitches you need to cast on, cast them on! Since knitting in the round, though more aesthetically pleasing, is a little too tricky for someone at my level, when I knit a hat I do it as one piece and sew a seam in the back at the end.

The design of the hat is variable. You can do a simple garter stitch (knit every row), a stockinette stitch (alternate knit and purled rows), or, if you are more adventurous, ribbed (alternating knits and purls within a row).

The basic makeup of the hat is the same no matter what the design. You start by knitting (or purling) all of the stitches for as many rows as it takes to get the hat about 2/3 the size you want it to be. At this point, you start to shape the crown of the hat by slowly decreasing the number of stitches in each row.

You have to be careful to decrease symmetrically. A good way to do this is to follow this pattern: knit two together, then knit two normally for three or four rows, then knit the next two or three normally. After that go back to knitting two together and then knitting two normally until you're 3/4 to the size you want. After that, you have to decrease more rapidly, so knit two together and knit one normally, or just knit two together for the entire row. Continue to do this until you have only 4-6 stitches left on the needle. Then bind off, sew the seam and you're finished! Good luck!