This rugged watch cap was designed to meet the specifications of my nephew when he was active duty in the United States Marine Corps. He wanted black and plain, so he could wear it while on maneuvers in the Southern California desert during cold winter nights with his trainees. I wanted a crown that really transitioned nicely from the ribbed stitch patterning. Mission accomplished!

You get a bonus, too. This hat is reversible, with two similar but distinctive crowns, one of them more rugged than the other. Darn in your ends carefully to hide them completely on both sides and you can switch back and forth according to your mood.

There is a lot of overlap between the sizes so the pattern covers the entire range from premie to adult XL quite nicely with just these 4 sizes.

Yarn requirements:

Baby - 50 yards (46 meters)
Child - 85 yards (78 meters)
Youth - 125 yards (114 meters)
Adult - 165 yards (151 meters)

Other notions needed: 4 stitch markers (optional); cable needle (optional); bodkin or crochet hook (whichever you prefer for finishing).

Stitches used in the pattern: knitted cast on, k, p, cable combined with ssk decreases, knitting in the round. When knitting in the round, you can use the magic loop technique with a long circular needle; or 2 shorter circular needles; or start on a short circular needle and transition to double pointed needles as you work the crown decreases, or just do the whole hat on double pointed needles.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to Russ Moore for the superb technical edit of the pattern. Thank you to tjsmith695, LisaDP, folksworthfarmer, Selvedge, Ryna-Lyn, Selana, anargol, and Snowberrylime for thoroughly testing the pattern. Thank you to my nephew GySgt Michael R. Kaylor, USMC, Retired for providing me with the challenge and inspiration that led to this design.