I've knit a lot of hats in my knitting career and I have learnt what I love and what I don't really love in a hat.
Our Canadian winters are long and cold so we need something cozy and warm. If it's "stylish" thats just an added bonus!
Wool matters and I've learnt that pure wool is by far the coziest thing (personally speaking) but beyond that pure wool also has a bunch of amazing properties that make it beneficial for cold, wet climates. If you use an untreated wool (non superwash) it's water resistant, it retains it's memory (it wont stretch out like superwash wool) and it will neutralize odours (yep!)
So, let's get to the formula!
I knit this hat for me, but I think I've lost it to my partner, Nick, because he keeps begging me for it (and this had never happened!) He loves the wool, he loves the hat. He's honestly never been this excited about anything I've made! I think he looks great in it too as you can see from the photos!
Materials:
US 5 (3.75mm) 16" circulars
US 7 (4.5mm) 16" circulars, 32" circulars for work magic loop for crown shaping
Yarn: Hello Stella Fibres Wild Wool 2 Ply Worsted (Undyed or dyed - I used my undyed Barber Pole - find it here)
Stitch Markers: 8 Stitch markers *make sure one of them is different to use as your beginning of round marker.
Darning Needle to weave in ends.
Gauge:
20 stitches and 26 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on larger needles.
Sizing:
My head circumference: 22"
Nick's head circumference: 24.5"
Beanies flat/relaxed measurement: 20"
*This also fits my kids heads with room for them to continue to grow into and get wear out of it!
Cast on starting with the Brim:
Using the US 5 needles cast on 88 stitches, place a stitch mark and join to work in the round.
You can choose to knit the brim in 1x1 rib or 2x2 rib - i've done both but I will say that 2x2 is my favourite. It looks amazing and just feels more plump!
Work in the rib pattern in the round until it measures 6" from your cast on edge. *You can modify this part depending on how thick you like your ribbing. I personally don't love knitting ribbing but the final outcome is always worth it!
The Body of the Hat:
Now you will switch to your larger needles (US7).
You will continue to knit in the round until your fabric measures roughly 8" from the cast on edge.
*Note you can fully customize the length of the body of the hat if you want something more slouchy or fitted.*
You will now set up to work your crown decreases.
Crown Shaping:
Using the other 7 stitch markers you will divide your work as follows:
*Knit 21 stitches, place a stitch marker, knit 1 stitch, place a stitch marker* repeat this until you get back to your beginning of round stitch marker. You should now have quadrants separated by stitch markers and "center" stitch.
(You will work the crown decreases every other row)
Decrease Row:
Row 1: *SSK (slip, slip, knit), knit to the next stitch marker, K2TOG (knit two together), slip marker, knit one stich, slip marker* repeat 3 more times until you get back to the beginning of row stitch marker. *decreased 8 stitches.
Row 2: Knit
Repeat Row 1 and Row 2 until you have 8 stitches between the stitch marker quadrants.
You will now work the following decrease row:
*K2TOG (knit two together) until you reach the next stitch marker, slip stitch maker, knit 1, slip stitch marker.* Repeat this in each quadrant until you get back to the beginning of row stitch marker.
You will now work your last row of decreases, removing all of your stitch markers minus your beginning of row one. Knit 2 together to the end of the row.
You can cut your working yarn leaving yourself a 4" tail. Using a darning needle thread the end of the yarn through all remaining loops on your needle. Remove your knitting needle and continue loop the yarn through all loops one more time. Pull tight (*not too tight!) and continue to weave the tail end of the yarn into your work.
Weave in your cast on tail and you're all done!
