A little bit slouchy and a whole lot of fun! This hat is a great stashbuster, designed to use up scrap yarns in dk, light worsted weight or even fingering weight yarn held double. Grab your leftover yarns and start knitting!
The sample used a main colour (MC) plus nine contrast colours for the colourwork. The instructions for the colourwork and decreases are charted only. The pattern suits an intermediate colourwork knitter who is comfortable reading a chart and working small circumference colourwork.
Gauge: 23 stitches and 28 rows in stranded colourwork in 10 cm (4 inches) on your larger needles before blocking. Differences in gauge will affect the size of the finished hat and your yarn usage.
Sizing: The pattern is written for 2 sizes. Size M suits the average woman’s head. The size M sample was blocked on a balloon inflated to 56 cm (22 inches) which is the same size as the model’s head. Size L suits larger heads up to 61 cm (24 inches) but will also suit smaller heads for a slouchier fit (see the black and rainbow version). Size M is approx. 22 cm (8.5 inches) tall. Size L is approx 25.5 cm (10 inches) tall.
Needle sizes: 3.75mm (US 5) and 4.00mm (US 6) or size required to obtain gauge. Needle size is a recommendation and you may need to change needle size to meet gauge. The pattern can be worked on a short circular, a long circular using magic loop or on dpns. If using a short circular you will need to swap to dpns or magic loop as you work the crown.
Yarn: The pattern is designed for using up your scraps: dk or light worsted weight yarn around 200 m (220 y) per 100g (3.5oz) or sock yarn (held double). It uses up to 9 (11) contrast colours (CC) as written but if you want it extra slouchy you could add more. The sample used one main colour (MC) in worsted weight and nine contrast colours from leftovers of dk yarns and fingering weight yarns. Your contrast colours don’t all have to be exactly the same, and you can mix plyed yarns and singles. They’re leftovers folks. If they work at the same gauge, don’t be afraid to mix and match. For MC allow 40-60g depending on size. The size M sample used no more than 4g for any of the contrast colours but having a bit more on hand could be wise, and size L will use a little more of each. If you use a colour more than once you will need more yarn of that colour.
Other supplies: Yarn needle, 5 (6) stitch markers, tape measure, balloon for blocking (optional).
A list of abbreviations can be found on p 3.