This hat is my first ever original design. I had always been too scared to knit off-book. Would I mess up? Would I have to rip it out and start over? Then one day, I was about to leave for work and wanted something portable. I had only a few minutes to pick out yarn, needles, and a pattern. I grabbed a skein of worst ed weight yarn from my stash, a size 7 16” circular needle, and sifted through Ravelry for some inspiration. Unfortunately, nothing was exactly what I wanted. I left for work and parked my car in one of the employee areas, about a ¼ mile from the employee entrance. Casting on while I walked, I started some ribbing for the brim. After that, the ridged pattern was born, but I had no idea if I wanted to publish the pattern or just keep it for myself.

Out of the blue a year or so later, my mom called to ask me for the pattern for “that beehive hat” that I’d made. I hadn’t written it down, so I got it out of my hat drawer and tried to write up the pattern from looking at it. I asked her to test it out and see if what I had written would successfully generate a hat. A few corrected mistakes later, and she had made her own hat. She didn’t get to keep it long, because my dad liked it so much he stole it for wearing on their trip to a Winter-y New York City.

Not only had I managed to create a unisex hat, but my mom had also given me an idea for what to call it. I dubbed it the “Hive Queen” hat, and using the concept of hives and bees, I came up with three more patterns that will be available soon.

Sizes Available: Adult M (Adult L)

Finished Measurements: 21”(23”)

Shown in: Berroco Vintage
Classic Elite Yarns Adelaide

Needles: Size 7 16” circular needle
Size 7 double-point needles

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch markers, pom pom (optional)