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Knitty: little purls of wisdom

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hardcore lucky kumo saranac baseball ripley drunken argyle
cargoandre blue hills boulder manly mittstychuscigar
wild stripes satchel numbers pinky

by Brooke T. Higgins

In my early knitting days, I developed this pattern because I was tired of looking at hats with horizontal stripes. I later learned that the shaping technique I'd used was called short rows. All I knew was that every stitch was a simple knit stitch, which made this the Easiest. Hat. Ever.

The durability and thickness of the acrylic double-stranded garter stitch makes this hat incredibly warm and comfy. It knits up fast, makes great gifts, is simple enough for any beginning knitter, but even the most experienced knitter will enjoy watching the hat take shape.

Beware the obsessive man, though. As I was knitting the navy and white hat (see left), he said, "Ooh! What's that?"I said, "You don't need another hat." He said, "Yes, I do! I only have two!"

What could I say? It's his.

model: Anthony Shuri photos: Brooke T. Higgins

SIZE

One size fits average-to-large adult head

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Circumference: approx. 24 inches

MATERIALS

These hats were made using leftover balls of acrylic yarn in my stash. Any worsted weight acrylic yarn will work great. If you're using leftovers for a two-color hat, you will need approximately 150 yds/135m (single strand) of each color.

Suggested materials:
Red Heart Super Saver [100% acrylic; 170yd/155m per 85g skein]
[MC] Cherry Red #319; 1 skein
[CC] White #311; 1 skein

1 set US #9/5.5mm straight needles
Tapestry needle

GAUGE

15 sts/28 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch

PATTERN NOTES

pic 1^

pic 2^

[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations can be found here]

Each time you change colors, bring the new color to the front and over the old color to create a neat, consistent border along the bottom edge of the hat. Add more colors for a more creative colorway.

Unlike many patterns that use short rows, it is not necessary to wrap the yarn around the stitch at the turning point when working these short rows. When it is time to turn the work around and work back in the other direction, the instructions will simply say "turn".

The longtail cast on is used for this pattern. If you are unfamiliar with this technique, excellent instructions can be found here.

This pattern is worked with two strands of yarn held together throughout.

DIRECTIONS

Using the long-tail cast on method and two strands of MC, CO 38 sts.

*Using CC, k36, turn. K to end.

Using MC, k34, turn. K to end.

Using CC, k32, turn. K to end.

Using MC, k30, turn. K to end.

Using CC, k28, turn. K to end.

Using MC, k26, turn. K to end.

Using CC, k24, turn. K to end.

Using MC, k22, turn. K to end.

Using CC, k20, turn. K to end.

Half a wedge has been completed.
[see pic 1 in pattern notes section]

Using MC, k22, turn. K to end.

Using CC, k24, turn. K to end.

Using MC, k26, turn. K to end.

Using CC, k28, turn. K to end.

Using MC, k30, turn. K to end.

Using CC, k32, turn. K to end.

Using MC, k34, turn. K to end.

Using CC, k36, turn. K to end.

Using MC, k 2 rows across all sts.*

One complete wedge has been worked. [see pic 2 above]

Repeat from * to * 4 times more.

Using MC, BO all sts. Break yarn, leaving a 24-inch tail.

FINISHING

Thread yarn tail on tapestry needle. Draw yarn through top point of each wedge and pull tight.

Sew BO edge to CO edge.
Weave in ends.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Brooke T. Higgins lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, and hasn't been knitting nearly long enough.

She insists that the extremities of her friends and family remain toasty, regardless of the season.

Pattern & images © 2005 Brooke Higgins. Contact Brooke