What is a hat nib?

[untonuggan]

My grandmother is 92 and lives in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. She's knitted for me for years. Now that she's found out I knit (when she can't anymore due to arthritis) she has requested a hat. I got the request through my mother, so some of this information is second-hand.

Apparently, she wants a hat with a "nib."

I do not know exactly what a nib is, but that could be due to differences in age/location/dialect/etc. I was hoping someone here knew what a hat nib was. My mom thinks it might be some sort of brim, but I'm not sure. If you have suggestions of patterns on ravelry, that would be great too.

Thanks for any help!

Comments

[hooloovoo]

Aha! I was curious about this, so I started googling, and couldn't find anything for the longest time. But then I did and I'm rather pleased with myself.

Apparently a nib is a little thingie that sticks up at the top of the hat. The pattern I found says to make it out of I-cord:

http://www.colorjoy.com/shop/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=10&products_id=180

[untonuggan]

Thanks for looking this up! Sorry for the belated reply, I had a migraine and was avoiding computer screens and then I was behind on entries.

[hooloovoo]

No worries, I so completely understand. Glad to help.

[dragonfly]

Funny, it so happens I just made my mom a hat, and I forgot the little bobble on top, to my annoyance. So when I read your post, I immediately assumed that's what must be called a nib.

[untonuggan]

Do you usually make it out of an i-cord or what?

(Sorry for the belated reply, I had a migraine and was avoiding computer screens and then I was behind on entries.)

[dragonfly]

How would I-cord make a nib? Maybe wrapped in a coil?

The only nib I've made was of a bundle of four inch lengths of yarn folded in half and cinched around the middle with another short length. Then you attach the folded end to the hat with a few stitches and let the yarn ends all stick up.

But I bet there are a gazillion ways to do it.

[seryn]

If it's the thing at the top to make it easier to get off your head, you might also try this:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/loopy-2
http://stringornothing.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/loopy/

[untonuggan]

Thanks for looking this up! Patterns look cool. Sorry for the belated reply, I had a migraine and was avoiding computer screens and then I was behind on entries.

[hobbitbabe]

The berets that we had as part of our uniform in Brownies and Guides (Canada) had a little piece sticking up like the stem of an apple.

I don't know how to make them. The Guide hats were probably felted. Maybe if instead of casting off when you had a few stitches left, you kept going for another inch or two? Or you could make an icord thing and sew it on, probably your mother's wouldn't take such hard use as we had in Brownies, with the boys pulling them off and all.

[untonuggan]

Interesting. I think I remember those, although in the US I never got the hat (maybe my mom just didn't buy it for me?).

(Sorry for the belated reply, I had a migraine and was avoiding computer screens and then I was behind on entries.)