Kuutar is a Finnish word meaning “the lady of the moon” or “the goddess of moon”.

The Kuutar beret is worked from top towards the bottom. The beret is started with the circular cast on method and then increased to the maximum width. Then the hat is decreased to fit, and ends with an i-cord bind off, which gives the beret structure and adds a lovely detail to the brim. If you want, you can also add a small pom pom to the top of the beret. The top of the hat is easiest to knit using the Magic Loop Method, but you can also work it on DPNs and change to circular needles when it is wide enough.

The Kuutar beret uses the same lace patterns as my popular Kuutar pullover. The lace pattern is modified from a lace chart found in the Japanese knitting stitch bible by Hitomi Shida.

Sizes
one size
Finished brim circumference: 53 cm / 21 inches
Finished diameter 28-30 cm / 11-12 inches

Yarn
Note: The beret uses a strand of fingering weight yarn held together with a strand of lace weight yarn, but they can be substituted for a single strand of DK weight yarn. If you wish to work a DK weight version, omit all the instructions where it says “hold the yarns together” and follow only the yarn amount requirements for the fingering weight yarn.

1 skein of Vuonue Wilhelmi (70 % Finnish wool, 30% tencel; 400 m / 437 yards per 100 g), shown in colorway Hiekka, or 240 m / 265 yards of similar fingering weight yarn,
AND
1 skein of nurja mohair (72 % kid mohair, 28% silk; 420 m / 459 yards per 50 g), shown in colorway Kuukivi or 240 m / 265 yards of similar lace weight yarn.

Needles
3.25 mm / US3 DPNs or a circular needle with a cable suitable for small circumference knitting for top of the beret
3.25 mm / US3 circular needle with a cable length of 40 cm / 16 inches for the main part
3.5 mm / US4 circular needle with a cable length of 40 cm / 16 inches for the i-cord bind off

Gauge
16 sts (1 pattern repeat) = 8 cm / 3.25 inches in lace pattern on smaller needles
20 sts and 30 rounds = 10 cm / 4 inches of lace pattern in the round on smaller needles, after blocking
Note: Always use the needle size that gives you the right gauge! Measuring gauge from a circular object is hard, so the easiest way is to make a little swatch of the lace pattern starting from row 19 of the chart forward and measuring the gauge from that swatch.

Notions
1 stitch marker
waste yarn
sewing needle
blocking tools