I saw a woman waiting in the doctor’s office with the most wonderful hat. I asked her about it and she said she was a Yurok Indian from the Arcata/Eureka, California, area. Yurok Indians make amazing museum-quality traditional basket hats. I couldn’t buy one of their hats, they are very expensive, but I knew I could knit one. This hat is the result, inspired by Yurok Indian basket hats. The design, a flint, looks just like its name: striking flint rocks together to produce sparks that will help start a fire.

This pattern includes stranded knitting, lateral braids, lateral braid decreases and colorwork. If you don’t know how to knit lateral braids, the pattern includes instructions.