Field Guide No. 9: Revolution lets you play with cables in strong and stylish yarns.

In this stylish topper, Norah Gaughan brings us the Industrial Revolution in hat form. It’s delightful how clearly Norah’s cables evoke the lattice girders of the Eiffel Tower; they stand separately at the brim, and join together elegantly at the top. The chart is simplicity itself, and Norah has done the knitter the kindness of shaping the beret from the bottom up, beginning with a cast-on of many stitches (hereby avoiding fiddling with a few twisty stitches at the start).

One skein of Jill Draper’s Windham, a yarn that is beautifully engineered for roundness and a springy twist, and you’ve got yourself a beret, which in and of itself is a symbol of revolution.

Notes
The hat is worked in the round from the bottom up.

Materials
— Windham by Jill Draper Makes Stuff [4 oz (113 g) skeins, each approx 220 yds (201 m), 100% US merino wool]: 1 skein Mocha or Merlot
Note: One skein will make one hat, with only a few yards left; it is important to match the gauge so that you do not run out of yarn.
— Size US 7 (4.5 mm) circular needles, 16” (40 cm) and 24” (60 cm) long, and double-pointed needles (set of 4 or 5), or size needed to achieve gauge
— Size US 5 (3.75 mm) circular needle, 16” (40 cm) long.
— Stitch marker
— Cable needle

Knitted Measurements
— Body Circumference: 20” (51 cm) at brim
— Length: 8.5” (21.5 cm)

Gauge
—20 sts and 28 rows = 4” (10 cm) over stockinette stitch, using larger needle.
Note: The fabric may seem heavy and dense, but it is important to get the gauge.