This is my new beanie design bringing together my ongoing deep love for Shetland All Over dice patterns, which can be called diamond patterns or crosses and my love of experimentation with Shetland yarn and colours.
I’ve seen many different dice combinations, often personalised by the knitter, in Whalsay Heritage Centre, in The Textile museum in Lerwick and the main Shetland Museum.
The colours that I have chosen for the hat have given the name to this beanie which remind me of the fiery oranges of Up Helly AA and a lovely sea blue from Shetland. If you are not familiar with Up Helly Aa / UP-hel-ee-AH; literally meaning “Up Holy Day All”) refers to any of the fire festivals held annually from January to March in Shetland, to mark the end of the yule season/ My first one was in January 2016 but I hope to see many more.

The beanie is a closely fitted but quite deep. It measures 9.5 inches from the centre of the crown to the bottom of the rib. And will fit a head of 22 to 23 inches in diameter.

Gauge at 3mm needles – 32 rows x 29 stitches = 10cm

I used UK 3mm needles.

Yarn:- I used 7 colours from Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift Range – Dewdrop, Amber, Admiral Navy, Maroon, Havana, Mustard and Sunrise. So, if you want to use the same colours as this pattern, you will need one ball of each colour. But you can also use your stash to make your own combinations or any yarn for UK 3mm Needles that work with the gauge above. There is enough yarn left to make a pair of fingerless mitts which I will be adding to the Ravelry store.