Ministik 2 is inspired by a bird sanctuary near my aunt and uncle’s home in Alberta, Canada; the sanctuary’s name, ‘Ministik’, comes from the Cree word for island. The twisted stitch pattern mimics the wavelets on the water in summer and on the snow during their extraordinarily cold winters. This hat is worked in the round from brim to crown, using knit, purl, k2tog, ssk, m1, and 2-stitch cables. Pattern instructions are both charted and written, and include instructions for working the cables without a cable needle. Ministik 2 is based on my design for Knit Now, Issue 55; this version is worked at a different gauge and with different crown shaping.

About the yarn: Mini Empire is the same yarn as Empire, wound into 4 oz/113g skeins (vs. Empire’s 27.15 oz/770g mega skeins). Jill Draper Makes Stuff Empire is an Aran weight Rambouillet wool yarn spun from fleece raised in New York State, spun in New England, and dyed in Jill’s Hudson Valley studio. The gentle processing lets the fibre retain its woolly character, while Empire’s 4-ply construction and Rambouillet’s crimp structure make for a lively, springy yarn with excellent stitch definition, perfect for Ministik’s cables and twisted stitches. Rambouillet is a relative of Merino, so the fabric will be soft enough to wear next to the skin for most people. At the same time, this wool’s longer staple and the yarn’s multiple plies make Empire much more resistant to pilling than most Merino yarns. If you are looking to use a different yarn for Ministik, look for a springy, multiple ply, Aran weight yarn in a semi-solid or solid colour with good stitch definition that is comfortable against the wearer’s skin.