Foxes have been one of my favourite animals ever since reading Fantasitc Mr Fox as a child. My Fantastical Fox Hat is a homage to the humble fox.

The hat is knitted in the round from the bottom up, with the fox’s face knitted using intarsia in the round, then the nose is added by picking up stitches and knitting a shaped piece that is stitched down. The ears are knitted separately, then stitched in place, and the eyes and nose tip are added using black buttons.

The hat is knitted in a DK-weight yarn at slightly tighter tension than usual to make the hat nice and cosy. The sample is shown in Debbie Bliss Rialto DK (DK weight, 105 m 114 yds per 50 g ball, 100% merino wool) in Burnt Orange (043, MC) and Ecru (002, CC), in size M.

This pattern is written for a short circular needle, switching to double-pointed needles for the crown. You may, however, use any other technique for working in the round, including the magic loop technique, using a single circular needle with a long cable, or double-pointed needles for the whole hat, however, the intarsia in the round section is easiest to work on a short circular needle.

Sizes
S (M, L): 45 (50, 55) cm 18 (20, 22) in

The hat is designed to fit with approximately 5 cm 2 in negative ease. Choose a hat size that is approximately 5 cm 2 in smaller than the head circumference.

Tension
24 sts and 30 rnds = 10 cm (4 in) in stocking stitch after blocking on a 3.5 mm (US 4) circular needle, or size needed to obtain correct tension.

Materials
DK weight yarn (ideally a tightly plied wool or wool blend) in each of the following colours:
MC (orange): 265 (305, 360) m 290 (335, 395) yds
CC (cream): 85 (105, 120) m 95 (115, 135) yds
2 x 14 mm ½ in black buttons for eyes
1 x 19 mm ¾ in black button for nose
Coordinating thread for black buttons

Tools
3.5 mm (US 4) circular needle, 40 cm 16 in in length
3.25 mm (US 3) circular needle, 40 cm 16 in in length
3.5mm (US 4) DPNs
Stitch holder
Stitch markers x 2
Tapestry needle
Embroidery needle

Difficulty:
Intermediate (knitting, purling, simple increases and decreases, simple intarsia in the round)

Pattern Style: Hat pattern is written using abbreviations (all abbreviations are given).