The design of this hat is inspired by Hester Theale, the heroine of the Georgette Heyer novel Sprig Muslin. It is a sister-in-design to the Henrietta Silverdale cowl pattern.

Like Henrietta, Hester is a practical soul with a romantic heart. She spends time in an orchard with a most interesting man - I am sure that she would wear a hat like this to be both warm and stylish.

Hester is worked in one piece in the round meaning that every row is worked from the right side. Every row is patterned and the lace uses some double decreases as well as a wrapped stitch.

The pattern has both full charts and line by line written instructions. The sizing is adaptable and the hat can be made roomier and slouchier as desired.

This pattern is best suited for use with solid colour or tonal yarns. The yarn used to develop the pattern has a yardage of 160 metres/174 yards per 100 grams.

Please check your gauge before starting to knit this hat. If your gauge does not match what is listed above, your hat may be very short and unwearable. As an alternative, the sizing can be adapted to make the hat taller, as described in the pattern.

This pattern has been tested by: wool4willow, Turtleback, justJnet, gloryjj, ftmhling, JStockert, karaa, Rezo and knitwisenicole. Thanks to you all for your excellent feedback.