Chain Chomp Hat by Allison MacAlister

Chain Chomp Hat

Knitting
January 2008
Bulky (7 wpi) ?
14 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches
in st st
US 9 - 5.5 mm
US 7 - 4.5 mm
One size
English
This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

Any gamer worth two cents has played at least ONE of the Mario games. Thusly, nearly every gamer knows of the mighty Chain Chomp.

An enemy in the Mario Bros. franchise, they first appeared in Mario Bros. 3, as a black ball with eyes and teeth, attached by a chain to a block. The chain would lunge itself at Mario, teeth a-chomping, if Mario was within its range.

In later games, the chomps could appear on a loose chain, trailing after Mario and friends. They also adapted their own sound effect, a doglike, rumbling ARF ARF. In the latest release in the franchise, Super Mario Galaxy, Chomps are seen chainless, rolling around happily in their natural habitats. They have long been one of the many instantly-recognizable entities in the Mario world.

I designed this hat on a whim, inspired by discussions with my geeky friends awhile ago, about how relatively simple it would be to design. In the last few days, I drew it up and knit it on the fly, taking notes as I went. The result is a Chomp that has happily broken free of its chain, only to latch itself onto an unsuspecting gamer’s head.