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Looking for a knit gift with a personal touch? How about knitting a hat with the recipient’s name on it?

This simple hat from Fox and Pine Stitches would be lovely all by itself, but you can make it, like, 50 percent cuter by adding an initial, monogram or even a full name (as long as it’s a short one!) to the body of the hat.

The letters are added with duplicate stitch once the hat is finished, so you can stitch a bunch of these up and then decide who you want to give them to and how you want to embellish them.

I love the look of the lettering matching a pompom on top, but you should go with what’s in your heart.

The hat includes sizes for newborns, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-3 years, 4-12 years and adult women.

The pattern calls for Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick, but you can use whatever super bulky yarn you have on hand. The only skills you need for this one are knitting, purling, working a knit 2 together and doing duplicate stitch.

Get the free pattern from Fox and Pine Stitches.

If you’ve never done duplicate stitch before, it’s actually pretty easy. It’s a method of adding graphic designs to the surface of a knitting project by literally sewing over — duplicating — the stitches below.

Duplicate stitch, also known as swiss darning, is a fun and effective tool to have in your colorwork arsenal. There’s a good tutorial at Purl Soho where you can learn the basics.

Check out more patterns using duplicate stitch: the Shape of My Heart Scarf, and this watermelon cushion are both good uses for it. And check out how a little bit of duplicate stitch makes it easier to give your kilt hose a tartan look.

[Photo: Fox and Pine Stitches]